HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and Japan are seeking to deepen cooperation in semiconductors by linking education, research, manufacturing and supply chains to develop workforce and turn capital inflow into domestic capabilities, experts said at the Vietnam-Japan Semiconductor Symposium 2026 (VJSS-2026), held on September 20-21 in Hà Nội.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Lê Xuân Định said Việt Nam and Japan had complementary strengths that could support a more integrated semiconductor ecosystem.
Japan has strengths in semiconductor materials, manufacturing equipment, precision engineering and quality control, while Việt Nam has a young workforce, a growing electronics manufacturing base and plans to expand training and research in semiconductors, Định said.
Cooperation should move beyond traditional models centred on Vietnamese students studying in Japan or Japanese companies investing in Việt Nam, toward a connected system involving universities, research institutions and businesses, he stressed. Universities and companies could work more closely on curriculum development and training.
Việt Nam aims to train 50,000 university-educated workers for the semiconductor industry by 2030, but faces challenges including a shortage of practical training infrastructure, advanced laboratories and qualified teaching staff.
Định proposed a long-term bilateral programme for semiconductor workforce development based on international standards, expanded postgraduate programmes, faculty exchanges and more opportunities for corporate internships.
The two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership provides a framework for expanding cooperation in the sector, Định stressed.
Japanese Ambassador Ito Naoki said joint workforce development could create significant long-term value for both countries’ semiconductor industries. He highlighted the need for advanced research facilities, suitable equipment, access to knowledge and stronger links between researchers and businesses in the two countries.
Value chain participation
Experts stressed that investment should be accompanied by technology transfer and greater participation by Vietnamese companies in supply chains, which is considered key to turn capital inflow into domestic production capablity.
Việt Nam wants to attract high-quality Japanese investment while supporting domestic companies in becoming suppliers of components, materials, equipment and technical services, as well as participating in higher-value stages of semiconductor production.
Bùi Thế Duy, director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said the university considered semiconductors a strategic technology priority and was developing research and training capabilities spanning materials, chip design, manufacturing, packaging, testing and workforce development.
According to Trần Xuân Tú, director of the Institute of Information Technology at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, the shift from low-power IoT toward artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) was changing the requirements for semiconductor and device design.
AI-enabled edge devices need to combine connectivity, sensing and low power consumption with local processing, real-time operation and security despite limited resources, he said.
Researchers are therefore focusing on hardware-software co-design, lightweight AI, ultra-low-power computing architectures and embedded security.
The events also featured lectures by Japanese researchers on chip design and manufacturing, next-generation compound semiconductors and spintronics.
Closer links between universities, research institutes, businesses and government agencies would be important to align training and research with industrial needs and facilitate the testing, transfer and commercialisation of research results, experts said. — VNS
