From 2000 onward, the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) – also known as digital revolution has been growing rapidly all over the world. IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR)…this revolution is transforming the whole real world into a digital world. The 4IR is gradually spreading to Viet Nam and has positive impacts on society.

In order to evaluate the potential of Vietnam as well as opportunities and challenges that the country has to face in participating in the 4IR; on May 26, Ho Chi Minh City Open University (OU) cooperated with Central Economic Commission to hold a conference on “Vietnam’s Policies to Actively Participate in The Fourth Industrial Revolution” at campus 97 Vo Van Tan, District 3, HCM City.

Attending the conference, there was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Vice Minister of Ministry of Education and Training. Chairpersons of the conference are Dr. Le Xuan Thanh – Director General of Department of Industry, Central Economic Commission; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Ha – Vice Rector of OU; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nhan – Vice Rector of OU; Dr. Le Thai Thuong Quan – Head of Office of Cooperation and Research Management, OU.

The conference discussed the key question “What should Viet Nam prepare when enter the 4IR era?” Throughout four presentations, the conference explored the extremely practical and meaningful perspectives of the 4.0 revolution around hot issues in Vietnam. It then proposed guidelines and policies for Vietnam to create a progressive development for the Vietnamese technology and take control of the revolution. In the speech "Industrial Revolution 4.0 in Healthcare Management," Dr. Nguyen Van Du mentioned the overcrowding in the health sector, lack of trust in local health facilities, increase of medical examination and treatment cost, and poor condition of healthcare system. Therefore, he said, “we need digital applications, artificial intelligence and scientific research development in linking healthcare network to improve social security systems.” In addition to opportunities, the challenges faced by Vietnam are the issue of policy and state law on the legal corridor without knowing the rights and responsibilities of the health care team, because of not working directly with patients. After the presentations, the guests exchanged, suggested creative and practical ideas to clarify the comprehensive impact of the 4IR.

OU understands the importance and the impact of the 4IR on society. Therefore, the university always creates opportunities for students to integrate theory and practice in learning. Ho Chi Minh City Open University aims at developing high-quality human resources in order to meet the country’s development demand.