Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for a robust ecosystem to nurture entrepreneurship and innovation among students, declaring that the strength of the nation lies in its youth.

PM Pham Minh Chinh (centre) and delegates launch the 7th National Startup Day for Students. Photo: VNA

PM Chinh made the request while attending a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on April 20 to review the achievements of the support project for student startups until 2025 (Project 1665) and launch the 7^th National Startup Day for Students (SV.STARTUP), where outstanding collectives and individuals were honoured.

In his speech, PM Chinh reaffirmed the Party and State’s long-standing commitment to empowering the youth as key drivers of Vietnam’s progress. Attending the SV.STARTUP event for the 4^th time, he praised the growing creativity and dynamism of student-led startup movements through each edition.

Since its inception seven years ago, Project 1665 has achieved significant milestones. All universities, academies, colleges, vocational schools, and 63 provincial/municipal Departments of Education and Training now have actionable plans to support student entrepreneurship. To date, students nationwide have launched over 42,000 startup projects. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) has played an important role, holding more than 3,500 startup idea competitions, engaging nearly 480,000 young people, and generating close to 23,000 proposals.

The PM urged ministries, agencies, and local authorities to further fine-tune mechanisms and policies in support of student entrepreneurship, particularly in finance, intellectual property, and public-private partnerships. He advocated for expanding student startup support funds through public capital, establishing idea exchange platforms, and creating startup mentor networks at both local and institutional levels.

The Ministry of Education and Training was tasked with working closely with other ministries and agencies to continue developing startup support centres, creative spaces, incubators, and accelerators within schools. It must also integrate entrepreneurship into the official curriculum and design a practical, impactful next phase for the student startup programme.

Educational establishments, including universities, vocational schools, and general education institutions, were encouraged to effectively launch innovation policies, invest in modern labs for product research and prototyping, and promote applied scientific research among faculty and students.

“The State, schools, and enterprises must deepen their collaboration”, he said. “Businesses, in particular, should proactively place orders, invest in student projects, and accompany them throughout the journey - from practice and internships to commercialisation. Together, schools and businesses must inspire, invest in, and guide the next generation”.

The HCYU was urged to expand its “Youth Startup” programme, with a particular focus on innovation-driven entrepreneurship in the fields of IT, cybersecurity, and digital services; medical and educational technologies; environmental and energy technologies, and hi-tech agriculture.

Over the past seven years, Project 1665 has transformed the education sector’s approach to entrepreneurship, significantly contributing to Vietnam’s startup ecosystem. From 2020-2024, Vietnamese students launched nearly 39,000 startup projects, while secondary and high school students initiated close to 9,000. Since 2020, nearly 300 startups have emerged from university incubators. More than 2,000 educators and nearly 10,000 students have been honoured for their entrepreneurial contributions.

The 2025 SV.STARTUP, co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Training, the HCYU Central Committee, and the municipal People’s Committee, runs from April 18–20 at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. The event is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

This year’s event features a series of key forums on breakthrough solutions for innovation at universities, entrepreneurship in vocational education amid the digital economy, and strategies to foster startup mindsets through career guidance and employment support. Additional highlights include a forum to inspire young tech entrepreneurs, an exhibition showcasing student-led startup projects, and the final round and award ceremony of the 7^th “Students with Startup Ideas” competition.

This year’s entries showcase diversity and practicality, tackling real-world challenges with technologies like IoT, Big Data, and AI. Several ventures are already profitable, signaling strong growth potential.

In closing, PM Chinh expressed his confidence that Vietnam’s 20 million young people, equipped with vision, brainpower, and proper guidance, will pioneer advancements in science and technology to fulfill the historic mission of elevating Vietnam’s global position in the digital era and leading Vietnam’s journey toward becoming a global and regional hub for innovation.