This information was shared at the High-Level Meeting on Developing an Innovation Ecosystem Linked to Intellectual Property Education, held on November 24 in Hanoi. The event featured Nguyen Hoang Giang, Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Science and Technology); Altaye Tedla, Director of the WIPO Academy, Regional and National Development Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and experts from India.

Strong “output” but limited “input”

Rai Pushpendra, International IP Advisor, highlighted the strong shift of innovation activities from the West to the East. In 2014, Asia accounted for 60 percent of global patent filings, while in 2024, the figure rose to 70 percent .

In this trend, Vietnam has emerged as a bright spot with impressive indicators. “Vietnam currently ranks 44th on the Global Innovation Index (GII) but the first worldwide for creative goods and high-tech exports. This is an extremely positive sign,” Rai emphasized. 

Notably, 90 percent of research and development (R&D) in Vietnam is carried out by the private sector, while this ratio in the US is around 65–70 percent.

However, Altaye Tedla, Director of the WIPO Academy, pointed out a concerning gap between innovation achievements and human-capital foundations. Although Vietnam’s innovation and technology output indicators are high (34th and 39th globally), its human-capital category ranks only 70th out of 139.

“Vietnam’s spending on education currently ranks 116 out of 139 countries by GDP ratio. Are we investing enough in education and research to match our innovation achievements?” Altaye said.

She also cited traditional educational mindsets: “Our education system is producing workers, not creators. At the very age when young people have the boldest and freshest ideas, we train them to follow instead of experiment and lead.”

Bringing “labs” into schools to change mindsets

To address this issue, Nguyen Hoang Giang, Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office, affirmed that Vietnam is moving toward building an IP culture from early generations. “We expect that with the energy of young people, Vietnam’s innovation potential will be maximized, driving strong development in the digital economy era.”

To realize this vision, Vietnam is studying the application of India’s successful “Atal Tinkering Labs” (ATL) model.

Marc Woo, CEO of Google Vietnam, said Vietnam is establishing itself as a global app powerhouse with impressive revenue growth, leading Southeast Asia.

Sharing insights about the model reshaping innovation in India, Himanshu Joshi, Project Lead of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Ministry of Planning, India, said the program began in 2016 with a modest scale of 500–800 labs. 

Recognizing that this was too small for national needs, the Indian government expanded it rapidly to 10,000 labs by 2021. In the 2025 federal budget, the number of Tinkering Labs increased from 10,000 to 60,000.

This massive scale is based on a practical calculation: India has about 210,000 high schools, and to maximize impact, the goal is to have one lab for every three schools. 

The strength of the model lies not in theory but in solving local problems. Himanshu shared two persuasive examples of creative thinking among students in remote areas.

In Jammu & Kashmir, students developed new packaging and preservation solutions to reduce agricultural losses. Meanwhile, in Sikkim near the border with China, a mountainous region with high traffic-accident rates, a group of 12th-grade students created an AI-based driving-assistance system.

“This state does not even have its own airport, and conditions are limited, but the students’ creativity is extraordinarily high. They see community problems and use technology to solve them,” Himanshu noted.

Nguyen Hoang Giang affirmed that Vietnam is envisioning a future where creative labs (IP Labs) become the new standard in schools.

According to Giang, the goal is not only to produce scientists but to build an ecosystem where students learn to turn ideas into economically valuable assets. 

“We hope that through early IP education, Vietnam can build a nationwide IP culture, where not only experts and entrepreneurs but every social group understands the value of innovation, protects IP rights, and uses them as tools for personal, business, and societal development,” Giang said.

The November 24 meeting is considered the first concrete step toward discussing the establishment of IP Labs in Vietnam and developing action programs for deployment in schools and research institutes.

Thai Khang