To make the USSH brand "luxurious" without being "snobbish"!

Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) at the 2017 Training Review Conference/Photo: Dinh Hau

- Sir, what innovations has the school's admissions work had in recent times, especially in the context of certain changes in admission methods every year?

It is well known that the success of a university’s admissions activities partly reflects the professional status and social prestige of a university. Only when the source of admissions is stable and abundant will schools have the opportunity to select quality students to train. Therefore, if a university has good quality (in teaching, research, student support) but does not attract candidates to apply, does not attract the attention of the community… it may be because the school has not interacted well with its potential candidates.

Therefore, continuous innovation to ensure the success of the enrollment work is an important task for each training unit, especially in the context of the thinking of candidates in particular and the community in general about university study has changed a lot. For the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in the past year, there have been fundamental changes in thinking and approach to enrollment. The school attaches special importance to enrollment because this is the first stage of the entire training process: if we recruit candidates who are good at knowledge and passionate about their chosen major... then the training process in the next 4 years will promise many good results.

Many years ago, because schools organized their own entrance exams, the school itself carried out all stages of the admission process, from advertising to creating and grading exams. Two years ago, when Hanoi National University organized the competency assessment exam, the school participated in the admission process using that method and achieved many encouraging results. This year, with Hanoi National University stopping the competency assessment exam to use high school graduation exam results for admission, the school has urgently developed an admission plan to keep up with the new adjustments.

Exhibition booth of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at the 2017 Admissions Fair

- What changes has the innovation in thinking brought about in the school's admission activities in recent years, sir?

Previously, enrollment activities took place once a year in the summer, so the mindset was "seasonal". Since last year, the School has changed its perspective and approach to admissions: promoting admissions all year round and enrolling for many different training programs, from undergraduate to postgraduate, from full-time training to dual degree training, from domestic admissions to international admissions... To effectively carry out this work, the School has established a specialized admissions department, operating all year round, providing 24/7 online consultation to interested candidates through different channels: phone, hotline, email, fanpage... During the peak admissions season, admissions officers organize many online admissions consultation sessions, in one session we answered several hundred questions from students interested in the School's majors, from admission registration techniques to priority regimes, scholarship policies, career prospects, study abroad opportunities... It can be said that in the past two years, this change has brought about positive results, creating timely and accurate interactions between the School and potential candidates.

Regarding the staff, in addition to the specialized admissions department, each teacher is responsible for participating in the promotion and admissions consulting for the School. Regarding the method, if in the past the admissions promotion activities were relatively passive (only consulting those who came directly), now the School proactively interacts with high schools to introduce training programs along with updated information on the employment situation. The consulting area is also expanded every year to many different provinces to create conditions for many high school students to access updated information about the School. In particular, the School has effectively used "student ambassadors" in the promotion of admissions to high schools nationwide.

- Besides changing the enrollment process, does the school care about innovating training organization activities, sir?

In addition to enrollment, innovation in training organization activities to improve quality, shorten the training process so that students can study ahead and graduate early is the top goal of the School. To achieve this goal, the School has focused on supporting lecturers and students to innovate teaching and learning activities, diversify assessment forms, and promote the work of ensuring training quality according to national and international standards.

In 2016, the School focused on innovating the training organization process: building a standard training schedule for all majors, professionalizing the organization and management of standardized classes according to the credit training method, improving the service spirit of the training department, moving towards establishing a service culture in training and supporting students... according to the motto of professionalism, efficiency, and friendliness... In particular, the training schedule both ensures compliance with regulations and demonstrates flexibility, avoiding "dead" time in implementing courses, clearly defining the tasks and responsibilities of each department in the implementation process... In addition, the team of homeroom teachers and academic advisors are responsible for providing timely advice to students so that they can promptly adjust their study plans. The training regulations allow students to graduate 4 years earlier (or later) and the School is responsible for organizing smoothly to ensure their rights in terms of training progress. In fact, many students have graduated after about 38 to 40 months of study, saving costs for their families while increasing career opportunities for the students themselves.

In 2017, the School continued to promote innovation in training, focusing on reviewing and adjusting training programs towards updating, modernizing and highly interconnecting training programs. Strengthening interconnection first of all ensures the right to study for students, while opening up more opportunities for students to conveniently study advanced degrees, double majors in the school as well as in training units under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Promoting interconnection between training programs also opens up opportunities to exchange with international partners, attracting international students to study and exchange... thereby promoting the progress of internationalization of the School's training activities.

