Research efforts for the community – Research Contribution for All

In 2023, research activities of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) obtained crucial results, demonstrating the efforts of the UEH team in increasing academic reputation and spreading and transferring knowledge to the community, contributing to realizing UEH’s strategic goal of becoming a Multidisciplinary and Sustainable University. This reflects that scientists and researchers at UEH have increasingly been facilitated and oriented to carry out research and consulting projects that can solve local and global problems that have positive impacts on society.

UEH reaches the Top 301+ Best Universities in Asia in 2024 (QS Asia University Rankings 2024), Top 301-400 Universities contributing to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations according to THE Impact Rankings 2023, Top 860 World Universities in Sustainability 2024 (QS World Ranking Sustainability 2024). These results demonstrate not only UEH’s education and research capacity but also its commitment to implementing the Multidisciplinary and Sustainable University strategy, using the knowledge base to solve social challenges and create a positive impact.

Regarding international publications, UEH had more than 500 articles in prestigious international journals in Web of Science, Scopus, and ABDC. In addition to the increased number of international publications, their quality was also increasingly improved. The Scopus database showed that UEH had more than 85% of articles published in journals ranked Q1 (top 25%) and Q2 (top 25%-50%). More than 80% of UEH’s articles were published in journals of prestigious international publishers recognized by the State Council of Professors such as Springer, Elsevier, Wiley-Blackwell, Taylor and Francis, Sage, etc.

Along with that, research and international cooperation associated with solving contemporary social problems have also been focused on by UEH when nearly 50% of UEH’s international publications were associated with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (SDG). Many international cooperation activities for the sustainable development of the community were implemented in a variety of ways, including joining public organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in discussing and developing policies on future strategies and models, actively initiating and participating in interdisciplinary discussions on SDGs through domestic and international conferences and seminars, collecting and processing data for the SDGs, adopting and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in China – Agenda 2030, collaborating with NGOs to address the SDGs through student volunteer programs, research programs, educational resource development, etc.

The number and the influence of UEH’s international publications associated with the UN’s 16 Sustainable Development Goals from 2020-2023 (according to data extracted from the Scopus Database in November 2023).

International cooperation in research has also been promoted in the recent time. Implementing regulations on research experts issued in 2021, by the end of 2023, UEH had more than 100 research collaborators, and collaborative activities with these researchers have promoted UEH’s academic research and international publications in prestigious and highly ranked journals in the world, increasing UEH’s academic reputation through strengthening the international research network, serving university rankings of QS Asia and THE, connecting international scientists, spreading the spirit of international publication, connecting internal and external forces, enhancing knowledge sharing inside and outside UEH to develop the quality of research actively and sustainably.

This year, UEH has focused more on calling for international resources and expanding ít network through actively participating in international projects. UEH is currently participating in a total of 8 international projects, including 4 projects starting in 2023, in addition to 2 projects that are preparing new bidding documents. The projects have been bringing positive impacts on enhancing the University’s reputation, expanding its cooperation network, and especially practical significance for the community and society as the content is implemented in the direction of sustainability, environmental protection, digital transformation, and ensuring food security for the people. Results include the Oxfam project that awarded the handbook “Guidelines for Classifying Household Solid Waste”, disseminating legal regulations on household solid waste and rainbow trash bins for people in wards 12, 13, and 17 (Go Vap District); HAPRI Institute’s food loss reduction project with beneficiaries being the pangasius field, farmers and women; DIGITAL-MOVE project with the participation of 13 universities to spread and improve digital transformation capacity and knowledge to all stakeholders inside and outside the university; The EU4Sustainability project of the School of Banking which is the first Jean Monnet project that UEH participates in, and will provide more knowledge and experience for the school in developing other content in the future.

In parallel with international publications and projects, research topics at all levels were also promoted and achieved positive results, making a significant contribution to the sustainable development strategy for the community. With 03 national-level projects being implemented, 14 Ministry-level and equivalent projects (03 Nafosted projects; 11 Ministry/province/city-level projects), 89 school-level projects being accepted, 598 research projects of 1,838 students completed with 457 award-winning topics along with their products, UEH has increased the source of research topics, exploited, applied, and transferred them effectively, promptly updating and spreading new knowledge to the community and society through UEH’s communication channels.

In addition, UEH has organized 22 international conferences and seminars associated with sustainable development for the community, with the participation of international speakers and domestic scientists. Typically conferences include the International Conference on “The South East Asian Urbanisms to address Global Warming”; the ELG international conference 2023 on “Accelerating inclusive green transition in developing countries”; ArtTech Fusion 2023; International conference on “Mystique of Luxury Brands”; ASIAN FA Conference 2023; “The International Conference on Business and Finance” (ICBF 2023); The 5^th Asian  Conference on Business and Economic Studies (ACBES 2023). In particular, on October 27, 2023, UEH hosted the annual International Conference for Young Researchers in Economics & Business 2023 (ICYREB 2023) with the theme “Increasing sustainable economic growth – Orienting the business ecosystem with technology and innovation”. Through the conference, young researchers (no more than 40 years old by 2023) were able to present their research results, learn from experienced scientists, build networks, as well as explore and discover new research trends, motivating and promoting capacity and developing future research careers while contributing intellectual values to the sustainable development of society.

The Annual International Conference for Young Researchers in Economics & Business 2023 (ICYREB 2023)

At the UEH – Vinh Long Campus, important national seminars and discussions took place, contributing many research results to the development of the Mekong Delta region and the whole country, typically the national conference on “Circular economy – Directions for sustainable development” – a forum for exchanging and sharing about the circular economy model between scientists, agencies, commercial banks, and businesses in the Mekong Delta region, focusing on issues of circular economy with sustainable development, circular business models, and the relationship between circular economy and the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, thereby, proposing policy implications that contribute to the effective implementation of circular economy, promoting sustainable development of Vietnam, including the Mekong Delta region in the upcoming time; The national conference on “Application of technology to develop sustainable tourism supply chains” bringing meaningful contributions to the sustainable tourism development of the Mekong Delta with many opinions from experts and technology connectionsin promoting sustainable tourism development; The seminar on “E-commerce – Policies, technologies and solutions” providing the latest information on policies, technologies, and solutions in the field of E-commerce; concurrently, promoting the development of E-commerce businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises so that they can find new business development opportunities and enhance competitiveness in the market.

The National Conference on “Circular economy – Directions for sustainable development” at Vinh Long Campus

The above results of UEH in research activities in 2023 show that UEH’s innovation policy in research has been on the right track and the outstanding efforts of the leadership and research team, along with researchers, lecturers, and officials. It can be believed that if we continue to maintain and promote the above results and make more efforts, UEH will increasingly affirm its academic reputation in the international arena and spread and transfer community knowledge more firmly, becoming a prestigious research university in the international arena.

News, photos: Department of Scientific Management – International Cooperation