Attending the ceremony, on behalf of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities were Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan – Rector of the University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong – Vice Rector, and representatives from various functional units. On behalf of the Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development were Dr. Nguyen Song Tung – Director, and a delegation of researchers from the Institute.
Speaking at the meeting, Professor Hoang Anh Tuan gave an overview of the University's formation and development, highlighting its 80-year tradition. Currently, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is implementing nearly 90 training programs at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels, including 30 bachelor's programs. The Rector emphasized that while the two institutions have established academic and practical connections over the years, there is still significant room for further cooperation. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding is of great importance, formalizing the cooperative relationship, creating a legal foundation, and promoting in-depth collaborative activities, in line with the Politburo's policy on strengthening linkages between higher education institutions and research institutes.
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, delivered a speech at the working session.
Representing the Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development, Dr. Nguyen Song Tung – Director of the Institute, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome from the University and shared information about the Institute's establishment and development, building upon the nearly 46-year research tradition of the Institute of Human Geography. Currently, the Institute has 61 staff members, including 23 PhDs, with a highly interdisciplinary research team bringing together scientists from various fields such as Geography, History, Sociology, Economics, Environment, and Sustainable Development. The Institute's main research directions focus on human geography, sustainable development, regional planning, and the analysis of socio-economic issues from a geographical perspective. In recent years, the Institute has implemented many scientific projects and tasks at different levels, particularly excelling in researching and compiling local histories to serve local development. In 2025 alone, the Institute has been implementing 4 state-level tasks, 19 ministerial-level tasks, and 12 local-level tasks; the 2026-2027 period is expected to continue implementing many large-scale tasks, including key ministerial-level programs of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences as well as tasks related to adjusting provincial planning.
Dr. Nguyen Song Tung – Director, Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development
Based on this practical experience, Dr. Nguyen Song Tung emphasized the importance of cooperation with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in scientific research, teaching, thesis and dissertation supervision, organizing scientific conferences, and publishing research results to leverage the strengths of both institutions. Currently, the Institute maintains annual national scientific conferences, with proceedings published and scored according to the regulations of the State Council of Professors; at the same time, the Institute's scientific journal has prestige in many fields such as History, Archaeology, Ethnology, Political Science, and Sociology, scoring from 0.5 to 0.75 points. In particular, in the context of research institutes increasingly being required to strengthen their policy consulting and critical analysis activities, enhanced coordination with interdisciplinary training and research institutions like the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is expected to contribute to the formation of systematic, comprehensive policy reports closely linked to the socio-economic development of the country.
Dr. Do Ta Khanh - Deputy Director of the Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development
Based on the strengths of both organizations, Professor Hoang Anh Tuan proposed a cooperation plan focusing on five areas:
- Exchange experts and collaborate on key research projects and interdisciplinary studies with high scientific and practical value, contributing to solving urgent practical problems.
- Cooperation in training, academic guidance at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and recruitment of students after graduation.
- Develop comprehensive, holistic, and multi-faceted policy advisory reports for central and local government ministries and agencies.
- Coordinate the organization of domestic and international scientific seminars and conferences.
- Co-publishing and releasing research papers in journals of both institutions and in international journals and publishers included in the ISI/Scopus system.
During the meeting, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation, agreeing on a long-term cooperation framework in the fields of training, scientific research, and knowledge transfer. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding between the two units demonstrates their determination to build a substantive and effective cooperative relationship, closely linking scientific research activities with training and workforce development.
The leaders of both sides also agreed to hold annual conferences to evaluate the results of specific cooperation and propose new, feasible, and practical cooperation activities.
The Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development is a research unit under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, operating in the fields of human geography, sustainable development, and regional planning. The Institute inherits the research tradition of the Institute of Human Geography (established in 1979) and aims to expand interdisciplinary research, analyzing socio-economic issues from a geographical perspective, while providing scientific arguments for policy planning and sustainable development planning. The Institute currently serves as the focal point for numerous national, ministerial, and local-level scientific projects, making significant contributions to geographical research and sustainable development issues in the country.
