Hi every one,

I'm applying for the AAS scholarship and would be very appreciated if you can help me to check this essay. Thank you in advance and yours sincerely!

There are 4 questions as below:

1. Why did you choose your proposed course and institution*?

I have chosen the Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (or Master of enterprise) course for the reason that the course is an ideal fit for not only my field of interest but also my working experience and career plan. In the first strand, my favourite field is business and entrepreneurship so I have opted for the undergraduate degree in International Business and Economics and gained comprehensive knowledge in the field. In the second strand, my practical experience in entrepreneurship and innovation has been polished and well prepared for further study while working in both private and public sectors, along with supporting and consulting science and technology (S&T) enterprises. Most importantly, the course will absolutely ensure my future career success. Learning how to lead entrepreneurial growth or launch new innovative enterprises, for instance, would be a valuable asset to me while consulting S&T enterprises. Such knowledge and skills, which are hardly mentioned in our conventional university training program, would also boost the development of S&T enterprises as well as the sustainable development of Vietnam.

The Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation course at three prestigious universities in Australia, namely: the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University are most attracted to me because of their academic quality, practical-based approach and networking opportunities. Additionally, I am an outgoing person; I always love outdoor activities and networking with new friends. Therefore, my most preferred destinations are Melbourne and Brisbane, which are big international hubs attracting many students around the world. Being there, I expect to enjoy Australian culture and lifestyle with multinational friends from different cultures, experts of various fields and thus, extend my personal and professional network.

2. How will the proposed study contribute to your career*?

Being deeply aware of a government official’s responsibility, my long-term goal is to promote the development of S&T enterprises. At the moment, the S&T enterprises are supported mainly through taxes deduction. However, after 10 years executing the Decree No. 80/2007/ND-CP regulating the incentive policy for S&T enterprises, there are only 300 enterprises registered for government’s incentives, of which as few as 50 enterprises being reduced income tax. Besides that, Vietnamese S&T enterprises are in general lack business knowledge, innovation management skills, R&D commercialization strategy and so on. Therefore, I believe that supporting S&T enterprises in terms of entrepreneurship and innovation knowledge and skills is greatly important in the long term.

For my expectation, the Master course in entrepreneurship and innovation would support me to achieve that goal, foster my career success and greatly contribute to Vietnam’s economic growth. With regard to entrepreneurship, my approach is not to become an entrepreneur but to really engage myself in an enterprise’s practice so I can develop my own entrepreneurial capabilities. As for innovation, I expect to strengthen the skills and gain the tools to manage intellectual property, pitch new ideas, do ‘rapid prototyping’ as well as commercialize innovation. Therefore, upon returning Vietnam, I can become an expert and advance to the top of my chosen field. Meanwhile, on national level, the world-class and practical course in Australia would equip me enough with modern methods and comprehensive strategy to consult S&T enterprises and thus, to improve their business and innovation capability. Last but not least, on international level, understanding the entrepreneurship culture, customs, as well as innovation development trend of Australia provide me with an opportunity to promote the cooperation between Vietnam and Australia in terms of business, economic development, technology transfer and innovative collaboration. Which, in turn, could enhance business productivity and global competitiveness of both Australian and Vietnamese enterprises, strengthen a strong strategic partnership between Australia and Vietnam.

3. How have you contributed to solving a challenge and to implementing change or reform? (Be specific and include: what aspect/s of your leadership knowledge, skills and practice you consider to be well established and effective; which people or organisations you worked with to solve the problem; and what creative methods were used.)*:
[382 chars left]

It is estimated that there are more than 5000 S&T enterprises in Vietnam. Yet, at the moment, as few as 300 S&T enterprises have been certificated to comply with the S&T enterprise policy. Therefore, while preparing the revised Decree regulating S&T Enterprise Policy, in an attempt to increase the number of certificated S&T enterprises, our Minister of Science and Technology has requested a term that Information Technology (IT) companies do not need to make “certificating procedure”, but are automatically considered certificated technology enterprises.

I, however, totally convinced that the term is not practical and should be changed. On the one hand, this term will create the bias among other enterprises, particular in certificated technology enterprises. On the other hand, how much government can support S&T enterprises and how many new established S&T enterprises are far more important to the development of S&T enterprises than their class of certificate or not certificated. Additionally, the “certificate” is needed for the government to execute and monitor the tax deduction policy.

As the general secretary of the “Decree Building Team”, I have clearly pointed out the above issues and persuaded all members of the team to look for an alternative solution for the problem. In an initiative, I have called for a meeting with Vietnam Software and IT Service (VINASA), a non-governmental organization acts as a bridge between the government and the community of IT Software and services businesses, the representative from Ministry of Information and Communication and some other IT companies. The meeting has helped us address the problem for further study and propose to loosen the conditions to get the tax deduction, as well as simplifier the “certification procedure” for IT companies.

In the end, I had written a report to our minister to explain and report what our team had done and figured out, before making a recommendation to modify the term requested. After several question and answer sessions, finally, the Minister has approved our proposal. Now the revised Degree is waiting for approval from Prime Minister.

4. Please:

a) Give up to three practical examples of how you intend to use the knowledge, skills and connections you will gain from your scholarship. Possible tasks can be personal and/or professional; and
b) list any possible constraints you think may prevent you from achieving these tasks.*:
[1 chars left]

1. a) The knowledge, skills and connections gaining from Australia Award Scholarship would help me achieve my goals in various ways. Firstly, The training would further my research in the professional field, which is crucial in making any recommendation for Vietnamese Government while building Policy frameworks, Technology Enterprises Decree, R&D government funded policy, SME support Law, creating supportive ecosystem that foster and enable entrepreneurship and innovation to name just a few. Secondly, by sharpening my skills on leadership, critical, creative and reflective thinking and problem-solving, I hope to influence and lead young generation, provincial departments, to inspire, motivate them the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation, provide them enough capabilities to support and consult S&T enterprise and address challenges in an innovate way. Last but not least, becoming a member of a network of internationally recognized industry experts and academics, from varied government agencies and private companies, as well as Australia Awards Scholars, I seek to get professional advice and any cooperation opportunities in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation. For instance, through professional connections in Australia, I can look for market-feasible technologies, then, transfer them to Vietnam to apply and enhance the productivity of S&T enterprises.
   2. b) The traditional approach of Vietnamese government officials is by far the first challenge while promoting the S&T enterprises activities. In fact, the traditional thought of “managing” rather than “supporting” enterprises are hard to change, along with their “manager” style when consulting enterprises could prevent me to accelerate the development of S&T enterprises. Another obstacle comes from the inefficiency policy framework for Innovation or IP commercialization because of the novel notion of entrepreneurship and innovation. To illustrate, if the R&D results come from the government-funded project, the enterprises have to make R&D property right and R&D usage right transfer procedure, it’s really complicated. Last but not least, the availability of marketable innovation pool is definitely a major challenge of mine while working. In other words, there are many innovations of Vietnamese scientists that are really useful and applicable, however, it’s difficult to translate into the market because it’s unmatched with enterprises’ need or it’s not ready for use.