In August 2007, after the IMO-48, the Government has decided to develop a “National Program for the Development of Mathematics until 2020” (NPDM) under the direct guidance of the Deputy Prime Minister Professor Nguyen Thien Nhan – who was at that time also the Minister of Education and Training. The chief of the Drafting Committee was a mathematician – Professor Tran Van Nhung, a Vice-Minister of Education and Training. Many Vietnamese mathematics professors joined the Drafting Committee. The critical point of the program as determined by the Drafting Committee from the outset was to set up an advanced research institute.

On August 17th, 2010, the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Professor Nguyen Thien Nhan on behalf of the Government issued Decision No. 1483/QD-TTg approving the NPDM.

On December 23, 2010, the Prime Minister issued Decision 2342/QD – TTg to establish the VIASM together with the approved Regulation on its organization and operation.

VIASM is managed by a 3-year-term Board of Directors which consists of a Scientific Director, a Managing Director and one  Deputy Director. The Scientific Director is Professor Ngo Bao Chau appointed on March 3rd, 2011. He is also a professor at the University of Chicago and thus assumes the director role on a non-executive basis.

The Managing Director is an executive position and is responsible for the day to day operation of the Institute. Prof. Le Tuan Hoa (later appointed as Director of Institute of Mathematics, VAST) undertook this role from June 1st, 2011 to October 18th, 2013. Prof. Nguyen Huu Du (former Vice-Rector of Hanoi University of Sciences, VNU Hanoi), appointed on October 18th, 2013, took over the position until January 31st, 2018. VIASM current Managing Director is Associate Professor Le Minh Ha (appointed on February 1st, 2018).

Deputy Director is Dr. Trinh Thi Thuy Giang (since February 1st, 2018). Before that, Dr. Nguyen Thi Le Huong undertook the position from February 1st, 2013 (until January 31st, 2018).  

The International Advisory Board and Scientific Committee are the advisors to the Board of Directors. The International Advisory Board currently consists of six international reputable professors.

The Scientific Committee was established by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam. The Scientific Committee for the period 2011-2014 consists of 14 Vietnamese professors, including 12 professors in Mathematics, a professor in Physics and a professor in Computer Science.

Although the Establishment Decision was issued in late 2010, the Institute officially came into operation on June 1st, 2011 after the appointment of the two directors. During the last 6 months of 2011, the Institute has hosted a number of mini-courses on number theory, the probabilistic methods in discrete mathematics and on signal processing. However, the primary task during the second half of 2011 was office fit-out and drafting the special financial regime to support the operation model of VIASM.

After a period of intensive preparation, the infrastructure of the Institute has been completed. Therefore, on January 17th, 2012 the International Inauguration Ceremony was held. On this occasion, a forum on “The role of institutes for advanced study in promoting Mathematics in Vietnam and in the region” was conducted prior to the Ceremony.

On February 6th, 2012 the first research group came to work at VIASM.