The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has had a successful year in many aspects of its activities and is currently taking the first steps in its integration with the world. On the occasion of the beginning of spring, the University's veteran teachers shared their feelings and thoughts on the development of the University in recent times, and at the same time gave suggestions for the upcoming development and integration journey.
Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam: Integration requires courage
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has always been our pride and I am very pleased to see the remarkable progress of the University, especially in terms of quality. The University is increasingly expanding its training systems, from undergraduate to postgraduate students. The number of foreign postgraduate students is increasing. That affirms the growing reputation of our University, attracting students from many other countries to study and learn about Vietnamese culture. With its expertise, the University has helped promote Vietnam's influence in the international arena. The training programs are increasingly rich and complete, meeting the learning requirements of foreign postgraduate students, many of whom come from countries with advanced universities such as England, France, Russia, etc.; as well as helping to develop and expand the field of Vietnamese studies abroad.
Our previous generation was mainly trained domestically, matured through self-study and self-employment, so there were many limitations due to little exposure to the world environment. The next generation of cadres are those who were trained systematically in countries with advanced universities, so many of them are very talented. They grasp the perspectives on educational development and update the world university development situation, so they can apply them very well to the management work of the School. Generations of school leaders are also very conscious of expanding cooperative relations with foreign universities to learn from experience and improve their qualifications. The requirement for international integration is very large now and is mandatory. However, integration also requires courage to choose what to integrate, what is necessary for Vietnamese social sciences and humanities (KHXHNV) and for the country? One weakness that hinders our integration today is that lecturers do not use foreign languages well. I have seen foreign experts teaching at our school, they can use both English and French fluently and naturally. It is normal for foreign professors to be able to use 3 or 4 foreign languages. We should also avoid following the slogan of integration without paying attention to the substance and effectiveness of activities. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities needs to exploit the strengths of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities to introduce them abroad as a professional agency. The University has many strengths in basic sciences, let's develop them. Integrate but need to maintain its core and character. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has an important responsibility in advising Party and State agencies on the development of social sciences and Vietnamese people. The University has been aware of this responsibility but has not done much. I hope that the School will continue to consider this as its great mission, helping Party and State agencies build and develop their own foundations and government strength on the basis of Vietnamese "character", promoting Vietnam's influence widely in the world.
Professor, People's Teacher Nguyen Kim Dinh: Development but must always preserve identity and tradition
We - the first generation of students and teachers of the University - are very happy to witness the development of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities today. This is also the wish of former teachers who have retired but still have a strong desire for the University. If in the past, in terms of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University (HNU) only had 2 faculties of Literature and Philosophy, now the University has 14 faculties with nearly 20 majors. This is a great development that we did not dare to think of before.
The second good thing is that despite development, our School still maintains good teaching and learning practices, and the teacher-student relationship is still respected and preserved. Although the leadership team has changed a lot over time, the School still maintains solidarity and unity, which is extremely important for the development of a university. Especially in the current social context, there are still problems of teacher-student ethics, profit-driven education, fake degrees, and internal conflicts and lawsuits... Having had the opportunity to attend many meetings of the School, I feel that the development of the School is going in the right direction. The School is very serious and determined in its development strategies, demonstrated through very clear plans, roadmaps and goals. For example, the conversion of credit training according to the trend of the times is very correct, and despite the difficulties, our School has pioneered in doing it. We have received a very noble title that the State and society have bestowed upon us. These titles remind us to always preserve and promote what we have, and contribute more to the country's science, education and training. We must firmly grasp our main task of building basic science - social sciences and humanities of Vietnam. That is the identity and strength of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Even though it is multidisciplinary and multi-field, in the end we must choose which field is the clearest focus of the University. We still need to connect and cooperate domestically and internationally for development, but it is cooperation based on our position and status, based on a firm grasp of our main tasks. We need to have courage, avoid chasing profits because of the impact of the market economy, losing our identity and tradition. And for social sciences and humanities in particular, we must conceive that we integrate and learn from the world, but conversely, the world must also learn from us. Therefore, in order to integrate well, our social sciences and humanities must focus on what is unique and fundamental to Vietnam. Second, in the current context, to introduce Vietnamese social sciences and humanities to the world, we must have a good foreign language foundation. Here, I would like to add that having enough foreign language proficiency to study social sciences and humanities is not as simple as for natural sciences. Therefore, teaching foreign languages for social sciences and humanities must also be different, not the same as for natural sciences or technology. In addition, social sciences and humanities should equip students with basic knowledge of Han Nom to help the next generation thoroughly understand the heritage left by their ancestors and understand the original culture of the Vietnamese people. Thus, in order to train young people to be able to dialogue and communicate with the world, they must first have good Vietnamese "capital", then good foreign language "capital". Third, as a university, teaching must be linked to research, especially when our school is a basic science school. In the past, since the time of Hanoi National University, there have been many very effective periodic scientific activities such as: organizing year-end scientific conferences in each faculty for all staff to report their research results during the year. And the department must be the core unit, the combat unit to create cohesion between teachers in scientific and professional activities. In addition, the school also needs to soon involve students in scientific research activities and experience practical work while still in school.
