Knowledge is the top foundation of journalists.

It is known that the Institute of Journalism and Communication Training is a trusted address in training human resources for journalism and communication in the country. So, can the Director of the Institute share a little about the training advantages of the Institute?
Institute of Journalism and Communication, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, formerly the Faculty of Journalism of Hanoi National University. This place is considered the cradle of training in social sciences and humanities of the whole country. With a leading foundation of basic science, along with a team of experienced and qualified teachers, students will be able to access and impart comprehensive, advanced, modern and synchronous knowledge about journalism and communication. In my opinion, basic knowledge is the most important factor for a journalist to go far and deep in his/her professional fields, not professional skills.
In recent times, the Institute has also received large investment packages from VNU as well as the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for the system of machinery and equipment serving teaching and professional practice of students. In addition, the Institute also cooperates with many corporations, press agencies, enterprises, editorial offices, etc. in recruiting personnel, thereby regularly updating technology trends of the journalism and media industry in general, while creating job opportunities for students at the Institute.
Therefore, the above two factors are the leading advantages of the Institute in training human resources for journalism and communication of the country.

Please share with us about the current role of journalism in the country's development, the contributions of journalism training and research activities, and the creation of professional journalism resources at the Institute for the country.?
In the context of the information society, the media has become an institution that creates and controls the flow of information in society. Never before have we seen the dependence of human life on the media as clearly as today. Amidst the chaos and complexity of both new and traditional media platforms, the press, more than any other medium, has become the place where the public places its trust. Amidst multi-dimensional, even conflicting sources of information, the public will consider the press as a place to verify the truth. Therefore, it can be said that the press is currently the most important tool to guide public opinion in the context of media technology developing in many complex directions.
Saying so shows the role of training facilities for journalists today. When anyone can become a source of information and post information online, training journalists with enough capacity and qualities to create and direct the flow of information in society becomes more important than ever.
At the Institute of Journalism and Communication, students are equipped with a very solid foundation of knowledge. Inheriting the long-standing tradition of Hanoi National University, it can be said that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU currently has the leading training programs in the country in the field of social sciences and humanities. This is an important foundation that creates the difference between journalism and communication students at the school and other institutions nationwide. When there is a good foundation of knowledge, the means, tools, and methods of work will simply be skills. The courage, life experience, and ethics of a journalist are shaped by basic knowledge, not by the skills of using the means.
In addition to imparting knowledge with a team of well-trained human resources in advanced countries, we also focus on updating modern knowledge of world media, thereby innovating research and teaching methods, helping learners update and receive knowledge easily and promptly. In the latest program update in 2023, our Institute's undergraduate training program in Journalism promptly included the subject "Digital Media Technology" in the training program. This is a subject that updates knowledge and skills related to the latest technology of journalism and media to teach students such as SMAC convergence system, algorithms and algorithm applications in journalism and media, Bigdata technology, artificial intelligence technology, data analysis technology, virtual reality technology, augmented reality...
With a tradition of nearly 35 years of teaching and research, the Institute of Journalism and Communication currently has a system of alumni, former graduate students, and post-graduate students in almost all large and small press agencies nationwide. Hundreds of former students of the Institute are holding key leadership positions in these press agencies.
Many years ago, journalism training was still focused on teaching theory, teachers were good at theory but few had practical experience in press agencies. In recent years, how has this changed at the Institute, Mr. Director?
I absolutely do not think so. We should note that the Institute of Journalism and Communication is a university training institution, not a vocational school. Only vocational schools focus on practical skills for students so that upon graduation they become skilled workers in simple professional skills. As for universities, theory is the core element to train a person to work at a high level in their field. Therefore, the beauty of universities is the beauty of academia and classics, not professional experiences drawn from practice, although practical experiences at press agencies are indispensable in the complete skills of a journalist.
Besides, for the media industry, it is very difficult to have a certain experience as a model for a certain type of product or type of journalism. Each product, each operation will require very different experiences and this cannot be taught. Therefore, in our opinion, the most important factor in training students of media at university level is not to train experience and professional skills but to train people with thinking and creativity in the profession.
Obviously, I do not mean to deny the role of professional skills in the learning activities of students in a highly applicable science such as journalism and communication. Therefore, over the years, in addition to training in deep and broad basic knowledge, new trends in modern journalism and communication have always been continuously updated in the training program of the Institute of Journalism and Communication Training. Subjects related to social media, multimedia communication, ... have long been updated in the curriculum. In addition, our teaching staff always has the presence of journalists working at press and communication agencies, specialists, and communication leaders at large media companies. These teachers are in charge of subjects related to professional skills so that students are not only equipped with theory and thinking about the profession but also share practical working experiences.

Journalism and media training is training in political qualities and journalistic ethics in the context of social media. What is the Director's assessment of this issue?
Although there are many factors influencing such as issues of ethics, law, the responsibility of journalists to the public and the times is still an issue that needs to be cultivated for future journalists right from when they are in school. Because, knowledge and skills in journalism are factors that help journalists create works to serve the public. However, the factor that fosters the character and qualities of a true journalist is professional ethics, the understanding of one's role and position in the context of complex and multi-dimensional social media as it is today.
Therefore, in addition to extensive knowledge and advanced skills, training students in law and journalism ethics is a very important task for all journalism and media training institutions.


Currently, there is a trend of “blossoming” journalism and communication majors in universities across the country. This shows that the social demand for the major is high. However, this also poses many risks, because there is no clear distinction in career orientation for journalism students and communication students.
While journalism majors are only allowed to open in public schools, because this major trains human resources for the political system, communications majors in general are currently unlimited. Meanwhile, there is currently no uniformity in capacity, experience, scale and lecturers among journalism and communications majors in general in the country.
Journalism and media training is a specialized, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary training model. So how has the Institute implemented it, Director?
The trend of interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary is a common trend in all fields of science and technology today, not just in any particular field of science. However, in the field of journalism and communication, this trend has a very strong influence and control due to two reasons.
The firstThe press and media industry depends heavily on the development of science and technology, while media technology is a complex of many scientific fields and is changing every day.
MondayIn terms of content, journalism and communication contain a high degree of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature because it is associated with all the multidimensional changes of social life. A professional, skilled journalist cannot only master the professional skills and knowledge of journalism or a single industry. Therefore, as mentioned above, comprehensive knowledge and foundation of social sciences and humanities play an important role in the career path of a journalist. And at the Institute of Journalism and Communication, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, this has been emphasized since the early days of its establishment and maintained until today.
Sincere thanks to Director Phan Van Kien for these shares.