Educational trends in the 4.0 era - Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary training.

Higher education is currently undergoing significant changes, requiring universities to innovate their perspectives on developing interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary training for students. With the emerging demands of various professions, training a workforce with a solid foundation of knowledge, self-learning abilities, creativity, and the capacity for research, learning, and work in an interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary manner will create a dynamic and creative workforce that is easily adaptable to the new challenges of the labor market, thus avoiding waste.
Fulfilling its noble mission of training high-quality human resources in the field of social sciences and humanities, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, has been innovating its training programs to enable its students to update their knowledge and ideas while retaining their unique cultural identity and possessing the necessary skills for international integration.
Integrate knowledge, save time.
Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary training is understood as integrating different fields within a single training discipline, thereby equipping learners with specialized, multidisciplinary, and multi-field knowledge, as well as comprehensive professional skills, enabling them to easily adapt to the rapidly changing labor market. Interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary training effectively addresses the time constraints and knowledge base requirements for creating new training programs while still ensuring sufficient general, foundational, and specialized knowledge.
According to Dr. Pham Hoang Giang, Head of the Philosophy Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary training is a key priority for the university.
In the current training process, it's difficult to separate subjects. "For example, studying philosophy doesn't guarantee a specific job. However, if students apply for jobs, any company will require critical thinking, organizational skills, and the ability to generalize problems – skills that are part of philosophical methodology."
"Therefore, we incorporate methodology and philosophical perspectives into fields such as human resource management, economic management, cultural management, etc., to meet market demands," emphasized Dr. Pham Hoang Giang.

Besides Philosophy, the Oriental Studies programs at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have been defined and implemented with a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach. At the undergraduate level, the Faculty of Oriental Studies manages four training programs: Oriental Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Japanese Studies, and Korean Studies. Within these, students studying Oriental Studies are further divided into three specializations: Indian Studies, Chinese Studies, and Thai Studies. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Head of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, stated: "Focusing on research in these countries means that our Faculty is training experts and researchers to work with the 'dragons' and 'tigers' of Asia – countries with miraculous development, spreading the image of East Asian culture and knowledge throughout the world."
According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Head of the Department of Oriental Studies, creating an intersection of disciplines brings significant benefits in regional studies, while also providing in-depth knowledge of country studies. By offering students a multi-faceted perspective on how to approach knowledge from theory to practical application, the learning process will be optimized.

Dual degree program - an opportunity and advantage for students of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
With its strengths as a large, long-standing training institution and a team of excellent lecturers covering all specialized fields in basic sciences, the "dual degree" mechanism of Hanoi National University offers students the opportunity to maximize their time to study and train to obtain two bachelor's degrees within their university studies. Hanoi National University recognizes the credits students have earned in their first major for use in their second major. This is also a major attraction for candidates with outstanding aspirations and academic abilities. In fact, some students have graduated with honors from both majors in less than four years.
Meeting the demand for high-quality human resources.
Previously, the training of human resources in the fields of literary creation, theory, and criticism was primarily handled by specialized universities (civilian and military art schools) and specialized teacher training universities (art teacher training schools). Currently, due to societal needs and the development of universities into multidisciplinary institutions, this field is being developed and offered by both public and private universities. A prime example is the interdisciplinary training in literature, film, and art currently being developed at the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Recognizing the need for innovation in high-quality human resources, in the 2024 academic year, the Faculty of Literature will launch a new major in Film and Popular Arts, based on the foundations of the Literature and Classical Chinese Studies majors.
Associate Professor Hoang Cam Giang, Head of the Department of Art Studies, Faculty of Literature, shared: "In the world and in Vietnam, it is very natural and also a trend for students studying basic sciences like literature to be able to work in jobs related to culture, arts, and media. The Faculty is trying to combine and create interdisciplinary programs so that after graduating from the Faculty of Literature, students can still work in diverse jobs and adapt flexibly to the dynamic changes in the market and current cultural and artistic needs.”

In addition to general subjects in the social sciences and humanities, students are equipped with fundamental knowledge of Vietnamese literature and language, literary theory and criticism, theatrical and film criticism, and film and television screenwriting.
According to the faculty's training orientation, graduates in Literature possess both broad and deep specialized knowledge, good work skills, and are well-adapted to jobs related to literature, journalism, media, research, teaching, socio-political affairs, etc.
Diverse scholarship programs
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has implemented a very practical policy, having collaborated with the Vietnam National University, Hanoi since 2022 to establish a scholarship fund for nine basic science disciplines: Literature, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Political Science, Anthropology, Vietnamese Studies, Linguistics, and Sino-Vietnamese Studies. This funding is entirely managed and developed by the university itself.
From this fund, students will receive scholarships worth 50 million VND per year per student. This includes a full tuition waiver, a monthly living allowance of 2 million VND, and full waivers of dormitory fees. Importantly, students will have a dedicated professor to support their studies starting from their first year.To encourage and expand students' learning opportunities, the Department of Oriental Studies has also developed international cooperation, bringing in many scholarships, scholarships for studying abroad, and internships abroad or at foreign companies for students. The department also actively cooperates with dozens of universities in the region such as Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University (China), Seoul National University, Busan Foreign Studies University, Traditional Culture University, Kwangwoon University (South Korea), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), Delhi University, Calcutta University (India)... to obtain scholarships for long-term and short-term study abroad, at various levels from credit recognition and exchange programs to joint undergraduate programs, or scholarship programs for master's and doctoral studies.
In addition, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi, has signed a framework agreement on cooperation and funding with the Dao Minh Quang Foundation (Federal Republic of Germany) for the project "Sustainable Career Development and Entrepreneurship in Vietnam" and continues to provide scholarships for students at the university. The Foundation will establish and open an entrepreneurship center, guiding students through the development of curricula, lectures, and training sessions to practically realize ideas related to entrepreneurship.
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Vietnam National University, Hanoi in particular, has a significant advantage in adapting to training human resources in the digital age because it is a leading multidisciplinary university, harmonizing basic sciences and applied sciences in the country. In the social sciences and humanities sector, the university has made and continues to make important contributions to preserving and developing culture and education, along with other fields, helping our country to develop and integrate further.

On October 18, 2016, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1982/QD-TTg approving the Vietnam National Qualifications Framework. Following this, on March 30, 2020, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 436/QD-TTg assigning the Ministry of Education and Training to lead and coordinate with relevant parties in developing and promulgating training program standards for various disciplines and groups of disciplines within each field of higher education.
One of the criteria for assessing the level of integration between countries in the region and around the world today is mutual recognition of the qualifications and quality of human resources. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop standardized training programs to help universities enhance their competitiveness in training human resources across borders.
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