For final-year students in the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, completing a graduation thesis is a source of great pride. The graduation thesis is a special assignment that not only allows students to showcase the knowledge and skills accumulated throughout their university years, but also reflects their research inclinations and interests in current social issues from a professional perspective. Many theses have been highly praised by professors for the novelty of their topics, their insightful thinking and observations, or simply the significant effort and passion students have invested in their theses. For many, the graduation thesis is also a crucial bridge to their desired career.
Best thesis
With a score of 9.86, Bui Bich Lan became the student with the highest graduation thesis score in the Faculty of Journalism and Communication with the topic: "Building a corporate brand through a website" (survey of the top 500 largest businesses in Vietnam in 2012) supervised by Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen (Deputy Head of Faculty).
This topic has been with Bich Lan ever since she started her final year thesis under the guidance of Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen. With her advice on the field of corporate communication, Bich Lan fell in love with this new area and decided to pursue it. She always remembers her teacher's encouraging words:"With passion and effort, you can definitely achieve it."Finally, the topic: “Survey of the models and operational organization of public relations departments of the top 500 largest businesses in Vietnam on their websites.Bich Lan's thesis became a highly-rated yearbook. Following this success, Bich Lan developed the topic into a student scientific research project:Using websites in corporate public relations activitiesShe won the NCKHSV award at the university level. Ultimately, still deeply in love with this topic, Bich Lan developed it from the foundation of the two previous topics to create a graduation thesis that received the highest score from the Examination Board.
Bich Lan also shared that, due to her extensive prior research on corporate communication, she had many advantages during the thesis writing process. Not only was her professional knowledge more solid, but her research methodology and approach to implementing the topic were also more refined.
In her graduation thesis, Bich Lan set out the following tasks: to present the fundamental theoretical basis surrounding branding and public relations, focusing on the use of websites for brand building and development strategies in current businesses; to conduct a direct survey of brand building and development activities on business websites; and to comment on, evaluate, and propose some solutions for businesses. This topic was considered by the evaluation committee to be novel, highly practical, and timely, and the author's suggestions are also very useful for businesses in building their own brands.
When asked about the success of her thesis, Bich Lan said:"I owe my successful thesis to Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, who truly showed me great care and enthusiastic guidance. She not only guided me professionally but also provided support, understanding, and shared my difficulties throughout the entire process, from writing my thesis and research to my final thesis. Most importantly, she ignited in me a passion for the work I've been doing all this time."
Bich Lan also shared her experiences on how to successfully complete a graduation thesis:The most important thing is dedication, stemming from a genuine desire to work on your chosen topic and doing so with a full sense of responsibility. Secondly, effective collaboration with your supervisor is crucial – this accounts for 50% of the success and effectiveness of your work. Thirdly, a receptive and humble attitude towards learning is essential.
The graduation thesis is the first TV commercial.
During this year's thesis defense season, the judging panel for television products included a thesis that, while not receiving the highest score and having the shortest duration, was the most innovative and marked the first milestone for a product in the advertising and PR field. This was the "TVC for Business Loans" by student Tô Hải Phương, supervised by Ms. Bùi Việt Hà.
As part of its strategy to innovate training activities towards enhancing professional practice, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication has allowed students to defend their graduation theses with television productions for many years. However, these television productions mainly consist of news reports and documentaries (with a duration of 10 minutes or more), and only this year has a 30-second TV commercial been included.
While still in school, Hai Phuong had already decided she wanted to work in advertising and PR after graduation. In fact, she had already signed a contract with InfoTV in the advertising field, so Phuong really loved it and was determined to create this TV commercial.My greatest stroke of luck during the thesis writing process was having my supervisor, Ms. Viet Ha, who wholeheartedly guided and defended my thesis before the committee, ensuring its successful defense.– Hai Phuong shared.
Hai Phuong completed the TV commercial in two months. What's special is that this TV commercial was commissioned by InfoTV, a client, at a cost of 150 million VND. Phuong's production team consisted of four people, not including the cameraman and actors, who were hired externally. Phuong was directly involved in the production from start to finish, coming up with the script and also acting as the copywriter – roles typically performed by experienced professionals.
