Vietnam Has Quantum Software Talent but No Dedicated University Programme, Researchers Say

Vietnam has made quantum technology a national priority. The people who would build it say the foundations are not there yet.

The country has a strong young workforce in mathematics and computer science — skills useful for quantum algorithms, computing and information processing — but lacks the specialised expertise in quantum physics that sits at the core of the technology, according to Associate Professor Lại Ngọc Điệp of Université Paris-Saclay.

"In the quantum world, I see Việt Nam's potential as quite good, but it is in the later part," Điệp said, describing the country as strong in the back end while missing the physics at the front.

Quantum technology is a strategic priority under Resolution 57, adopted by the Communist Party in December 2024 as part of a broader push on science, technology and innovation.

The gap is institutional

The most concrete evidence is what does not exist.

Vietnam has no dedicated university programme in quantum technology, according to Nguyễn Văn Duy, head of the Quantum AI Labs group at Phenikaa University. Existing courses focus on conventional physics. At least four universities are now preparing new programmes, mainly in quantum computing.

Research infrastructure is similarly thin. Groups have begun working on quantum computing and related areas, but the country still lacks dedicated laboratories for many experimental quantum technologies. Điệp argued that training and research must develop together, with investment in laboratories and equipment, if Vietnam is to build core technologies rather than continue providing supporting services to foreign companies.

He cited the French quantum computing company Quandela as an illustration: Vietnamese partners contribute to its information technology work while the company develops the core technology itself.

That is the position Vietnam is trying to move out of — and it mirrors a pattern visible across the wider economy, where growth has rested substantially on assembly and manufacturing rather than on the technology being assembled.

What is being built

Activity is starting, from a small base.

FPT, Viettel and Phenikaa are exploring quantum technology, with universities and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology developing training and research. Duy's group works on superconducting circuits, quantum gates, quantum error correction, optimisation algorithms and quantum simulation.

Duy has proposed joint postgraduate programmes across several universities, pooling expertise and infrastructure rather than each institution attempting a complete programme with few researchers and limited facilities. His group has also run a summer course introducing quantum technology to high school students.

The diaspora is a potential resource. Điệp has supervised more than eight Vietnamese PhD students, four of them in quantum technology, with some now working for French companies developing quantum computers, sensors and communications. Bringing researchers home, he said, would require laboratories, equipment, research teams and an environment for meaningful work — not simply a salary.

The outside view

Two international figures quoted in the report framed the opportunity in terms of timing.

Denis Avetisian, senior adviser at Rosatom Quantum, said a quantum industry cannot be built by buying a quantum computer or creating a single research institute, and requires strategy, education and infrastructure together.

Roberto Mauro, Asia-Pacific general manager at French quantum firm Pasqal, said Vietnam has mathematical and physical talent, a semiconductor and electronics base, and institutional will. "The window to enter this field is open now, not in ten years," he said.

What to watch

Whether the four university programmes launch, and on what timeline, is the first measurable step.

The second is laboratory investment. Every researcher quoted identified experimental facilities as the binding constraint, and it is the most expensive item on the list.

The third is ASEAN cooperation. Duy noted the number of quantum researchers across the region remains small, which makes regional networks more valuable than national ones at this stage.