A chief engineer could receive a monthly salary of up to VND300 million (about US$11,500) under a draft circular issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on budgeting, management, use and settlement of state funding for strategic technology development projects under the National Science, Technology and Innovation Program, particularly those involving strategic technologies.
Alongside the proposed salary framework, the draft introduces a series of reforms to financial management, including greater acceptance of research risks and a shift toward managing projects based on output results.
The measures are designed to help achieve the country's 2030 goals of developing and commercializing more than 30 strategic technology products, fully mastering at least 12 core technologies, bringing more than 10 products to compete successfully in international markets, and establishing at least five strategic technology product chains.
The draft circular proposes six breakthrough financial mechanisms including incentive policies for personnel involved in strategic technology development projects, contingency funding of up to 10 percent of total project costs, management and financial settlement based on outputs and lump-sum funding, permission to implement multiple independent research approaches, greater autonomy in selecting suppliers and project-chain management to provide greater flexibility in implementation.
For the first time, the draft also proposes a competitive compensation framework for key personnel, drawing on experience from Singapore and other countries with advanced science and technology sectors while adjusting salaries based on Vietnam's purchasing power.
Under the proposal, the maximum monthly salary would be VND300 million (about US$11,500) for a chief engineer, VND250 million (about US$9,600) for a chief architect, VND150 million (about US$5,800) for a project director or council chair and VND40 million (about US$1,500) for participating experts and scientists.
The proposed VND300 million monthly salary for chief engineers exceeds the purchasing power-adjusted benchmark to improve competitiveness in recruiting exceptionally scarce talent.
Associate Professor Dao Ngoc Chien, Director of the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development, said science and technology projects have traditionally been managed primarily as research tasks under an administrative approach.
To meet new demands, and following directives from the Ministry of Science and Technology's leadership, the drafting committee has designed a breakthrough mechanism covering management philosophy, financial policies and implementation methods. The new framework places products and practical applications at the center, reforms financial management, and shifts from managing "research tasks" to developing technology projects linked to products and market demand.
The ministry views the reforms as a core foundation for attracting talent, mastering key technologies and strengthening Vietnam's national competitiveness in the new era.
