Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a VND651 billion (US$33.4 million) maths development program during the 2010-2020 period.
The program focusing on maths research, application and lectures aims to bring Vietnam maths to the 40th position in the world’ rankings by 2020 from the current 50-55th position.
By 2020, Vietnam strives to have enough qualified maths lecturers at universities and colleges, more than 70 percent of whom are PhD degree holders. Maths institutes and a number of major universities’ maths faculties are expected to become regional maths training and research centers by that year.
The program aims to improve the quality of maths training and broaden its scale at general education and higher education as well.
Under the program, the number of internationally announced maths publications is expected to double from the 2010 figure.
To achieve these targets, the program will build the Maths Research Institute (MRI), to assist key maths application schemes, send maths researchers and teachers overseas for further training and organize domestic and international maths conferences.
Maths is among basic sciences that have developed well in the country since 1954, said Prof Le Tuan Hoa from the Vietnam Maths Association, adding that Vietnam won one gold, four silvers and one bronze at the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) 2010 in Kazakhstan.
Vietnam has attended the IMOs 34 times since 1974 with 45 golds, 82 silvers and 63 bronzes. The country has been among the top 10 countries of almost 100 countries and territories over the past 10 years.
Noteworthy, Prof. Ngo Bao Chau, who is the country’s youngest maths professor and famous for the Langlands’ fundamental lemma project, is a candidate for the Fields prize. The prize will be announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians in India on August 19, 2010.
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