We are pleased to share here below the translation from Vietnamese to English of the article “Thủ tướng thăm Trung tâm Khoa học ICISE tại Bình Định” published on the official Prime Minister’s website.
The Prime Minister of Vietnam visits the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in Binh Dinh
In the morning of May 6th, 2018, during his official visit to Binh Dinh, the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc paid a visit to the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) founded and developed by Prof Tran Thanh Van, a great scientist, highly esteemed by the international scientific community.
According to Prof Tran Thanh Van, who has got the nickname “King of Connections” from the international physics communities, the centre, since its inauguration in 2013, has hosted 40 high-level international scientific conferences and 16 specialised thematic schools, with the participation of more than 3 500 international scientists, including 12 Nobel laureates and many other distinguished scientists. The ICISE Conference Center has been viewed as a common house of science lovers from Vietnam and from over the world.
On this occasion, Prof Tran Thanh Van also presented to the Prime Minister the project of a science discovery centre (now called ExploraScience), that he and many scientists from “Rencontres du Vietnam” association had proposed to the Binh Dinh authorities. This science discovery space devoted to children and to the general public, aims to bring science closer to the masses, as well as to trigger young people’s passion for science and to stimulate their creativity. In addition to the support of the State, the association has also mobilized many international scientists to bring their know-how to help implement successfully the project.
Together with his proposition to create an international scientific city in Binh Dinh province, Professor Tran Thanh Van expressed his wish that the Government helps to create favourable conditions for the province of Binh Dinh to build this science city in order to develop the scientific potential of the region.
He also wished the Vietnam Academy of Science, the Ministry of Science and Technology to set up research institutes or centres in the science city in Quy Hoa (Quy Nhon) in order to get the maximum of benefit from the international scientific community who participates to the conferences at the ICISE Conference Center. These research institutes and centres can first begin to focus on fields like theoretical physics, nanophysics, astrophysics, applied mathematics, environmental toxicology and climate change adaptation.
During his discussion with Professor Tran Thanh Van and scientists from ICISE, the Prime Minister praised the centre for its positive results leading which leads the way for the creation of a large scientific research and is a compass for the development of the future science city in Quy Hoa. Although ICISE has been established only 5 years ago, many important international scientific events have been organized here, creating opportunities for world’s renowned scientists to discover Vietnam, and especially for the Vietnamese scientific community to connect and exchange information about the newest scientific results with famous international scientists.
The Prime Minister also showed his great appreciation for the couple, Professors Tran Thanh Van and Le Kim Ngoc, who has brought new pedagogical concepts to resource human training and contribute to the task of human training and who contributes to the creation of a learning model and its associated environment in our country.
The Prime Minister had said that, prior to visiting the ICISE and the ExploraScience and hearing about the Quy Nhon Innovation Valley Project, he appreciated the effort to bring science closer to education.
In the context of the 4.0 Industrial Revolution where Vietnam, especially the young generation, is provided with opportunities as well as challenges, the Prime Minister hoped that ICISE would develop sustainably, efficiently and with a wide impact in order to promote fundamental scientific research and improve human resource training in the country.
Highly appreciating the idea to construct a science city in Binh Dinh, the Prime Minister agreed on the guidelines and the principles allowing Binh Dinh province to build a scientific and educational city. This is a bold and pioneering step to gather international well-known scientists, and to stimulate thereby the advancement of science in the country.
The Prime Minister also suggested that the centre continues to create a good scientific environment to attract more scientists to come to study, collaborate and exchange information, to build a close cooperation between universities and fundamental science research centres of the country and the world, and to promote fundamental and applied sciences in Vietnam.
Emphasizing the important role of the application of scientific results to economic development in the current context where Vietnam’s economy is restructuring, and its growth model transformed, the Prime Minister hoped that the ICISE would be a connection point to stimulate the application of science and technology into practice, particularly in priority domains, for example such as those that are related to climate change response.
Considering that Professor Tran Thanh Van and Professor Le Kim Ngoc are a symbolic model of intellectuals devoted wholeheartedly to the development of science and to the love of the country, even at an advanced age, the Prime Minister wishes young scientists to follow their example, striving to do their best for science and for the home country.
In May, the Prime Minister already visited the discovery science centre (ExploraScience), and heard about the Quy Nhon Innovation Valley Project.
The Quy Nhon Innovationy Valley Project, with a surface area of 66 ha, will include a software park, a science park, a science city, and hospitals.
Download the original article in Vietnamese with the English translation.