Prof. Dr. Vu Duong Ninh: The school is taking steady steps.
In the development process, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has encountered many difficulties, but we have steadily maintained our speed and strength. In recent times, we have achieved many outstanding achievements in the field of scientific research: the number of national-level topics has increased sharply; registered topics have been implemented quite seriously, bringing practical results to serve the training work of the University as well as social and people's issues of the country. Regarding social influence, our University has increasingly promoted its prestige and trust in society. For example, on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi, many topics had the participation of the University's staff and students. We have also participated in many international conferences on Vietnamese studies, where our professors and scientists presented papers that were highly appreciated by international friends. Recently, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement, the School organized a highly appreciated international conference, with the participation of foreign scholars from France, the US, the UK... This shows that in terms of scientific research, our School has achieved many results, making practical contributions to the development of science as well as the development of the country.
In terms of training, the University is still a reliable address at all levels, especially in doctoral training. That is because we have maintained the quality of training even though we cannot be satisfied with what we have. In the credit training environment, some students have strived to shorten their study time, which demonstrates their initiative, capacity and will. With such achievements in training and scientific research, we have a position and prestige with universities in the region and the world. We have signed many training cooperation agreements with foreign partners and in fact have also trained many foreign students from many countries, helping them understand Vietnamese history and culture, thereby becoming a bridge to introduce Vietnamese culture abroad. It can be said that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has taken steps that may not be loud, but are solid. That also originates from and is inherited from the tradition of the former Hanoi National University. The school's goal of international integration is the right one, with long-term and practical significance. It is also the inevitable path if we want to become a training institution with a position in the region and the world. But to achieve this goal, we still have a lot to do. First of all, we need to reduce the "gap" between our training program and the world. There are many subjects that we have that the world does not have, many subjects that the world has, we also have but only at a low level. Only by resolving this "gap" can we get closer together. Second, a common weakness of our country's education is that although there have been many improvements, the teaching and learning methods have not yet reached international standards. Many lecturers who have studied abroad are very active in applying new methods in teaching; many students see their responsibility and position in learning so they have also made great efforts. But there is still a gap with the world and we must be very determined and proactive to overcome it. So what direction should we improve? That is to improve the self-study and self-responsibility of learners. Third, it is necessary to overcome the limitations in the current teaching and learning of foreign languages. Cadres who can use foreign languages fluently in research and teaching are often trained abroad or have studied many foreign languages outside. If they only study foreign languages within the school framework, it is not enough to work and cannot integrate. In our school, there are many examples of people who did not study abroad but are good at using foreign languages because of self-study. Fourth, this is the age of information technology (IT), so we must be proficient in IT, and use the Internet and computers well. Although everyone knows how to use computers nowadays, not everyone knows how to use computers and the Internet effectively in research and teaching. Finally, I think that in Vietnam today, there is a great need for a team of "elite" and qualified social sciences and humanities cadres. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities must train students and staff who are passionate about and dedicated to this profession for their entire lives. That elite team will be the solid foundation to train many classes of quality students, capable of popularizing science and contributing more to society.
