University of Social Sciences and Humanities successfully organized the Digital Competency Workshop for Students in the Context of Digital Transformation of Higher Education

Attending the Workshop, on behalf of Ministries, Departments, Branches and Associations, there were: Dr. Nguyen Son Hai - Director of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Education and Training; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Xuan Nhi - Permanent Vice President of the Association of Vietnamese Universities and Colleges, Former Deputy Minister of Education and Training; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Tuan - Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society - Ministry of Information and Communications; On behalf of Hanoi National University, there was Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Bao Son - Vice President of Hanoi National University.
With representatives of the leaders of the Functional Departments, member Schools, Faculties and affiliated Centers and Institutes; On the side of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, there was Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU.
Assoc.Prof.Dr. Dao Thanh Truong - Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, representatives of departments, lecturers of affiliated faculties/departments. On behalf of Meta Group: Mr. Ruici Tio, Manager of Asia-Pacific Policy Program - Meta Group; Ms. Thao Griffiths - Director of Public Policy for Vietnam Market - Meta Group.
The workshop attracted the attention and participation of many managers, scientists, educators, leading experts in the fields of digital transformation, information technology and higher education, along with representatives of leaders of universities, colleges, and businesses nationwide.
The workshop also had the participation of nearly 700 readers who are experts, managers, researchers, and Gen Z students across the country via the Zoom Meeting platform.
The workshop received the attention of news agencies and newspapers attending and reporting: VTV1, National Assembly Television, Vietnam News Agency, Dan Tri newspaper, Education and Times newspaper, Vn Express newspaper,...
The world is entering the era of digital transformation, a process associated with the application of digital technology to all aspects of human social life. Vietnam is not outside of that process. The Vietnamese Government has very specific policies to promote comprehensive digital transformation such as the "National Digital Transformation Program to 2025, with a vision to 2030". To achieve these goals, improving the digital capacity of each citizen, especially students - the next generation of human resources in the near future - is a very important issue. Therefore, from 2020 to present, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU has cooperated with Meta Group to implement the project "Improving digital capacity for students" and has achieved many positive results. The project has integrated digital skills training content from Meta Group's Digital Age Thinking program into the "Introduction to Information Competency" course and trained more than 2,000 students; Built a digital competency framework for students and digital competency development materials; Established a Digital Humanities Club, organized a video creation contest "Messages for the digital generation" on a national scale.
Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU, in his opening speech at the workshop, shared his view: “It can be said that, as “digital natives”, Vietnamese students have all the qualities and opportunities to develop comprehensively in the digital environment. In particular, students aged 18 - 22 will be the pillars and owners of the country, so being equipped with digital capacity to prepare to enter the labor market is extremely important. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is very pleased and grateful for the cooperation and companionship of Meta Group, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi to implement many meaningful programs, contributing to building high-quality human resources and promoting Vietnam to become a digital nation in the future”. Dr. Nguyen Son Hai - Director of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Education and Training said: “Today's workshop on Digital Competency for Students in the Context of Digital Transformation of Higher Education, jointly organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (VNU) and Meta Group, is very timely and useful. I highly appreciate the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for proactively researching and applying the Digital Competency Framework for Students, which demonstrates the University's pioneering role in innovation and digital transformation.”

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Ruici Tio, Policy Program Manager, Asia-Pacific Region, Meta Group said: “I am very proud that through the cooperation program with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU, for the first time, Meta Group has supported the design and introduction of a credit-based Digital Competency course for students. This is one of our efforts to respond to the National Digital Transformation Program and contribute to building a Digital Society. Through this program, we hope to promote a generation of responsible digital citizens, who are equipped with critical thinking and digital skills to confidently participate in the online environment safely, ready to approach future careers and become creative innovators.” Through live reports create Workshops:Digital transformation and digital workforce(Prof. Dr. Ho Tu Bao - Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics);Breakthrough in national digital human resource development strategy in the Digital Economy and Digital Society Development Strategy to 2025 and orientation to 2030(Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Tuan - Director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society - Ministry of Information and Communications), The workshop provided information on the current situation and importance of digital capacity for 21st century citizens, and discussed the advantages, difficulties and potential strategies to promote higher education institutions to improve digital capacity for students. Many useful documents such as the Digital Capacity Framework, Handbook and Monograph on Digital Capacity for Students were shared at the workshop. In particular, within the framework of the workshop, the group of experts from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities announced the first Digital Competency Framework for students in Vietnam, based on the research process and reference to many popular digital competency frameworks in the world. This competency framework has been widely referenced by domestic training units to build digital competency development programs, with the goal of helping learners acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to study, work and communicate positively and safely in the digital environment. At the same time, two documents, the “Digital Competency Development Handbook” and the “Digital Competency Monograph”, were introduced in detail by the editorial team at the Workshop: about the content and how to use it effectively. This is an important result of the close cooperation between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU and Meta Group over the past 2 years, with a common vision of developing comprehensive digital competencies, helping students to be proactive and creative in learning and developing their careers in the digital world. The set of documents will be taught at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU, in parallel with the introduction of the Digital Competency subject into the Information Management bachelor's program.
At the workshop, experts in the field of digital transformation from ministries, associations and universities discussed and shared key contents: clarifying the concept of digital capacity, what is its meaning? the current situation, demand for human resources with digital capacity in Vietnam and related policies, and fundamental solutions to enhance digital capacity for students.