Harnessing digital technology in science for Quang Tri’s development

The movement “Digital Mass Education” was launched to signify that digital transformation is an essential and inevitable direction in the development process of the homeland and the country in the new era. In this technological revolution, humans are at the center, serving as the driving force and the resource for development, from which digital citizens are built. Promoting the “Digital Mass Education” movement to expand across all regions and among all groups of citizens, especially those who have traditionally had limited access to technology, enables them to grasp and master digital technology, thereby participating more deeply in the digital economy and moving toward a comprehensive digital society. In recent years, digital transformation has brought many notable results in Quang Tri Province.

To concretize Resolution No. 02-NQ/TU dated November 4, 2021, of the Provincial Party Committee on digital transformation in Quang Tri province until 2025, with an orientation to 2030, and Decision No. 1982/QD-UBND dated July 29, 2022, of the People’s Committee of Quang Tri province on promulgating the Digital Transformation Project of Quang Tri province until 2025, with an orientation to 2030, the Department of Science and Technology has issued Plan No. 15/KH-SKHCN dated February 19, 2021, to implement the national digital transformation program until 2025, with an orientation to 2030, which sets out specific objectives.

Training on AI and ChatGPT applications for officials, civil servants, and public employees of Quang Tri province. Photo: T.C.L

Following the roadmap, the field of science and technology in the province has achieved certain results in digital transformation. To date, the rate of fully online public services among the department’s total services is 37 out of 52 services (reaching 71.15%). 100% of documents are exchanged via the network environment in electronic form (excluding confidential documents).

All department leaders are equipped with digital signatures and have implemented digital signing for issuing documents on the document and work management system. 100% of reporting regimes serving leadership, direction, and administration are connected, integrated, and share digital data on the shared system. 100% of administrative procedures under the department’s jurisdiction are updated, supplemented, and publicly listed at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center, on the provincial and departmental electronic information portals.

The rate of digitization of records and results of administrative procedure resolution by the department reaches 100%. All online public services are integrated and connected with the national public service portal. The department’s electronic information page is regularly maintained to ensure effective, public, and transparent information provision and communication to people and businesses. Information security and safety work is well implemented. Gradually, the department’s inspection activities are conducted through the digital environment and the management agency’s information system.

Regarding serving the digital economy, the Department of Science and Technology has regularly reviewed and proposed amendments and supplements to the system of legal normative documents on enterprises, innovative startups, intellectual property, etc., to facilitate national digital transformation and the development of new products, services, and business models based on digital technology, the internet, and cyberspace.

The department prioritizes allocating science and technology tasks for digital transformation, focusing on tasks with enterprise participation. It selects and prioritizes research on some core technologies capable of creating strong breakthroughs such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR), etc.

Notably, the Department of Science and Technology has coordinated with some units in the province to implement provincial-level science and technology tasks such as deploying technology applications to support the management of relics and tourism promotion, effectively supporting digital transformation in the fields of culture, tourism, and education.

Specifically, modern technologies such as GIS (geographic information system) along with supporting tools and technologies like GPS (positioning system), UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) technology, 3D (three-dimensional computer graphics) have been combined to build the digital cultural heritage database information system of Quang Tri and the application "Quang Tri Cultural Heritage."

This helps users to exploit efficiently and conveniently, allowing tourists to have new historical experiences through interaction with 3D models. The Department of Science and Technology has coordinated with the Digital Agriculture Cooperative to implement the project "Research and application of Blockchain technology in traceability to manage the supply chain and enhance the value of pepper and coffee products in Quang Tri province."

The application of Blockchain technology is an effective solution in managing and controlling the business of the province’s key products, especially pepper and coffee, from which it can propose to expand and apply Blockchain to other products in Quang Tri province.

In addition, the Department of Science and Technology has effectively implemented preferential policies, supported startup enterprises to develop, and encouraged traditional enterprises to take the lead in applying new technologies to production and trade activities according to the policy of Resolution No. 163/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2021, stipulating some policies to support the application and replication of science and technology results in the province for the period 2022-2026; Plan No. 3690/KH-UBND dated August 14, 2019, on supporting innovative startups in Quang Tri province until 2025...

The Department of Science and Technology has strengthened propaganda to raise awareness about digital transformation for organizations, units, people, and businesses; regularly disseminated and thoroughly grasped the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State on digital transformation. It has built working styles and methods that effectively apply information technology in management and work administration at the agency, thoroughly using digital data, contributing to improving the agency’s operational efficiency and effectively serving people and businesses.

It has increased the application of electronic invoices, promoted the application of non-cash payments. Actively guided people and businesses to pay fees and charges online on the national public service portal for administrative procedures with fees and charges when implementing administrative procedures at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center.

It has seriously implemented the project on developing the application of data on population, identification, and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation. 100% of the department’s civil servants and public employees have been propagated and disseminated about habits, responsibilities, and basic skills to ensure information safety. 100% of computers at the department are installed with malware prevention platforms according to the province’s centralized management model.

Implementing Resolution No. 02-NQ/TU dated November 4, 2021, of the Provincial Party Executive Committee and Plan No. 5890/KH-UBND dated December 28, 2020, of the Provincial People’s Committee on digital transformation in Quang Tri province until 2025, with orientation toward 2030, the Department of Science and Technology has implemented tasks and solutions to meet the necessary conditions for carrying out digital transformation in a synchronized manner, including digital institutions, digital government, digital human resources, digital infrastructure, digital data, and digital security and safety. Training and capacity building have been enhanced to improve the professional qualifications and skills of civil servants in charge of digital transformation, including digital transformation skills, digital government, digital economy, and cybersecurity.

The operation of the province’s and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s dedicated data transmission network is regularly maintained. It ensures the smooth transmission of some scientific and technological data such as intellectual property, scientific and technological research results, scientific and technological information, and standards-measurement-quality data from the databases of the functional units under the Ministry of Science and Technology to the provincial department and serves the purpose of data search for citizens, enterprises, and relevant organizations.

One hundred percent of reporting regimes, aggregated reporting indicators, and periodic statistical reports serving the leadership, direction, and administration of party committees and government agencies are connected, integrated, and share digital data on the shared system. Administrative procedures in the electronic environment, the provision of online public services, and online payments have been strongly promoted to reduce implementation time and costs, and to improve the effectiveness of level 3 and 4 online public services.

Tran Cat Linh - Ngoc Mai