Department of Oriental Studies - remarkable achievements after 20 years of development

Monday - November 16, 2015 18:59

On November 14, 2015, the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, held a ceremony to celebrate its 20th anniversary (1995-2015), summarizing its past development and affirming its future direction. Attending the celebration were representatives from numerous agencies, organizations, and domestic and international partners, along with many generations of faculty members, scientists, students, and trainees from various courses.

Khoa Đông phương học - những trưởng thành vượt bậc sau 20 năm phát triển — Department of Oriental Studies - remarkable achievements after 20 years of development

The Faculty of Oriental Studies was established by a decision signed by the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi in 1995. The Faculty's creation stemmed from the societal need at that time to train a generation of scientists, managers, and professionals working in the field of relations between Vietnam and Eastern countries.

When it was first established, the Faculty of Oriental Studies had a small staff of about ten people, mostly transferred from other units; facilities, especially textbooks and learning materials, were lacking. However, after 20 years of development, the Faculty of Oriental Studies has quickly risen to become a reputable training unit in the country, highly regarded by international scholars. The Faculty has contributed to affirming the position and importance of training and research in Oriental studies within the university system; and at the same time, has helped to make Oriental Studies a distinct and unique field of study at the University of Science and Humanities.

Over the past 20 years, the Faculty has trained nearly 2,000 bachelors, hundreds of masters, and doctoral graduates for the country. Former students and trainees of the Faculty are currently working in many central and provincial agencies throughout the country, at embassies, cultural and educational organizations, and domestic and international businesses. They have made and continue to make significant contributions to the process of international integration and socio-economic development of the country.

Professor, Doctor, People's Teacher Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector of the University) presents the Certificate of Commendation from the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi to the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Regarding the staff, from having only 3 departments at its inception, the Faculty now has 5 departments with 33 full-time lecturers.

Currently, the Faculty of Oriental Studies offers one Bachelor's degree in Oriental Studies, one Master's degree in Asian Studies, and two Doctoral programs in Chinese Studies and Southeast Asian Studies. Notably, in October of this year, the Faculty completed the accreditation of its training programs according to the ASEAN University Network (AUN) standards.

Besides its achievements in training and scientific research, the Faculty of Oriental Studies is also one of the most successful units in international cooperation with many domestic and foreign partners, including international foundations and leading universities worldwide such as Peking University, National Taiwan University, University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, Ne Woo University, Teran University, National University of Singapore, Japan Foundation, etc.

Veteran faculty members of the early period of the Faculty: Professor Lê Quang Thiêm, Associate Professor Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, Professor Phan Huy Lê.

Representatives from embassies, organizations, and international partners attended the celebration.

Speaking at the commemorative ceremony, Dr. Luu Tuan Anh (Head of the Department of Oriental Studies) expressed his gratitude to the generations of teachers and scientists who contributed to the founding and development of the Department in its early days. These included: Professor Phan Huy Le, Professor Le Quang Thiem, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong, Associate Professor Nguyen Quoc Hung, Professor Mai Ngoc Chu, Associate Professor Le Dinh Chinh... These teachers dedicated their hearts and souls to the formation and development of Oriental Studies in Vietnam.

Dr. Luu Tuan Anh (Head of the Department of Oriental Studies) delivered a speech at the ceremony.

Dr. Luu Tuan Anh also expressed his gratitude to the generations of faculty, students, and trainees who have united and contributed to building the Faculty of Oriental Studies as it is today; and thanked the partners who have supported the Faculty in various fields of training and research: organizing seminars, workshops, cultural and educational activities, practical internship exchange programs for lecturers and students, providing scholarships to support volunteer teachers, and building a specialized documentation room for the Faculty…

Dr. Luu Tuan Anh emphasized: The Faculty will persistently fulfill its mission of training high-quality human resources in regional studies and country studies, meeting the needs of society in the trend of integration and globalization; developing research to provide necessary knowledge on Oriental studies for scientific research both domestically and internationally. In the future, the Faculty will expand its scale of development, continuously improving the quality of training and research to live up to its potential.

Professor, Doctor, and People's Teacher Nguyen Van Khanh delivered a speech at the commemoration ceremony.

Congratulating the Faculty of Oriental Studies on its remarkable achievements, Professor Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) simultaneously assigned specific tasks to the Faculty: researching the development trends of scientific disciplines and universities, especially Oriental Studies worldwide; actively learning from the experiences of advanced universities to develop several specialized fields into independent training programs such as Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Korean Studies, Indian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, African Studies, etc.; establishing an Institute of Oriental Studies to provide training at all three levels: bachelor's, master's, and doctoral; strengthening the innovation of training content and methods towards regional studies in the trend of integration and globalization; and rapidly developing a team of staff with doctoral degrees and professorships. Based on this, the Faculty will develop rapidly and sustainably, affirming its pioneering role and leading position in training and research in Oriental Studies in the country.

Professor Phan Huy Le, People's Teacher and former first Head of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, shared his memories of the early days of the Faculty's establishment.

Professor Phan Huy Le shared memories of the challenging early days of establishing the Faculty of Oriental Studies, while also expressing his joy at witnessing the Faculty's growth over the past 20 years. He also expressed his belief in the Faculty's future development: with the advantage of a young, highly qualified staff and strong international cooperation, the Faculty will grow stronger and meet the requirements of training and research in Oriental studies, serving the development and integration of the country.

Paying tribute to the generations of teachers and scientists of the Department of Oriental Studies.

Here are some more photos from the ceremony:

Mr. Mullath Sri Kumar - Deputy Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Vietnam - delivered a speech at the commemoration ceremony.