The current policy direction toward establishing elite universities in Vietnam is not only appropriate but also addresses a critical need.

It is appropriate because it reflects the demands of a new stage of development, in which growth must increasingly be driven by knowledge, science and technology, innovation and talent.

It also addresses a major gap in the higher education system. Vietnam has developed an extensive network of universities, but still lacks intellectual centers powerful enough to generate new knowledge, master strategic technologies and cultivate talent at the highest level.

The forces that once helped Vietnam grow rapidly - an abundant workforce, investment capital, foreign direct investment, technology adoption and strong implementation capacity - are gradually becoming insufficient to deliver another major development leap.

The challenge now is to move from learning to creating, from using technology to mastering and developing it, and from participating in global value chains to controlling higher-value segments.

Raising the overall quality of higher education is essential, but it will not be enough to make that transition.

Vietnam needs a number of leading intellectual centers where talent, resources and academic freedom are concentrated to develop exceptional capabilities.

An elite university should not simply be another title. It should be an institution designed to create new development capabilities for the country.

The mission of Vietnam’s elite universities

The central mission of an elite university is to help Vietnam move from implementation to innovation, and from following others to mastering its own capabilities.

That mission operates at three levels: the nation, businesses and society.

First, elite universities must strengthen Vietnam’s capacity for technological and intellectual mastery.

These institutions should lead research into strategic technologies, establish research groups capable of reaching the frontiers of knowledge, and train scientists, engineers and specialists capable of creating technologies and solutions that Vietnam can own and further develop.

The value of research should not be measured solely by the number of academic publications, but by the new capabilities it creates for the country.

Universities should not merely conduct research or offer policy critiques. They should become knowledge partners for governments, helping identify problems and design, test and evaluate solutions in governance, urban development, education, healthcare, the environment and digital transformation.

Elite universities must also serve as bridges connecting Vietnam more deeply with global knowledge networks.

Mastery does not mean doing everything independently. It means possessing sufficient capability to collaborate as an equal, rapidly absorb new advances and gradually become a contributor to global scientific progress.

Elite universities should also directly engage with major challenges facing the country and individual localities.

Rather than limiting themselves to research and policy commentary, universities should work alongside authorities to identify problems and develop, test and assess solutions across governance, cities, education, healthcare, the environment and digital transformation.

Second, elite universities must help strengthen the competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses.

Their role should extend beyond training human resources or transferring technology. Universities should work directly with businesses to solve real-world problems, develop management models and business strategies, and strengthen innovation capabilities.

The ultimate objective is to enable more Vietnamese companies to build distinctive competitive advantages and participate in higher-value segments of the global economy.

Third, elite universities must become a driving force for social progress.

As leading intellectual centers, these institutions should help shape ideas, values and culture while spreading a scientific mindset, independent thinking and respect for knowledge.

Elite universities should not simply reflect society’s development. They should also help establish new standards for a more innovative and advanced society.

The ultimate measure of an elite university, therefore, is not merely the degrees it awards, the papers it publishes or the patents it generates.

It is whether the institution helps create a country with greater capacity for mastery, more competitive businesses and a more advanced society.

Building elite universities

Elite universities can only emerge when the state’s capacity to create enabling conditions is combined with universities’ own ability to transform resources into genuine capabilities.

The state can provide exceptional mechanisms and resources, but if universities continue operating under an egalitarian mindset, outdated governance models and fragmented research structures, even substantial investment will struggle to produce breakthroughs.

Conversely, an ambitious university without sufficient autonomy and resources will find it difficult to reach international standards.

The first responsibility belongs to the state: create the conditions for excellence to emerge.

The state needs to identify the national capabilities Vietnam must develop over the next 10-20 years, then select universities with suitable foundations and assign them specific development missions.

Elite universities should not become replicas of one another. Instead, they should develop into distinct centers of capability that complement one another within the country’s broader development strategy.

Once a university is given a special mission, it should receive corresponding authority over personnel, finance, research and international cooperation.

Exceptional investment, however, should not mean unconditional funding.

The approach should shift from “providing money to universities” to “investing in national capabilities through universities,” with resources tied to clearly defined objectives, outcomes and accountability.

The second responsibility belongs to universities themselves: turn resources into real capabilities.

First and foremost, elite universities need strategic thinking. They must clearly identify the fields in which they can achieve excellence, concentrate resources on those priorities and be willing to abandon activities that no longer serve their mission.

Greater value lies in the new knowledge created, technologies mastered, people trained and major national problems solved.

People will be the decisive factor.

An elite university needs a globally competitive talent ecosystem: one capable of attracting outstanding people wherever they are, providing an appealing working environment, empowering them to build strong research teams and nurturing the next generation.

A handful of exceptional individuals cannot create an elite university. What matters is building a system capable of continuously producing and developing talent.

Research must likewise shift from fragmented activity toward concentrated efforts capable of producing breakthroughs.

Instead of pursuing numerous small, disconnected projects, elite universities should develop strong research groups capable of working on major problems over extended periods.

International publications remain important, but they should not become the ultimate objective.

The greater value lies in the new knowledge generated, technologies mastered, talent developed and major challenges facing the country that are successfully addressed.

During the initial stage, elite universities should make effective use of international resources and expertise to accelerate the development of their own internal capabilities.

This should go beyond research and educational partnerships to include learning about university governance, scientific organization, knowledge commercialization and the development of international networks.

Vietnam can invite leading international experts, university administrators and scientists to help build these systems, but the ultimate goal must be to develop domestic capabilities.

Drawing on external expertise does not mean becoming dependent on it.

Every international partnership should become a process of capability transfer, strengthening Vietnamese teams, improving institutional governance and gradually turning capabilities once reliant on external partners into Vietnam’s own.

Success will require a long-term commitment from both the state and universities.

The state must provide autonomy, resources and policy stability, while universities must commit to producing demonstrable capabilities, talent and impact.

Exceptional authority and resources must come with exceptional goals and corresponding accountability.

The ultimate test of an elite university does not lie in its name or position in global rankings, but in the new capabilities it creates for the country: what knowledge it discovers, what technologies it masters, what talent it develops and what major problems it solves.

Only when universities create capabilities that Vietnam did not previously possess can genuine excellence be said to have been built.

Dr. Ma The Ngan - Dr. Pham Manh Hung

(University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi)