Director of Hanoi National University: Education is the key to turning intelligence into power

In Decision No. 1885/QD-TTg, the Prime Minister appointed Mr. Hoang Minh Son, Deputy Minister of Education and Training, to hold the position of Chairman of the Council and Director of Hanoi National University. (Photo: Minh Thu/VNA)

Our country is facing a historic opportunity for breakthrough development. Therefore, the requirement of building people and developing quality human resources is urgent, requiring strong development of education and training.
On the occasion of the new school year, VNA reporters had a conversation with Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Minh Son, in his new position as Chairman of the Council and Director of Hanoi National University, about the implementation of the contents of Resolution 71-NQ/TW of the Politburo on breakthroughs in education and training development.
- The Politburo has just issued Resolution 71 on breakthroughs in education and training development, which continues to emphasize the consistent viewpoint: "Education and training are the top national policies, deciding the future of the nation." In your opinion, what role does education play in the aspiration to make Vietnam a developed country?
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Minh Son:A developed country is a country with a modern economy, high labor productivity and income, guaranteed people's lives, transparent institutions and sustainable development.
Although Vietnam has achieved many remarkable achievements, it is still a developing economy, mainly relying on cheap labor and capital. In this context, our greatest and limitless resource is human intelligence.
Education is the key to turning knowledge into wisdom and wisdom into power. Preschool and general education is the foundation for forming personality, developing qualities and abilities of learners.
Vocational education plays a key role in developing a highly skilled workforce. Higher education is the core of developing highly qualified human resources and talents, promoting the development of science, technology and innovation.
Only by that path can Vietnam make a breakthrough in productivity, overcome the middle-income trap, maintain independence and sovereignty, and realize its aspiration to become a developed, powerful, prosperous, and happy nation.

- Resolution 71 sets the goal of bringing Vietnamese education to the advanced level of Asia by 2030 and to be among the top 20 education systems in the world by 2045. In your opinion, what are the key factors to realize these ambitious goals?
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Minh Son:A Vietnamese education system that reaches an advanced level in the Asian region and is on the way to becoming one of the world's leading education systems must be equitable, inclusive, modern, and of high quality, achieving corresponding international benchmarks.
The Resolution has proposed eight groups of tasks and comprehensive, strategic and breakthrough solutions to realize these major goals, focusing on three key factors: resources, motivation and development space.
The Resolution emphasized: “Breakthroughs in education and training development must start from innovation in thinking, awareness and institutions. Create breakthroughs in resources, motivation and new space for education and training development.”
Regarding the resource factor, it is necessary to focus on implementing solutions to increase the attraction and effective use of resources for developing the school network, modernizing facilities, building a qualified teaching staff and effectively supporting learners (not allowing any students to drop out of school due to financial conditions).
Regarding motivation, it is necessary to focus on perfecting and innovating mechanisms and policies to motivate teachers to promote their capacity and devote themselves wholeheartedly; to motivate learners to strive to study, research and develop themselves; to motivate educational institutions to compete in innovation, fair competition and cooperation for development; to motivate many organizations and individuals in society to pay attention to investing, sponsoring and joining hands in developing education.
In terms of development space, I think it is necessary to focus on perfecting institutions and synchronously implementing other solutions to create a clear legal corridor, expand development space for educational institutions through a comprehensive autonomy mechanism that does not depend on financial factors, planning, optimal arrangement of the network and expansion of school areas, promoting education and training in digital space and application of advanced technology (such as artificial intelligence, smart classrooms...), creating a space for innovation, an honest academic environment for teachers and learners to develop all their potential...
Finally and most importantly, it is the proactive and active participation of the entire political system and society, creating a resonance of resources, motivation and space for education and training to develop rapidly, as emphasized in the Resolution: “Developing education and training is the cause of the Party, the State and the entire people. The State plays a role in strategic orientation, creating development, ensuring resources and equity in education; ensuring enough schools, enough classes, enough teachers to meet the learning needs of the people. The whole society has the responsibility to care for, contribute resources and supervise the development of education.”
- Resolution 71 mentions having one Vietnamese university in the world's top 100 by 2030 and five in the world's top 100 by 2045. In your opinion, what breakthrough changes does this require in terms of policy mechanisms, university governance and training programs?
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Minh Son:Resolution 71 has identified strong investment and specific, outstanding mechanisms to develop 3-5 elite universities following the model of international-class research universities, training national talents.
Previously, Resolution 57 of the Politburo was also issued to create a breakthrough in institutions, policies and resources for the development of science, technology and innovation, in which higher education institutions play a core role in scientific research and technology development.
The world-class university model has been implemented in many countries, with both successful and unsuccessful experiences. Among them, the three core success factors within a world-class university are summarized by many experts as including abundant resources, favorable governance and talent convergence, which are completely consistent with the three key factors of resources, motivation and development space as mentioned in general for the entire education system.

In my opinion, five breakthroughs are needed to achieve the goals set out in the Resolution for higher education.
The first breakthrough is the policy of ensuring full and comprehensive autonomy for higher education institutions regardless of the level of financial autonomy, including the right to conduct the selection and appointment process for professors, associate professors and managers of professional units, and to recruit and hire lecturers from abroad.
The second breakthrough is the policy of investing and allocating resources for higher education according to mission, quality and operational efficiency, in which priority is given to investing fully in a number of key science and technology sectors and fields at a number of universities with the highest capacity and reputation.
The third breakthrough is the support policy, attracting excellent lecturers from abroad, promoting the connection between talent training, doctoral training with scientific research, technology development and innovation.
The fourth breakthrough is the policy of promoting cooperation and linkage between key higher education institutions by industry and field, cooperation with enterprises and international cooperation to effectively use resources and focus on solving the country's major problems (according to the 3-house model: State-School-Enterprise).
The fifth breakthrough is comprehensive digital transformation, strongly applying digital technology and artificial intelligence, improving quality and efficiency in university administration, training and research.
- In your new position as Director of Hanoi National University, how do you plan to promote the implementation of Resolution 71 in the national university model?
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Minh Son:Resolution 57 and Resolution 71 of the Politburo have opened up great opportunities for the higher education system in general and for the two national universities in particular to develop rapidly in the coming period. Therefore, Hanoi National University must play a pioneering and exemplary role in successfully implementing these two particularly important resolutions.
To promote the strengths of the national university model, I believe that one of the core tasks is to promote the role and strength of the linkages of member universities, affiliated schools and research institutes, promote cooperation with other domestic and international higher education institutions, as well as cooperate with businesses to jointly solve the country's major problems.
There will be many things that need time to be thoroughly researched. In the immediate future, Hanoi National University will focus on developing a plan to implement the tasks and solutions related to Resolution 71, in sync with the implementation of Resolution 57 to modernize and create a breakthrough in the development of Hanoi National University according to the set orientations and goals.
Thank you very much!