Roles of research academies leaders

Ly T. Pham
International Education Institute
Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Capacity building
• Vietnamese higher education landscape
• Vietnamese universities in the region & world
• Research groups as a structural factor for
capacity building
• The role of research academies leaders
Vietnamese Higher Education
Landscape
Number of colleges and universities
250
Colleges
Universities
200
150
100
50
0
1999-2000
2004-2005
2009-2010
2012
Number of teaching staff
60000
Colleges
Universities
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
1999-2000
2004-2005
2009-2010
2012
Number of students
1600000
Colleges
Universities
1999-2000
2004-2005
1400000
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
2009-2010
2012
Higher education expenditure
HE budget = 25% of State education budget
Country
State spending per tertiary
student as % of GDP per
capita
Vietnam
34.0
Thailand
24.9
Malaysia
71.1
Indonesia
13.3
Philippines
12.4
Korea
9.0
Source: UNESCO Global Education Digest, 2007,
http://www.uis.unesco.org/template/pdf/ged/2007/EN_web2.pdf. Tables 13 and 14.
but the outcomes are far from what would be
expected
Source: Tuan V Nguyen, Ly T Pham. Scientometrics 7-2011
Scientific output: number of
publications in ISI journals 2009-2013
47262
33472
27200
7227
Vietnam
5900
Thailand
Malaysia
Indonesia
4407
Philippines
Singapore
Source: Web of Science (ISI), date accessed: 25/11/2013
Top 10 research areas
Vietnam
Thailand
Malaysia
Indonesia
Philippines
Singapore
Biomed (2094)
Biomed (9273)
Engineering
(5906)
Biomed (1254)
Biomed (1299)
Biomed (14301)
Math (969)
Engineering
(3111)
Biomed (4327)
Engineering
(630)
Agriculture (638)
Engineering
(9210)
Physics (887)
Chemistry
(3029)
Chemistry
(3777)
Env Sci (616)
Env Sci (386)
Physics (7367)
Cheminstry
(745)
Material Sci
(2007)
Material Sci
(3453)
Chemistry (489)
Plant Sci (315)
Chemistry
(7010)
Engineering
(617)
Physics (1665)
Physics (2510)
Physics (354)
Bus Econ (216)
Mat Sci (5895)
Material Science
(494)
Sci Tech (1338)
Crystallography
(2331)
Agriculture (321)
Chemistry (168)
Sci Tech (4123)
Env Sci (399)
Food Sci (1258)
Sci Tech (1962)
Material Sci
(295)
Physics (138)
Comp Sci (3466)
Agriculture
(320)
Env Sci (1181)
Env Sci (1555)
Sci Tech (234)
Marine Biol
(114)
Optics (2013)
Comp Sci (224)
Biotech (1155)
Comp Sci (1300)
Bus Econ (214)
Sci Tech (114)
Bus Econ (1889)
Bus Econ (156)
Agriculture
(1052)
Food Sci (1289)
Food Sci (198)
Vet Sci (109)
Math (1706)
Vietnamese universities in the
region and the world
Vietnam's leading research institutions
• Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City
• Vietnam National University – Hanoi
• Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology
Vietnamese universities in the region
Institutions
Regional rank World rank
Vietnam National University HCM
415
2228
Vietnam National University Ha Noi
Vietnam Academy of Science &
Technology
Chulalongkorn University
Mahidol University
Chiang Mai University
Khon Kaen University
531
2522
485
2399
278
116
290
297
1838
1277
1871
1892
Source: SCImago Institutions Rankings 2011.
Research quality
Indicator
Vietnam National
University HCMC
Chulalongkorn
University
Output (number of papers)
569
6047
% international collaborations
53.6
36.5
Specialization Index
0.9
0.6
% in “top 25” journals (high
quality publications)
26.9
39.2
Excellence Rate
7.2
9.9
Normalized impact
1.1
0.9
Source: SCImago Institutions Rankings 2011.
Challenges of capacity building
• Human resources
• Research priorities and funding
• Research infrastructure and academic culture
• Communication
Human resources
• Lack of internationally recognized experts /
scientists
• Brain-drain: graduates do not return
• Inadequate training and research programs
Research priorities and funding
• Teaching priority > research priority
• Faculty do not always recognize the importance
of scientific research
• Inadequate funding, particularly for basic
research
• Funding system and peer review system are
cumbersome
Research infrastructure
• Lack of high quality research lab
• Even with good lab, there is shortage of
experienced scientists
• Many of equipment are unused!
Academic culture
• Lack of Awareness of International
Practices (international research development,
network, regulatory, financial and IP protocols ,
international grants and funding schemes, etc.)
• Limited Understanding of Research Ethics
and Academic Culture Issues
• Lack of Effective Monitoring, Assessment and
Analysis of Research Output
Communication
• Lack of access to scientific literature (eg.
journals)
• English language
• Interaction with industry
A "new model"
for capacity building
A new player: Ton Duc Thang University
Ton Duc Thang Uni's challenges
• New university (established in 1997), 329 full
time faculty/lecturers/researchers
• ~22,000 students
– 400 USD tuition per students versus 1,000-5,000
USD in a private university)
• Difficult to attract talented students and
lecturers
Ton Duc Thang Uni's solutions
• Establishing small research groups
• Actively recruiting promising and talented
scientists (eg. with good track record of
publications)
• Appointment of international visiting professors
• Awards to authors with high impact
international peer-reviewed publications
• Improvement of journal access
Outcomes
• Established 13 centers for technology transfer
and services
• Self-financed and generated 15% annual
revenue of the university
Outcomes
• 20% of faculty members trained overseas
• Recruited a talented scientist (H index 23)
• Appointment of 5 international visiting
professors, one with H index of 65 (Professor
Tuan V. Nguyen from Australia).
• International peer-reviewed publications
– 2007: zero
– 2012: 73 papers
Establish new international
peer reviewed journal
Lessons for research capacity building:
organizational structure
• Restructure research programs into small or
moderate research groups
• Establishing Foundation of Science and
Technology Development to support research
activities and change the funding schemes.
• International networking and visiting professorship
Lessons for research capacity building:
outcome
• Set international peer-reviewed publication as
an outcome
• Set quality of research as a major outcome in
scientific research
Lessons for research capacity building:
incentives
• Establish acceptable, transparent, rigorous
system of incentives, recognition and rewards
for researchers
• Fairness and consistency in decision making
• Delegate, with authority, accountability and trust
Conclusions
• Rapid growth in the number of universities and
colleges during the past 15 years
• Modest scientific output
• Major challenges: human resources, funding,
infrastructure, communication
• A model for research capacity building: research
groups, attracting prominent scientists, measurement
of performance by quality outcome:
= The matter of LEADERSHIP!!!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!!
Ly T. Pham
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.lypham.net