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When Gates thinks Vietnam IT could be on par with China, India (24/04)

06/08/2010 - 116 Lượt xem

Vietnamese IT industry has yet to flourish, but there is a smooth path to developing its talents and potentials and it seemed Microsoft President Bill Gates recognized them, wrote Vietnam’s coffee tycoon to Thanh Nien.

The following passage was written by the famous Dang Le Nguyen Vu, director of Trung Nguyen Coffee Company, for Thanh Nien:

During Bill Gates’ visit to Vietnam, I had the honor to have lunch with him and attend his talks and exchanges. I get the impression there is something more to Bill’s visit.

Bill Gates is not simply the most successful entrepreneur on this planet, he is the symbol of the United States.

His visit must have borne an economic and political message on the comprehensive and tightening cooperation between the two countries.

Were our preparations for his visit corresponding to its significance? Did our media convey such a message to the Vietnamese people?

Bill is the richest but also the most philanthropic man on earth. He has promised to donate most of his fortune to benefit mankind.

He is respected by the world thanks not only to his huge fortune but also to his aspiration, creativeness, acute mentality, work ethic and benevolence.

Those are Bill’s most precious assets. All statistics compiled about his fortune are just an inevitable product of those attributes.

I know there are many Vietnamese youths who idolize Bill and it seems to me they are only interested in his wealth and not the attributes that made it come about.

Lessons drawn from Bill’s successes could serve to guide all Vietnamese towards a righteous and humanistic way to make money.

Bill is a man practically the whole the world knows. Following him to Vietnam are top international news agencies. This is an excellent opportunity to promote our country’s image to the world, at a time when, as Vietnamese foreign minister Nguyen Duy Nien put it, “the world does not understand much about Vietnam.”

Thus, Vietnam must take full advantage of major events like ASEM 5, Bill’s visit and the upcoming APEC to make the international community understand her.

What lured Bill to Vietnam at this time?

Bill Gates most probably did not just come to Vietnam to sign software-copyright contracts with Vietnamese officials and not just to seek a new customer.

I think what draws him here is a peaceful, stable and hospitable Vietnam. Most important and the strongest attraction for Bill is Vietnamese intelligence in the modern era.

He recognizes Vietnam’s IT potential, which I would presume he feels strongly will play a considerable role in the imminent knowledge-based economy. Those potentials he sees in juxtaposition to giant IT human resources in China and India.

To level Vietnam on a par with China and India is not unreasonable if we care to take a look at Vietnam’s history and tradition and Vietnamese virtues.

Also, it is understandable if we cast a look at the world’s development trend, and the fact that there are currently over 80,000 people of Vietnamese origin working in the world’s most prestigious electronic and computer industrial region, the Silicon Valley in the US.

The US-based Intel Corporation is due to build a $605 million plant in Vietnam. So, the two titans [Intel and Microsoft] are establishing a foothold in the country as they recognize its potential on the world IT map.

But then, have we recognized our own potential? Have we prepared to make it flourish against our backdrop of poor IT human resources?

Thus, we need a strategic national plan participated and supported by private enterprises and state agencies in building and confirming the “Vietnamese brainpower” trademark amid a globalization context.

What can we do to nourish and develop those capable minds so that they can contribute to the development of the knowledge-based economy?

What can we do to be able to make an effective shortcut on technology development and to hold an important position in this IT-driven world?

We will benefit from a shortcut by learning from IT mammoths, especially countries having similar socio-political conditions to Vietnam like China and India.

We could learn from them matters concerning human resources training, master planning for IT centers like in the Silicon Valley.

We must learn and apply it to our specific condition. We must be innovative. IT centers do not necessarily need to be located in major commercial hubs like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

They could lie in other specialized and suitable zones like in the central region or Da Lat city in the south.

Vietnam’s central region is poor in natural resources but rich in studious and capable people; Da Lat city blessing with a perfect climate are potential “Vietnamese Silicon Valleys” where creativeness could thrive best.

Then, IT universities, training centers and IT parks of regional and international stature will flourish from there.

With the innate intelligence of the Vietnamese people, along with the creativeness and cleverness to utilize foreign resources in building the country, Vietnam will learn to take more advantage of such landmark events as Bill’s visit.

Source: Thanhnien