Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc (Head of Training Department, Vietnam National University, Hanoi); Prof. Dr. Le Quan (Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Hai (Vice Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi) chaired the conference.
Also attending the conference were the Vice Directors of VNU: Nguyen Hieu and Pham Bao Son, representatives from the Office, the Party Committee Office, the Chairman of the Trade Union, the Secretary of the Youth Union, and leaders of functional departments of VNU, representatives and specialists from the Training Department, staff in charge of undergraduate and postgraduate training from member and affiliated units of VNU, and leaders of high schools.
Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, Head of the Training Department of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, presented the summary report for the 2021-2022 academic year, emphasizing that despite the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the training activities at Vietnam National University, Hanoi in the 2021-2022 academic year successfully completed their core tasks and achieved many outstanding results in training activities.
Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Duc presented the Report summarizing the training activities for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Accordingly, regarding university admissions: as of October 15, 2022, 12,845 candidates were admitted to 143 training programs, reaching nearly 98% of the target. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities led with 123% of its target admitted. Of the more than 12,000 candidates, 4,275 were admitted to high-quality training programs (accounting for 33% of the university's admissions). 2022 was also the year that Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) had the highest graduation rate ever for talented and high-quality programs, exceeding 17% of the total graduation rate.
With the strong determination of the entire leadership team, the outstanding efforts of member schools and related departments, by October 2022, Vietnam National University, Hanoi had successfully sent 1,502 students of the QH.2022 cohort to study at Hoa Lac.
Postgraduate admissions have undergone several policy changes in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training. Specifically, in 2022, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) updated its requirements for foreign language proficiency certificates for admission, no longer holding entrance exams in foreign languages as before. In addition, it continued to expand the application of admission criteria for master's programs to some training units.
Regarding the organization and management of international joint training programs, currently, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) has 9 units implementing joint training programs with 24 training programs, including 9 undergraduate programs and 15 master's programs. These international joint training programs have created good opportunities for students to study in many fields such as economics, business, management, and technology using modern training methods of prestigious universities around the world.
During the past academic year, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) also issued many policies to attract students, such as: Scholarship programs for basic science disciplines; Scholarships for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers with outstanding achievements in scientific research…
In the 2021-2022 academic year, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) evaluated and issued 13 training programs, including 3 undergraduate programs, 3 undergraduate programs combined with master's degrees, 5 master's programs, and 2 doctoral programs; and assigned the task of training 2 high-quality undergraduate programs according to the specific characteristics of each unit. In addition, VNU also adjusted the curriculum framework for 8 master's programs and changed the name of 1 undergraduate program. Furthermore, VNU evaluated and launched 1 new program and extended 4 programs in collaboration with foreign partners. Notably, VNU developed the Planning for majors and specializations at VNU for the period 2021-2025. By 2025, Vietnam National University, Hanoi will have a total of 572 training programs of all types, including 192 undergraduate programs, 225 master's programs, and 155 doctoral programs.
Significant results have been achieved in quality assurance: in 2022, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) accredited and evaluated the quality of 18 training programs, including 8 programs according to AUN standards, 4 programs with peer review, and 6 programs according to the standards of the Ministry of Education and Training.
Regarding student recruitment, training, and the competition for outstanding students at the junior and senior high school levels, the school continued to achieve great success: with 9 gold medals, 3 silver medals, 2 bronze medals, and 1 certificate of merit. In the national competition for outstanding students, high school students won 10 first prizes, 24 second prizes, 15 third prizes, and 22 consolation prizes.
The report also points out several shortcomings and limitations that need to be addressed in the next academic year: The conversion of high-quality training programs to standard training programs based on economic and technical norms is gradually reducing the scale of enrollment and high-quality training; basic science disciplines are slow to innovate; the scale of university training is increasing rapidly while infrastructure conditions remain limited; the average graduation rate is only 65% and foreign language proficiency is still a weakness for many students; the pace of accreditation of training programs is still slow, etc.
The conference agreed on several key tasks for the 2022-2023 academic year, namely: (1) Continue to maintain and improve the quality of training, especially the talent, high-quality and doctoral training programs; (2) Attract and expand the scale of doctoral training; (3) Accelerate the quality accreditation of training programs; (4) Complete and implement the Project on Organizing High School Olympic Exams of VNU and the Project on training students from the South; (5) Promote digital transformation; Complete the model and method of online training associated with quality assurance; (6) Promote digital transformation; urgently build software for managing doctoral training, software for verifying diplomas and certificates of VNU as well as upgrade and adjust the software for managing undergraduate and postgraduate training to conform with the new training regulations; (7) Innovate the structure and content of training programs; (8) Expand the scale and improve the quality of training for students in talent and high-quality training programs, increase the enrollment scale using the results of competency assessment exams; (9) Implement training and effectively carry out new training regulations; (10) Review and supplement, improve quality assurance conditions.
