A teacher passionate about the field of Psychology.

Passing through the time of war and fire.

Professor Nguyen Huu Thu is a descendant of one of Hanoi's renowned scholarly families (with 6 doctoral steles preserved at the Temple of Literature and 2 doctoral steles in the ancient capital of Hue - the Nguyen Thuc family), and he had the honor of growing up in Van Ha commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi, a land rich in revolutionary traditions. In May 1970, at the age of 17, young Nguyen Huu Thu heeded the sacred call of the Fatherland and enlisted in the army to fight and defend the country before graduating from high school. As an infantry soldier, after 3 months of training, Nguyen Huu Thu was assigned to Unit C16, Regiment 8, Division 324, Thua Thien - Hue main force. In the struggle for the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, Thua Thien - Hue was one of the fiercest battlefields. Because this was a crucial border crossing, a vital transportation artery from the North providing manpower, weapons, and food supplies to the entire Southern battlefield, it was also where the US-backed South Vietnamese forces concentrated many elite troops, artillery, and bomber aircraft that regularly dropped bombs and chemical weapons like dioxin to destroy life, cut off vital supply lines, and annihilate our troops.

It was the harsh experiences of the battlefield that forged and helped soldier Nguyen Huu Thu understand the suffering, sacrifice, and happiness of every Vietnamese person, making his love for his homeland even stronger. A question that always troubled the young soldier was: What can be done to ensure that the Vietnamese people have an independent and happy life? In June 1975, when the South was completely liberated and the country unified, Nguyen Huu Thu was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown to continue his unfinished studies. With extraordinary determination and willpower, the young soldier chose to continue his education. After three months of studying, Nguyen Huu Thu passed the university entrance exam with high scores and was called to Thanh Xuan Foreign Language University (Russian department) to study in the Soviet Union. By chance, the Vietnamese student studied Psychology from 1976 to 1982 at Rostov-on-Don State University in the Soviet Union.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Thu/Photo: Thanh Long

For Professor Nguyen Huu Thu, pursuing Psychology has been a relentless pursuit of effort and passion. Graduating from university in 1982 with outstanding achievements in teaching and scientific research, he was nominated by the state to take the postgraduate entrance exam in 1988, where he passed with high marks and was subsequently sent to Leningrad State University in the Soviet Union. There, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis in Psychology. From 1982, while working at the School of Management Cadres of the Ministry of Higher Education and Vocational Training, until his transfer to the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (in 1997), with his significant contributions to training, scientific research, and the application of Psychology to life, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor in 2005. Continuing to build upon his achievements in training and scientific research, he was awarded the prestigious title of Professor in 2015.

Committed to the field of Psychology

As a dedicated professional, Professor Nguyen Huu Thu always emphasized using his accumulated knowledge and skills in his teaching to impart them to undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students specializing in psychology. With his keen insight, he recognized that psychology courses in Vietnam were heavily theoretical and lacked practical application to meet real-world needs. Therefore, he believed that the curriculum at the Psychology Department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities needed to be reformed to better meet practical demands and provide students with more job opportunities after graduation. During his term from 2006 to 2011, with the high trust of the faculty, Professor Nguyen Huu Thu was elected head of the Psychology Department, a favorable opportunity for him to...tProfessor Nguyen Huu Thu implemented his innovative ideas. He proposed that the university establish two additional departments within the faculty with high practical application: Management and Business Psychology and Counseling Psychology. Currently, according to the training program, fourth-year students in the faculty can choose from four specialization paths:Social psychology, business-management psychology, clinical psychology, and counseling psychology.This has given students the opportunity to develop and hone their professional skills and problem-solving skills in real-world situations. Thanks to this "innovation," the job opportunities for graduates of the Psychology department have increased significantly.

Currently the Director of the Center for Psychological Support and Counseling at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Professor Nguyen Huu Thu sets the following goal:1) Support training; (2) Apply psychology to life and (3) Research psychological and socio-psychological issues arising in the process of industrialization and modernization of the country.Under his leadership, the center has become one of the training and practice facilities for psychology students. In addition, the center provides counseling and consultation services to other social groups (children and adults) on issues such as: autism, intellectual disability, marriage and family issues, career counseling, and psychological support for students at Vietnam National University, Hanoi... The center has collaborated with businesses to research and address psychological issues in business management such as: recruitment; soft skills training; building corporate culture and developing business strategies. Professor Nguyen Huu Thu has led the center in conducting scientific research projects focusing on applying psychology to practice in order to enhance the role, position, and prestige of psychology in society.

And the results achieved

Professor Nguyen Huu Thu has always been humble, constantly learning and improving his foreign language skills and professional expertise, as well as refining his teaching methods to develop students' skills and creative thinking. Despite his advanced age, he still teaches five subjects in the undergraduate program.Management psychology, Business administration psychology, Communication psychology, Tourism psychology, Advertising and public relations psychology); and 2 subjects in the postgraduate training program of the Department of Psychology (Psychological approaches in human resource management (Economic psychology).Throughout his teaching career, he has supervised over 30 students who have successfully defended their graduation theses. Notably, he has supervised 10 doctoral candidates, 7 of whom have successfully defended their doctoral dissertations; and 26 master's students, 22 of whom have successfully defended their master's theses to date.

In addition to his teaching duties, Professor Nguyen Huu Thu also made significant contributions to scientific research and the development of the faculty's learning resources. In the relatively short period from 2000 to 2015, he successfully completed dozens of research and translation projects (from English and Russian), effectively serving the faculty's training activities, as well as collaborative training programs with foreign countries (especially with several French universities).

Professor Nguyen Huu Thu was not only a passionate researcher in psychology, but also a profound mentor, dedicated to guiding generations of students and young colleagues. He served as a great role model for students and young staff members in the Psychology Department to emulate. For us, Professor Nguyen Huu Thu was always a role model in self-cultivation, improving professional skills, and developing the qualities of a teacher; actively and proactively involved in training and scientific research with the desire to contribute more to the training of high-quality human resources for the country, effectively addressing psychological issues arising from practice; actively engaged in domestic and international activities, contributing to raising the status and role of psychology in society and gradually integrating Vietnamese psychology with the psychology of countries in the region and internationally.