The group always accompanies and stands by you

Professional work is an important part of the activities of a grassroots Youth Union. However, most members are not fully aware of the significance and impact of this activity. How to have practical programs that attract a large number of student members to participate is also a concern of many key Youth Union officials. The internal reporter of Tu Nguon magazine had a discussion with MSc. Pham Duc Anh (Member of the Standing Committee of the Youth Union of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in charge of professional activities) about this issue.

Reporter(Reporter): Sir, compared to the exciting cultural and sports activities that students often pay attention to, professional activities seem to receive less attention. Could you tell us more about this?

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2009/12/23/pdanh.jpg" border="0" alt="ThS. Pham Duc Anh. (Photo provided by the character)" title="ThS. Pham Duc Anh. (Photo provided by the character)" align="right" width="200"/>

MSc. Pham Duc Anh: According to the long-standing concept, the work of the Youth Union in supporting union members and students in studying and doing scientific research is generally called professional activities. We consider these as “underground” activities, which are just as important and necessary as other “surface” activities. However, due to their specific nature, professional activities are often not as exciting and bustling as art nights or football matches. The scale of these activities is often not very large (each training class or seminar has a maximum of only about 120 students), and advertising and introduction work is not really extensive… Perhaps that is why, for a long time, many people have commented that professional activities “seem quiet”, and many union members and students have not really paid attention.

PV: What is the main content of the professional activities, sir?

MSc. Pham Duc Anh: Like other activities, the professional work of the School Youth Union targets two groups: Union members who are cadres and union members who are students. The main purpose of these activities is to support union members in teaching, studying and scientific research. In recent years, we have organized a number of activities for young cadres, mainly presentations and scientific discussions (teaching methods at university level, scientific research skills, how to publish a study in international journals, etc.). For student union members, support activities on skills and methods are organized monthly and closely follow the school year plan, such as: basic computer skills training for first-year students (organized in September every year), university learning methods and credit training models (organized in October), organizational skills for Union - Association officials, student scientific research methods (November), effective learning and testing methods (December), scientific research presentation skills (March), interview and job application skills (June)... In addition, the Professional Board of the School Union is also in charge of clubs and other professional activities; supporting and consulting on this area of ​​activity at the Union branch level...

PV: In your opinion, what are the biggest difficulties and limitations in organizing professional activities?

MSc. Pham Duc Anh: The first difficulty we encounter when organizing a professional activity is the problem of attracting and gathering members. Many presentations, in our opinion, have attractive topics, prestigious and experienced lecturers invited from the School or outside centers, the communication work has used all the available means of the School and according to the Youth Union system..., but in the end the number of attendees is not as expected. Also, let me add that all these sessions are... free, participants do not have to pay any fees. Perhaps, students today have many other things to worry about. Or your studies are too hard. But it is also possible that the topics we choose are not really necessary, the content is not really attractive. Again, choosing a topic for a presentation or discussion is sometimes a difficulty. That topic must be of common interest to the members and students of the whole school, but at the same time must ensure depth, so that staff and students of all majors, when participating, can gain certain results for themselves.

Therefore, despite efforts, the professional activities of the School Youth Union in the recent past still have some limitations: The scale of activities is still small, not really becoming a regular and widespread movement, especially the implementation at the Union and Branch levels; Many student union members are not really interested in coming; in particular, there is a lack of activities to gather a large number of union members who are young cadres.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2009/12/23/1546-0028.jpg" border="0" alt="MSc. Pham Duc Anh presents awards from the University Youth Union to outstanding reports at the Student Science Conference for the 2008-2009 school year, May 23, 2009. (Photo: NA/USSH)" title="MSc. Pham Duc Anh presents awards from the University Youth Union to outstanding reports at the Student Science Conference for the 2008-2009 school year, May 23, 2009. (Photo: NA/USSH)" width="580"/>

PV: So, in the upcoming term (2009-2012), what plans and measures does the School Youth Union have to further improve the effectiveness of this activity?

MSc. Pham Duc Anh: Recognizing the difficulties and limitations as mentioned above, we have developed specific plans and programs for the next term, aiming to further improve the quality and effectiveness of the professional activities of the School Youth Union. For students, studying by credit method continues to be a great opportunity and challenge. Therefore, the activities to support methods and skills organized by the Youth Union, in my opinion, are still very necessary. However, we will continue to innovate in content and organization methods, so that this activity is truly practical and becomes a widespread movement among student union members. For union members who are cadres, scientific presentations and seminars at the School Youth Union level will be held more frequently. In addition, we will try to organize scientific conferences and seminars and build a number of programs and research topics aimed at young teachers and cadres. That is our greatest wish.

PV: Finally, as the Deputy Secretary in charge of professional work of the School Youth Union, what message do you want to send to the student union members?

MSc. Pham Duc Anh: For student members, the most important task is to study. One of the responsibilities of the Union is to help you study, on the contrary, participating in Union activities is to help you study better. In the face of all difficulties and challenges, the Union always accompanies and stands by you. Wishing you success.

PV: Thank you!

•Hai Phuong (perform)