VNU-USSH's 2024 All-School Meeting: "Change" for Breakthrough Development

Opening the conference, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan extended New Year greetings and expressed gratitude to all leaders, staff, lecturers, employees, as well as all postgraduate students, undergraduate students, and pupils of the University. Reviewing the outstanding achievements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in 2023 in the fields of: student recruitment, quality accreditation, scientific research, international publications, cooperation and development, student care and support, administration, and community service, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan affirmed that the University has achieved remarkable success, maintaining its leading position in training, research, and social service in the field of social sciences and humanities. At the same time, it was emphasized that 2024 will present many opportunities but also pose numerous challenges stemming from changes in regulations of the State, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi related to higher and postgraduate education (most notably the issuance of Decree 97 replacing Decree 81), from fierce competition among training institutions, changes in the structure of professions, and the increasingly rapid digital transformation. This context demands that all staff, lecturers, trainees, and students must change and recognize that change is the key to breakthrough development, maintaining and enhancing the leading position and brand of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on the national university map, while simultaneously improving its ranking in the region and the world. At the conference, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan presented flowers and the appointment decision for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, concurrently serving as Head of the Department of Rural and Urban Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, to Professor Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh. He also presented flowers and the decision recognizing the title of Associate Professor from the State Council for Academic Titles to three lecturers of the University: Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Cam Giang (Faculty of Literature), Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Hung (Faculty of Information and Library Science), and Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Lam (Faculty of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language).      
Professor Nguyen Tuan Anh shared: “In the joy of the new year, I would like to express my gratitude to the University's Board of Directors for trusting me with this new responsibility. With my professional competence and high sense of responsibility, I will strive my best to work with the editorial team to continuously improve the quality of the journal to approach international standards. To achieve that goal, the journal hopes to always receive the support of the University's Board of Directors in terms of mechanisms and policies, and the assistance of faculty and staff in prioritizing the submission of high-quality articles to the journal.”
Emphasizing key tasks in training, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thanh Nam (Head of the Training Department) stated that in January 2024, the Training Department will coordinate with relevant units to develop and finalize the 2024 enrollment plan for all training levels. Based on the training results of the past years, and to meet the needs of a large number of learners, the University will propose to the Vietnam National University, Hanoi to increase the enrollment quota for undergraduate and postgraduate programs in 2024 (at least 10% compared to 2023), especially for postgraduate programs. With the strategy of developing the University into a research university, the goal for the new year is to ensure that the number of postgraduate students reaches 20% of the total number of students enrolled at the University. He requested that heads of units widely disseminate this policy to staff and lecturers to encourage collaboration and promote information about the programs to a wide range of learners. The school will also create favorable opportunities for students to register for some university-level courses to promote early career guidance for students of specialized high schools, creating a high-quality pool of applicants for university admissions. At the same time, students of the school will also be given favorable conditions to register for master's-level courses to guide them towards further studies at higher levels. The Head of the Training Department also noted that while the training programs have been adjusted, successful implementation in practice requires proactive and close coordination between staff, lecturers, and training assistants with the Training Department in transferring courses to ensure the rights of students.
During the conference, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Suu (Head of the Anthropology Department) proposed that the university should develop an internationalization strategy for its training activities, using it as both a goal and a tool to create a competitive advantage and improve the quality and position of the university as well as Vietnamese education in the region. The content of the internationalization program should aim to create a common understanding throughout the university: what is internationalization, what criteria are used to measure it, and how is it implemented in specific scientific disciplines? We have been working on this for a long time, but we lack specific KPIs.
Associate Professor Dr. Do Van Hung also shared that the digital transformation project in teaching for lecturers and the enhancement of digital skills for students at the University have achieved many results, especially during the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Ministry of Education and Training is implementing a project to build a digital university and strengthen the application of information technology in training activities. It is hoped that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will be a pioneer and actively participate in this project. In particular, the University needs to plan to develop online courses to anticipate this trend. The Faculty of Information and Library Science has registered to develop two online courses: Basic Informatics and Information Skills.   Vice Rector Dao Thanh Truong emphasized several key tasks for scientific research in 2024: The university's science and technology strategy is very much in line with the strategies of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) and the Ministry of Science and Technology. In particular, emphasis is placed on promoting the university's role in policy consulting. In 2024, VNU will increase the number of policy consulting targets assigned to the university, classifying tasks from the central level, local level, to specific tasks. To effectively carry out this task, it is necessary to strengthen the role of the university's policy advisory council; further promote the connection between scientific research and training; and closely coordinate with localities to develop local directories and conduct research projects that effectively serve the economic, social, cultural, and educational development of the locality.
