Speech by Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long at the Ceremony to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Tradition and 30th Anniversary of Establishment of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU

Dear leaders of central ministries, branches and Hanoi city,
Dear leaders, teachers, officials, employees, workers and students of Hanoi National University and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities through the ages,
Dear comrades and delegates,
1.Today, we are pleased to celebrate the 80th anniversary of tradition and 30th anniversary of development of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. This important event is held on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers' Day, November 20 - a festival for all teachers nationwide.
On behalf of the Government and the Prime Minister, I would like to send my warmest congratulations to the leaders, generations of teachers, officials, employees, workers and students of the School, and all delegates.
Dear comrades and delegates,
2.The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a university with a long history; the birthplace of many of the first modern social sciences and humanities in Vietnam, creating the premise for other fields to develop, gradually affirming its position in academic life in the country, in the region and in the world.
80 years ago, just a few days after the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, the Faculty of Letters - the predecessor of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi was born. During 80 years of formation and development, with different names, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has gone through a special historical journey, closely associated with the historical stages of the nation.
During the arduous years of resistance war, in addition to imparting valuable knowledge amidst bombs and bullets, many lecturers of the School bravely and determinedly wrote applications to volunteer to go to war with their own blood; many students also temporarily put down their pens and took up arms to go to the front line to answer the call of the country.
In the current period of national construction and development, many generations of students of the School have grown up and succeeded in many fields, making important contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. In particular, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, former General Secretary of the Party Central Committee, is also a former student of the School's Faculty of Literature. This is a source of pride, affirming the School's role in the cause of education and training as well as in the work of building a team of strategic cadres of the Party and State. 3.Through the Report and Documentary just watched, we are pleased and warmly congratulate the School on the important achievements it has made, notably:
(i)The school plays a key role in Vietnamese language work for overseas Vietnamese; has compiled and built a Vietnamese language teaching program framework and a Vietnamese language teaching channel for overseas Vietnamese.
(ii)Forming the oldest national educational brand in training human resources for basic sciences in the fields of social sciences and humanities such as Han Nom, Religious Studies, Anthropology, History, Culture, and Archaeology.
(iii)Successfully completed the recruitment and training organization with 28 undergraduate training programs, 36 Master's training programs and 32 Doctoral training programs, affirming the pioneering role in building the first training programs, many levels from Master's to Doctorate, training high-quality human resources for the country.
(iv)Scientific research work has always been given attention with many scientific works being awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize; many national-level research topics have been applied in formulating guidelines and policies of the Party and State; contributing to providing scientific arguments for protecting the ideological foundation, building and developing the country.
(v)With these outstanding achievements, the School has been honored to receive many noble awards from the Party and the State such as: Labor Hero Title (2005), Ho Chi Minh Medal (2010), First Class Labor Medal (2015); and today, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of tradition and 30th anniversary of establishment, the School is honored to receive the First Class Labor Medal.
On behalf of the Government and the Prime Minister, I commend and warmly congratulate the achievements of generations of teachers and students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, making practical contributions to the cause of national development.
Having made important contributions to the achievements of the School, we would like to express our gratitude to generations of outstanding intellectuals such as Professor Dao Duy Anh, Professor Dang Thai Mai, Professor Tran Van Giau, Professor Tran Duc Thao, Professor Dinh Gia Khanh, Professor Cao Xuan Huy; Professor Hoang Xuan Nhi; Professor Phan Huy Le, and many other famous professors who, due to time constraints, could not be mentioned in today's Ceremony.
Dear comrades and delegates,
4.The new development stage of the country has many opportunities and advantages but also many difficulties and challenges. Recently, along with many important and breakthrough decisions in various fields, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 71 on education and training development; thereby, continuing to affirm the view that education and training is the top national policy; identifying high-quality human resources, scientific and technological talents as the driving force and competitive advantage of the country.
In that context, the social sciences and humanities are identified as the foundation for sustainable development, meeting the requirements of national construction, development and protection in the new era. Without strong basic science, there can be no breakthrough applied science, and even less can there be an independent and sustainable development strategy. With its position as a leading center of social sciences and humanities in the country, the University needs to continue to be at the forefront of basic science research and training, contributing to the preservation and development of fundamental cultural values, while opening up new approaches in training, research and policy consulting.
5In that spirit, in addition to the tasks and solutions mentioned above, I suggest that the School focus on the following contents:
(1)Continue to strongly innovate training and fostering models, linking basic science and applied science; develop specialized and interdisciplinary, regular and short-term programs, train and foster people with strong political will, profound scientific thinking and effective practical capacity.
(2)Promote high-quality scientific research, especially works of theoretical and practical value that directly serve the process of formulating guidelines and policies of the Party and the State. Proactively participate in strategic consulting in the fields of culture, society, education, communication, social governance, and people's diplomacy, contributing to firmly protecting the Party's ideological foundation and orienting public opinion.
(3)Actively participate in building and implementing the Central Committee's resolutions on culture and education; fostering the national value system, family value system and Vietnamese human value system; at the same time, proactively advising on cultural policies, contributing to making culture truly become an endogenous strength and a driving force for sustainable development of the country.
(4)Continue to promote the pioneering role in humane digital transformation. Digital transformation is not only about applying technology, but also needs to become a transformation in the way of thinking, living, working, and communicating on digital platforms, towards "digital humanity", "digital culture", "responsible digital citizens", contributing to the building of a national open knowledge ecosystem.
(5)Actively integrate internationally, build the School into a prestigious address in global academic cooperation on the principle of maintaining identity, proactively absorbing the quintessence of humanity to enrich and spread Vietnamese intelligence to the world.
On this occasion, I would like to share more: Currently, the Government is submitting to the National Assembly for discussion and approval the National Target Program on modernization and improvement of education and training quality for the period 2026 - 2035. I request the Minister of Education and Training and the Director of Hanoi National University to pay due attention to investing in the University of Social Sciences and Humanities within the framework of the National Target Program based on the University's proposals.
Dear comrades and delegates,
6. With 80 years of tradition, 30 years of construction and development, I believe that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will continue to be a pillar and responsible member of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the Vietnamese education sector, affirming its pioneering role and deserving to become a high-quality training center and leading research center in social sciences and humanities of the whole country.
I wish you, comrades, teachers, staff, employees, workers and students of the School good health, happiness and success.
Thank you very much./.