Vietnam launches government scholarships to boost STEM talent

The Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 179/2026/ND‑CP, effective 15 July, to provide direct state scholarships to students enrolled in designated STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) programmes. Eligible candidates must rank among the top 30 % of admissions in the 15 listed fields and meet score or direct‑admission criteria. Scholarships are renewed annually based on academic performance and conduct, with monthly amounts ranging from 3.7 million to 5.5 million dong.

The policy covers roughly 475,833 full‑time students in the targeted disciplines, representing about 29 % of Vietnam’s higher‑education enrolment. The government aims to raise the STEM share to 35 % by 2030. It plans to support about 22,250 new entrants in 2025 and around 30,000 scholarship recipients by 2026, with an annual budget of about 1.3 trillion dong. To complement the scholarships, 90 excellence programmes have been approved across 23 universities, linking education with research and strategic technology sectors.

Universities such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Phenikaa University have already announced quotas and scholarship‑eligible programmes, including data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software engineering. Officials stress that the scholarships should be paired with investments in faculty, facilities and infrastructure to ensure high‑quality talent development for Vietnam’s strategic technology goals.