Dual degree training - an advanced trend

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Vice Principal of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi)

Opportunity to access many industries

* Can you tell us what advantages students will have when participating in two training programs at the same time?

- Students who study a double degree have many advantages: They can study a second major, especially for students who do not pass their first choice in their favorite major, now they have the opportunity to realize it; think more interdisciplinary thanks to more knowledge and theoretical systems; access to many training professions; receive two regular bachelor's degrees almost at the same time of graduation...

In the context of increasingly multi-/cross-disciplinary careers, studying many majors really creates a great position for graduates to establish and start a business. For example: Bachelors of journalism will have an advantage if they add knowledge from political science, international studies, etc. training programs; Bachelors of tourism management will have a better chance of success if they have additional knowledge from history, cultural studies, etc.

* In recent years, the boundary between “industry and profession” has become increasingly blurred; the trend of studying one industry and working in another is becoming more and more popular. Is this an opportunity for students to start a business after graduation?

- In the past, “major” and “profession” existed in a close, organic relationship with each other. According to traditional concepts, students who graduated from a “major” would often work in that “profession” after graduation, especially during the subsidy and post-subsidy years, because it was related to the codes and professional title standards issued by the State. Nowadays, it is true that the boundary between “major and profession” is gradually fading; the trend of “studying this major” and “working in another profession” is becoming more and more popular.

This is normal in a developed society - where mobility and competition in the labor market are very high, especially in the context of the fourth industrial revolution that continuously creates new industries that never existed in the past.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2016 estimated that: “With the generation of students starting primary school today, 65% when entering the workforce will do jobs that do not yet exist.” Thus, in the near future, many trained human resources will do “jobs” that are not yet in the list of “industries” being trained and do not exist today.

Therefore, training institutions need to quickly recognize the trend of "industry" - "occupation" to adjust the training structure accordingly, build new training majors with interdisciplinary/cross-industry characteristics to meet the human resource needs of society 4.0. In that context, the wider implementation of dual degree programs is also considered a trend that is suitable for the new requirements of human resources.

Flexibility in dual degree training

* The trend of “dual” training is being chosen by universities and colleges. However, the implementation faces many challenges, even risks, requiring not only students but also lecturers and educational institutions to innovate training activities?

- That's right! Dual degree training brings many opportunities, but also has potential risks if not implemented well. For students, studying an additional major of their choice means having to invest almost double their mental, physical, time, and financial resources, so it requires not only determination and willpower but also the ability to organize learning and manage time...

Basically, students who do well in the dual degree program are those who have successful careers because the 4-5 year dual degree program not only provides the opportunity to enrich knowledge and acquire methods, but above all, the experience of living and studying in a stressful environment.

For lecturers and program managers, organizing dual degree training also faces many difficulties. Teaching and evaluating dual degree students requires both seriousness in expertise and sophistication in teaching because the students are very diverse, from many different “original” majors and from many different school years… so their thinking, methods, and psychology are often inconsistent.

Besides, arranging the study plan also needs to be highly flexible to support students to study well in both programs, avoiding the risk of overlapping schedules, overload... which can lead to negative effects on learning.

* What advantages do students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have if they participate in the "dual" degree training program, sir?

- Students studying for a dual degree at the school have 3 advantages:

Firstly, the school has a team of lecturers with high scientific qualifications, extensive experience, close to social practice and strong international integration, thus ensuring the best for training activities in general and dual degree training in particular. The school is also the first unit to organize dual degree training: In the past 10 years, it has implemented 8 dual degree training programs in the fields of tourism and travel service management, journalism, international studies, psychology, management science, literature, history, oriental studies; currently preparing to train additional dual degree programs in office administration.

Second, since 2012, the entire training program of the school has been built according to a modular structure consisting of 5 knowledge blocks (general knowledge, by field, by industry block, by industry group, by industry), enhancing the connectivity of content between industries. Accordingly, industries in the same industry block have a general knowledge ratio of about 50%, industries in the same industry group have a general knowledge ratio of nearly 70%. This is an extremely favorable condition for students studying for a double degree because the number of credits/courses to accumulate for a second degree will be greatly reduced (only 30 - 50%); both ensuring the quality of the program and saving students effort, time, money, etc.

Third, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a member of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, so its students have the opportunity to study for dual degrees at other member universities such as the University of Economics, the University of Foreign Languages, the University of Education, or the Faculty of Law, etc. Conversely, students from those universities can also study for dual degrees at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. It can be said that, in addition to its position as a high-quality training center in Vietnam, the multidisciplinary and multi-field characteristics of the university in particular, and of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi in general, are a great advantage for the development of dual degree training as well as the formation of new training majors in the direction of interdisciplinary/cross-industry, meeting the needs of training human resources to adapt to the labor market of society 4.0.

* Thank you very much!

According to GD&TĐ