The delegates expressed strong agreement with the contents presented in the Summary Report, and also exchanged ideas and proposed several solutions to implement the key tasks and objectives of the 2022-2023 school year.
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) stated that the quality of student recruitment last year saw a significant improvement through multiple admission methods, especially for integrated majors such as Oriental Studies and Korean Studies. Regarding the foreign language proficiency requirements for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students, Rector Hoang Anh Tuan suggested that, in addition to adhering to the criteria and guidelines of the Ministry of Education and Training, the autonomy and flexibility of the units should be enhanced to provide maximum support for students to graduate and defend their theses on time, avoiding situations where students cannot graduate due to a lack of foreign language certificates. Rector Hoang Anh Tuan also hoped that the leadership of Vietnam National University, Hanoi would create favorable conditions and share the responsibility with the University in opening new training programs in line with labor market trends.
Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hoang Anh Tuan, delivered a speech at the Conference.
The principal of Le Trung Thanh International School emphasized the importance of attracting high-quality human resources, while also maximizing the innovative potential of each staff member, lecturer, and each job position.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh - Head of the Training Department of the University of Natural Sciences, believes that while actively opening more majors according to market trends and societal demands, it is also necessary to focus on basic science disciplines. (Photo: Song Minh)
Dr. Bui Vu Anh, Deputy Director of the Institute for Quality Assurance in Education, shared that the Institute uses the results of its training units to participate in rankings in a sustainable manner. Most recently, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) was awarded the QS Recognition of Improvement award. This is the first time a Vietnamese university has received this award. Deputy Director Bui Vu Anh emphasized that in the context of increasing enrollment targets, other quality assurance conditions such as faculty-to-staff ratios and facilities must also be increased and expanded. This requires the efforts and cooperation of all units within VNU. Recently, VNU has focused on ranking by field, a direction that provides more support for training and program promotion.
Speaking at the conference, Vice Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) Nguyen Hoang Hai specifically noted that units should review and check the conditions for ensuring quality (human resources, facilities, etc.). At the same time, he emphasized the need to strengthen digitalization and digital transformation in training, develop training management software, and create electronic lectures. Regarding financial matters, the Vice Director requested that units strictly adhere to economic and technical norms for revenue and expenditure and Government Decree 81/2021/ND-CP on the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees.
Vice Rector of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Nguyen Hoang Hai specifically instructed units to review quality assurance conditions, enhance digitalization and digital transformation in training, training management software, and the development of electronic lectures. In addition, the Vice Rector also reminded units to strictly adhere to the regulations on economic and technical norms and Government Decree 81/2021/ND-CP on the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees.
Deputy Director Nguyen Hoang Hai speaks at the Conference.
Concluding the conference, the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Le Quan, acknowledged and commended the achievements in training during the 2021-2022 academic year. Based on the opinions and suggestions of the delegates at the conference, the Director proposed that the following key tasks should be focused on in the coming academic year:
- Promote digital transformation and administrative reform in the field of training, starting with completing the process of gathering feedback, revising, and promptly issuing and implementing the new effective training regulations; strengthen decentralization and delegation of authority; and pilot granting autonomy to training units.
- Focus on improving the quality of undergraduate admissions and training, ensuring compliance with quality assurance standards; increase the scale of postgraduate and doctoral training.
- Ensure the quality of human resources and strengthen policies to attract highly qualified scientific staff to work at VNU. Maintain the current requirements for international publications in the standardization of lecturers' academic titles and doctoral graduates' outputs, while also implementing support policies to motivate and encourage lecturers to participate in research, contributing to enhancing VNU's position in prestigious global rankings.
- Some institutions need flexible solutions to address the issue of foreign language certificates for students, focusing on the quality and proficiency of students' foreign language skills after graduation, rather than just completing the certificate to graduate.
- Be proactive and enthusiastic in registering to teach first-year and second-year students at Hoa Lac.
- Research into opening new majors and restructuring existing ones to ensure effective teaching; meeting society's needs for high-quality human resources; and increasing the number of courses on skills and applications.
Director Le Quan concluded the conference by emphasizing the key tasks that need to be focused on in the 2022-2023 school year (Photo: Song Minh).