Students of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication at their graduation ceremony. This is also an opportunity for the Faculty and the School to "advertise" their training products to recruiting units.

- After more than 70 years of construction and development, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has affirmed its strong brand in the community, with strong innovations in enrollment and training in recent times. What message do you want to send to candidates who are interested in the University?

During a working session with a partner in the Southwest region, a colleague shared very openly: "We see the University of Social Sciences and Humanities as a school"luxurious"In Vietnam, sometimes I feel hesitant to propose cooperation in training and research!" After listening, I jokingly said that the School will continue to maintain its reputation.luxurious"But definitely do not let the brothers have the impression that the School"cool”!

Say that “luxurious" is because of the current leading position of the University in the field of training and research in social sciences and humanities in Vietnam. With more than 70 years of tradition and more than 60 years of training and research, the former General University and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities today are the cradle of training talents for the country, with many big names in the fields of science, politics and management; is a trusted partner of more than 250 international universities and research institutes wanting to cooperate in education and science with Vietnam. Currently, the University is organizing training in 29 bachelor's majors, more than 30 master's majors and more than 30 doctoral majors; it can be said that the majors in the field of social sciences and humanities are present in a total of 98 training programs of the University, from basic sciences such as Philosophy, Literature, History, Linguistics... to modern and applied sciences such as Management Science, Journalism Journalism - Communication, Public Relations, International Studies, Oriental Studies (Korean Studies, Japanese Studies, Chinese Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, Iranian Studies, Indian Studies...), Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Religious Studies...

To avoid being criticized "cool", in the past year, the School has drastically innovated its working, teaching and learning style. With the motto of taking the "teaching" activities of lecturers and the "learning" of students as the center, with the spirit of best serving the training and research work, an atmosphere of innovation and openness, a spirit of service has truly spread among the staff and students of the School. Along with that, the School has also drastically adjusted the administrative procedures to make it most convenient for learners and teachers... Therefore, the School always wants to build and enhance the USSH brand "luxurious" without "cool" in the eyes of the academic community at home and abroad!

Student ambassadors of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities at the Launch Ceremony of the 2017 Student Ambassador Program. The ambassadors will bring information and images of the School to 140 high schools in Hanoi and act as a bridge between the School and high school students during this year's university admission season.

- One of the top concerns when candidates decide to choose a school and major is job opportunities after graduation, especially the opportunity to work close to/in the same field... Do you have anything to share with us about this issue?

For many years, the School has regularly conducted surveys on the employment situation of students after graduation and considers this an important task to adjust the training orientation of the School as well as its responsibility to society and the community. According to the latest survey data in March 2017, the rate of graduates at the time of the survey who are employed or studying to improve their qualifications is 93.1%, if only calculating the rate of graduates participating in the labor market, it is 84.2%. In particular, a very interesting fact is the dynamism of the School's students in the following fields of work: private economic sector (67.9%), foreign joint venture economic sector (15.1%), state sector (14.0%), self-employed students (3.0%). In particular, the level of satisfaction with jobs that are right/near professional is about 80%.

In reality, the concept of right/near expertise also needs to be understood flexibly, is relative, and is difficult to define because it depends on each individual's point of view. For example, a bachelor of Sociology decides to choose a job in the field of communication but related to social work instead of pursuing a career in Sociology research; a bachelor of Social Work sets up a center for consulting and supporting employment for people with disabilities; a bachelor of Tourism Management opens his own travel company; a bachelor of History opens a consulting office on cultural heritage... can all be considered right or near the trained profession. The concept of right/near expertise now does not depend on the parents' feelings about their children applying to government agencies... but is more closely linked to the level of satisfaction of the graduates themselves with the job they choose - even if that job is entirely in the private sector.

In the context of globalization and integration as it is today, the labor market has many fluctuations. Not only in Vietnam but also in countries in the region and around the world, workers are facing this reality. Competition naturally creates great challenges for everyone, but it also brings opportunities. For students majoring in social sciences and humanities, the opportunity for real success is not small in the context of many economic, financial, and technical fields having surplus human resources; at the same time, many interdisciplinary fields of social sciences and humanities are asserting their position in modern society, such as Psychology, Social Work, Communications, Management, Cultural Resources, etc. However, to succeed in a competitive labor market like today, each student must assert himself with real capacity (good expertise, fluent foreign languages, good skills, positive working attitude, etc.) and cannot rely purely on a degree, regardless of the level of the degree.

Thank you for sharing the above!