  Vice Rector Lai Quoc Khanh informed that, starting in January 2024, the University will hold a regular quarterly conference to evaluate the use of equipment and facilities, and to listen to feedback and suggestions from various departments. Based on this, the University will make timely adjustments to ensure that the infrastructure is invested in the right direction, used to its maximum potential, and effectively serves the teaching and learning activities of faculty, students, and staff. Vice Rector Dang Thi Thu Huong happily reviewed the outstanding results achieved in student recruitment (especially at the undergraduate level), quality accreditation, student care and support, etc., and emphasized that in the coming time, the recruitment plans will be reviewed and adjusted to incorporate all new regulations from the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnam National University, Hanoi, while ensuring sufficient enrollment, improving quality, and meeting the increasingly high demands of society. To achieve this goal, along with the decisive leadership of the Board of Directors, the cooperation and support of all units and the concerted efforts of all staff and lecturers are needed. In 2024, the University's Admissions Department will conduct direct admissions counseling sessions in localities, and hopes to receive the active participation of leaders and lecturers from training units, both to advise students and parents on specific information about the majors and to contribute to spreading the image of the University. In addition, it is necessary to focus on communicating information about training programs based on economic and technical standards so that learners understand them clearly and can register for enrollment in 2024 in a timely manner. After listening to the opinions and discussions from the various units and functional departments, as well as the opinions of the Vice Principals, Principal Hoang Anh Tuan concluded:
- The Human Resources Department is tasked with reviewing the organizational structure of the university's units, especially the current structure of the departments, to continue integration and mergers; coordinating the implementation of a synchronized organizational structure between the departments and the structure of the majors/training programs that are being/will be restructured; developing a breakthrough plan for training, fostering, and increasing the number of high-quality experts and scientists for the university; and balancing the training of local personnel with attracting high-quality scientific personnel to work at the university.
- Assign the Training Department as the focal point to review the professional staff currently allocated to each ngành (field/discipline) and chuyên ngành (specialization); allocate human resources to maximize capacity and efficiency without affecting the job position, rights, or professional activities of the staff.
- Continue reviewing and proposing a plan to integrate several specialized fields at the master's and doctoral levels to facilitate enrollment and improve the quality of training.
- The Research Management Department is tasked with reviewing the current system of scientific policy documents, including the recently issued documents supporting international publications, to further affirm the philosophy of "investing in the development of experts and staff of the University in a substantive way." Direct support for lecturers and scientists will be strengthened in promoting research linked to publication to serve training (textbooks, monographs related to postgraduate training fields, comprehensive volumes, reference books, etc.). Priority will be given to book sets that have a wide reach in the academic community, are guiding in nature, and are used by many training/scientific institutions...
- The leadership of the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities is tasked with researching and developing a plan for the journal's development in the new era, aiming for national progress and approaching international standards…
- The Administrative and General Affairs Department is assigned as the focal point for developing and implementing projects to upgrade the school's facilities to best serve teaching, learning, research, and the needs of faculty, staff, postgraduate students, and pupils. The projects should be comprehensive, consistent in design, humane, adhere strictly to legal procedures, be investment-efficient, and harmonize functionality with the school's visual identity.
- The Center for Communication and Information Technology is tasked with developing a plan to review and adjust the website's content to international standards. This includes focusing on completing the entire staff information system as soon as possible, paying particular attention to standardized information on lecturers, scientists, professors/visiting experts, training programs, research results, etc. The static information system should be reviewed to present a modern, sophisticated, and internationally standardized image of the university. Heads of departments are requested to inform all faculty members that their scientific profiles must be updated every six months on the university's website.

On the occasion of the New Year 2024, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan once again extends his best wishes for health, peace, happiness, and success to all faculty and staff of the University and their families. May the University of Social Sciences and Humanities achieve brilliant successes in all areas in 2024.