High-quality training for human resources in journalism.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, the Journalist Magazine conducted an interview with Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Van Huong - Head of the Faculty. Below is the full text of this interview. - Over its 20 years of establishment and growth, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication has achieved remarkable accomplishments in training young journalists for the country. Could you please highlight some of the most outstanding achievements?Over the past 20 years, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication has achieved many remarkable accomplishments: building a teaching staff including 1 professor, 5 associate professors, 2 doctors of science, 7 doctors, 3 doctoral candidates, 3 masters, and inviting approximately 35-40 journalists to participate in training. The Faculty has trained nearly 7,000 journalists and 250 masters in journalism for the national press, and is currently training 1,200 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The Faculty has also compiled 13 specialized textbooks, dozens of monographs and reference books, achieving 70% of the materials for the subjects; conducted research on 13 scientific projects at the ministerial and VNU levels, and published nearly 800 scientific articles in domestic and international journals, conferences, and seminars. The Faculty maintains close and effective cooperation with training institutions and media agencies in Vietnam and other countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, Russia, Singapore, France, and the United Kingdom in the field of mass media communication. The Faculty has received numerous commendations and other prestigious awards from the Prime Minister and the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi. It can be said that the Faculty of Journalism and Communication (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi) has made a significant and effective contribution to the overall achievements of Vietnamese journalism during the Doi Moi (Renovation) period.- The country and the education sector have entered a period of reform with a multitude of advantages and difficulties always going hand in hand. How has the Faculty reformed itself to keep up with the general changes and meet the demands of journalism and media?- As the country undergoes reforms, so too does the press. Global media is developing rapidly, and the public's demand for information, entertainment, and commerce is increasing. In this general trend, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication has promptly adapted and made reasonable and effective adjustments. These include: completing the training levels from bachelor's to master's to doctoral; shifting the training method from a semester-based system to a credit-based system; innovating and supplementing the training curriculum (adding more new subjects, increasing practical skills, reducing theoretical hours); diversifying training types to meet social needs (full-time, part-time, second degree, short-term, etc.); renaming the Faculty of Journalism to the Faculty of Journalism and Communication to open a new major (Public Relations – PR); investing 30 billion VND in facilities and equipment from 2009 to 2011 with state funding; and expanding international training partnerships and cooperation. Of course, during this adjustment process, some things have been successful, some are awaiting further development, and some are not yet perfect. However, change and innovation must be pursued in a modern, scientific, professional, and humane direction.- After each graduating class, what has been the employment situation for students in the Faculty over the past 20 years? Does the Faculty summarize this situation annually or every few years? If so, what are the results? Could you please provide some figures, Associate Professor?- We haven't been able to compile complete and detailed statistics on this. However, it's clear that the employment opportunities for journalism and communication students today are very diverse, varied, active, and proactive. This means some students work in print, radio, television, online news agencies, news organizations, photojournalism, etc.; others work in media companies, joint ventures, economic corporations, political, social, and professional organizations, central and local press management agencies; some work in event organization, advertising, marketing, media brokerage, or even start their own companies. The trend is that while many professions previously involved journalism, now journalism graduates are involved in many different fields. Therefore, the career prospects for journalism and communication graduates are very broad. Therefore, the number of people studying journalism and communication remains high each year, due to societal demand and the students' own regulation and adjustment of "input" and "output" in this field.- Public opinion, often rising around Vietnam Press Day (June 21st), suggests that journalism training institutions produce graduates who are detached from the realities of journalism and the demands of newspapers; newsrooms often have to retrain newly graduated journalism students to meet their specific requirements. What are your thoughts on this assessment, Associate Professor?- I both agree and disagree. I agree because the quality of training is not high enough, the entrance requirements are not "standard," the workforce is not attractive to employers, there is a lack of practical skills and professionalism, the facilities are inadequate, the teaching staff is insufficient and still heavily "academic,"... I disagree because not all graduates are bad. In reality, not every 100 students become 100 excellent journalists. Among those 100, there are many different levels. I think that out of 100 students, having 3-5 who write well is already a great achievement. This profession is also very difficult; you choose the profession when you study, but the profession chooses you in life. There is a very high rate of attrition. Only those with passion, perseverance, and skill can survive in this profession. In fact, we have trained nearly 7,000 journalists, including about 50 alumni currently working at media organizations who have won national and international journalism awards. Many of them have won awards multiple times. Many journalists and media organizations have also given positive assessments of the qualities and work capabilities of our journalism students.- How does the Faculty of Broadcasting and Communication outline its future path?Although the Faculty of Journalism and Communication has accomplished much over the past 20 years, there is still much work to be done to meet the demands and changing circumstances. Accordingly, the following will be undertaken: * Continuing to build a highly qualified teaching and research staff. * Innovating and updating training programs. * Opening new majors in the field of mass communication. * Researching urgent theoretical and practical issues of journalism and communication both domestically and internationally. * Establishing international training partnerships and expanding international cooperation. * Innovating training methods and thinking to be practical, high-quality, and effective. * Building infrastructure and equipment commensurate with training high-quality human resources for the country's journalism and communication sector. These development directions must be implemented synchronously and decisively, with the support and cooperation of journalists and news agencies both domestically and internationally, in order to become a reality.Thank you, Associate Professor Dr. Dinh Van Huong!