The National Student Startup Day is an event organized within the framework of Decision No. 1665/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister's office, aimed at supporting student startups until 2025.

This year’s event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, the HCM Communist Youth Union Central Committee, and the Can Tho Municipal People's Committee. The event had the participation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, leaders of ministries, agencies, organizations, and localities from the Southern region.

The goal of the National Student Startup Day is to encourage the participation of higher education and high school institutions in career counseling, employment guidance, and startup support for students. The event also aims to inspire entrepreneurship, foster innovative thinking and awareness among students, and create an environment that combines learning with practical experience in educational institutions.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that entrepreneurship and innovation are crucial drivers and resources for the sustainable development of every country. The startup movement is increasingly spreading to remote areas, borderlands, islands, and ethnic minority areas. Entrepreneurship requires passion, determination, perseverance, and the courage to overcome obstacles and challenges to strive for success.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (center) and officials mark the start of the sixth National Student Startup Day in Can Tho City on May 12.

He said the National Student Startup Day, held annually since 2018, has become an intellectual playground where valuable ideas and scientific research are developed to foster the entrepreneurial aspirations of young people. It also provides a conducive environment to support students in shaping and realizing their entrepreneurial ideas and projects.

The Prime Minister stressed that for startup activities among students to grow significantly and truly become a nationwide movement, there must be strong participation from the entire political system, support from the people and businesses, along with specific, appropriate, practical, and effective support mechanisms, policies, and solutions.

He highlighted some limitations, particularly the underdeveloped and fragmented startup ecosystem, and the lag compared to other countries in the region and the world. The implementation of support policies for student entrepreneurship has been slow, and incubation and start-up activities in higher education institutions have not been thoroughly explored. The infrastructure and laboratory facilities are inadequate, and there is a shortage of counseling and support staff for startups.

The Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Education and Training, as well as various departments, sectors, and localities, to conduct a comprehensive review and improve appropriate mechanisms and policies to create a supportive environment and legal framework for students to pursue their entrepreneurial endeavors.

PM Pham Minh Chinh further called for the strengthening of connections between universities, colleges, and research centers equipped with modern facilities, which would assist students in researching and creating sample products and fostering connections between different fields through the support of faculty members, lecturers, and coordinators.

He also stressed the importance of connecting student entrepreneurship support centers in universities and vocational education institutions with local entrepreneurship centers and establishing connections between localities and universities to enhance project development and better address practical local issues.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) and leaders of Can Tho City visit the exhibition booths of students within the framework of the Festival.

The government leader emphasized the importance of nurturing innovation and creativity in the education sector. He stated that it is essential to set up entrepreneurship and innovation support centers in higher education institutions and vocational education facilities. Additionally, he proposed the establishment of platforms for students to exchange startup projects with enterprises.

Encouraging businesses and agencies to utilize products developed from startup projects and collaborating with educational institutions to provide career counseling, employment guidance, and startup support were highlighted as crucial. The creation of shared experiential and creative startup spaces, active involvement of students and lecturers in entrepreneurial activities, and the promotion of the commercialization of research products were also deemed necessary.

The Vietnamese leader emphasized the proactive allocation of resources for the early establishment and improvement of the startup ecosystem, funding for science and technology development in higher education institutions, as well as expert and advisory networks. He also directed the investment in building standardized laboratories and emphasized the need to provide students with information on startup support policies, experiential activities, and career orientation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reminded young people that starting a business must be based on market needs, people's needs, science, technology, and innovation. These are sustainable factors that can solve bottlenecks in our country's economy while maximizing potential for development opportunities.

A booth displaying startup products of students at the sixth National Student Startup Day in 2024.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training, after 6 years of implementation, the “Supporting Student Startups until 2025” program has achieved significant results, attracting over 3,000 start-up projects from students, and involving more than 20,000 people. Moreover, it has brought about significant changes in the awareness and actions of the education sector.

As a result, 100% of universities, academies, colleges, and intermediate schools have plans to support student entrepreneurship. 90% of university, college, and high school students are being educated and equipped with knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship before graduating. Additionally, most localities and educational institutions have issued plans to provide career counseling, employment, and startup support for students. The percentage of higher education institutions offering entrepreneurship content as a mandatory or elective subject has increased from 30% at the end of 2020 to 48% by the end of 2023, with a minimum of 01 credit per subject. 75% of training establishments have conducted short-term training activities for students through entrepreneurship skills classes. The Network of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centers at universities and colleges have been established with 200 consultants and entrepreneurship support staff. Furthermore, 110 training establishments have created common spaces to support student startups, an increase of 20 from 2023. Nearly 50 training establishments have set up centers to support student startups, including more than 10 facilities that have allocated funds to support student entrepreneurship.

Many Vietnamese students have achieved high academic and scientific research results domestically and internationally and have been recruited by major technology companies worldwide such as Facebook, Space X, Google, and Quora.