A signing ceremony of contracts on scientific research tasks under the Central Highlands Programme 3, which has been carried out since 2012, took place at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) on November 17th 2012, to continue implementing the basic objectives of the Central Highlands Programme 3.
2012 is the year marking 55 years of building and developing the Sapa Geophysics Station, marking the establishment and development of the Vietnam global physics sector. This year, the Institute of Geophysics under the Vietnam Academy of Science also celebrated its 25th year of development.
The third National Party Congress in 1960 proposed a policy of building socialism in northern Vietnam which meant to simultaneously conduct three revolutions, including a revolution in production relations, a technical revolution and an ideological culture revolution. The technical revolution is a key. To make a technical revolution, science must be developed to be the foundation. Therefore, right in 1960, the Government invited a senior scientific delegation from the Soviet Union to visit Vietnam to contribute ideas to our state about policies on Vietnam’s scientific development. The delegation, led by Academician Alexandr Kotelnikov, member of Presidium of the Soviet Union Academy of Science (later vice president of the Soviet Union Academy of Science), paid a visit to Vietnam and proposed the establishment of basic study units under the State Committee of Science. Having adequate maturity, these units would be separated to become the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, which has similar functions and tasks as academies of sciences in socialist countries at that time. The proposal was acquired by our Government. In 1961, the Government sent a delegation of Vietnamese scientists led by Prof. Ta Quang Buu, vice chairman and secretary-general of the State Committee of Science, to discuss and sign the Soviet Union – Vietnam science cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union Academy of Science. Accordingly, the Soviet Union would help Vietnam train scientific researchers and build technical facilities in order to establish basic study units, working towards the establishment of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The agreement was carried out from 1962. From 1964, due to the US destructive war, the work was slowed down but still went on. The two first basic academies were set up. They were the Institute of Natural Science in Hanoi and the Institute of Marine Study in Hai Phong.
On December 25th, 2012, the Government issued Decree 108/2012/NĐ-CP defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). The decree comes into effect on February 19th 2013, replacing Decree 62/2008/NĐ-CP dated May 12th 2008 of the Government, defining VAST’s functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure.
