You have gained resounding achievements in scientific research. Do you have any secret, besides passion and perseverance?

Doing scientific research is just like swimming. If you only swim five or seven meters, you do not need to study. But if you want to swim far into the big sea, you must be trained carefully and methodically.

Vietnamese can do scientific reserach at international level

When I was 32, I fortunately was able to work with Swedish scientists. Later, I experienced a self-taught process. When I went abroad, I visited libraries and read books on scientific research. I was taught many things, including how to write a scientific article.

And I learned through seminars. I met famous panel speakers and kept in contact with them. They are scientists who can suggest ideas, edit articles, and can be invited to Vietnam to give lectures.

Lectures and stories on the sidelines will give answers to many questions, which could be suggestions for research.

Doing scientific research is just like swimming. If you only swim five or seven meters, you do not need to study. But if you want to swim far into the big sea, you must be trained carefully and methodically.

Prof Nguyen Thanh LIem

 What do you think are the most important factors that determine the success of scientific research, besides the research method?

The desire to do scientific reserach depends on education from childhood, exploration and creativity. To stimulate creativity, society in general and institutions in particular need to attach importance to scientific research.

Only science can make a breakthrough because it can help change the life of millions of people. Doing scientific research is considered an important criterion to assess universities. The number of published research works is used to rank universities.

Being the leader of Vinmec, which policies are you pursuing to promote the passion of young scientists for research?

I ask them to send me summaries about certain issues every week. This aims to encourage them to read books, which is very important for researchers.

In English, ‘search’ means seeking and retrieving, while ‘research’ means searching and searching again. Only when searching again and again will you be able to find the things other people still cannot find.

You said scientific research works are not something you are most proud of. What is the thing that you take pride in?

What I am proud of is that I can prove that Vietnamese can do scientific research at the international level.

Vietnamese not only invite international experts to Vietnam to give lectures, but they also give lectures at research institutes and universities overseas.

Mai Lan

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