During the process, Phuong realized that, because TV commercials are commissioned by clients, they have to be made according to their ideas, and in reality, the perspective of a business person differs significantly from that of a purely media professional. Besides that,"TV commercials shot with Red One, with 4K images, require five or six times more laborious post-production work than shooting regular full HD. Shooting with Red One results in a picture size five times larger than full HD, meaning double the size for theatrical release, and costs dozens of times more than normal."– Phuong said.
"And luckily, I received a lot of positive feedback from the Board. The TVC was graded 9.7 points – a score I didn't expect. The professors highly appreciated the TVC because it was not only a graduation thesis but also a marketable product.”– Hai Phuong happily stated.
Hai Phuong's TV commercial was accepted by the client, approved, and broadcast one day after she submitted it to the Department.
Phuong shared:"I hope this project can serve as a starting point for future advertising projects as graduation theses. I hope that future students can learn and work more effectively in advertising and PR upon graduation, so that our Faculty will have graduates with more diverse expertise."
"A person living in nostalgia" - A meaningful graduation thesis.
"Thank you for the meaningful documentary about the teacher!. .On behalf of the students of the History Department, we would like to thank you.”, “We want this film to reach all of you students of the History Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities."...For any filmmaker, receiving such kind words when their film is released is truly a success. And student Chu My Lan has achieved that through her graduation thesis, the documentary film "People Living in Nostalgia."
This documentary portrays a remarkable personality, a talented individual, and a compassionate teacher – the late Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke, former Head of the History Department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
More than just a graduation project, the film is a tribute from the students to their esteemed teacher – Professor Nguyen Hai Ke. Lan said:I felt I needed to do something to ensure that Professor's image would live on and be passed down to future generations of students. It's rare to find a teacher who is so dedicated to his students and so beloved by them. And I want many people to know about him, to know his character and personality, even if they've never met him."
From the very beginning, My Lan faced many difficulties in pursuing this topic. Many feared that with the abilities of a fourth-year student, it would be difficult to make a good documentary, especially one about a teacher who had left a lasting impression and evoked strong emotions in people's hearts. Lan also acknowledged that:If it's not done well, it would be disrespectful to the deceased."Besides, finding information about the teacher is also quite difficult.
Creating a 15-minute documentary, recreating the portrait of a deceased person, by a final-year student with no specialized television training, in just over a month is no easy feat. From getting acquainted with alumni of the History Department, contacting colleagues and relatives of Professor Hai Ke, she gradually found influential interviewees for the film. For Lan, the most difficult stage in the production process was post-production; she spent two days on graphics and four days on editing.
"Honestly, before starting post-production, throughout the pre-production and filming process, I was constantly anxious and stressed. I was afraid that if I didn't do well, I would be letting down my deceased teacher, and then my supervising teacher. Because he helped me so enthusiastically, even taking the time to accompany me to filming. For four days of post-production editing, I was always out of the house from morning until 1 or 2 in the morning.”– My Lan shared.
My Lan's film received the highest score in the defense round with a score of 9.8 and garnered much positive feedback from teachers, students, and those interested in the product. But for Lan, the greatest success wasn't the score, but the emotions, the tears of those who watched the episode.
Looking back on the process of writing her graduation thesis, My Lan affirmed:I feel I've matured more after my time making films, and I've realized that once you accept a challenge, you should pursue it to the end to discover your true potential."
Developing a Quality Assurance Plan for Vovinam in Vietnam
Although it didn't receive an excellent grade, the graduation thesis "Developing a public relations strategy for the Vietnam Vovinam Federation until 2020Pham Thi Hong Thuy's work received much praise from the Council for its applicability, practicality, and feasibility.
""A completely new and highly applicable topic."– Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen commented. Teacher Long (President of the Vietnam Vovinam Federation) said:This thesis can be fully applied to building and developing the image of Vovinam."
The graduation theses from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication haven't featured many topics related to public relations in recent years. If there were any, they were mostly research and descriptions of communication strategies or public relations for a product or company. Hong Thuy's thesis, however, is in the field of public relations, but in a very unique and challenging way: developing a public relations strategy for the traditional martial art of Vovinam."Developing a public relations strategy for the Vovinam Federation is an idea I've cherished for a long time, because I love this martial art and I've spent a considerable amount of time studying Vovinam. I want to contribute to the development of this unique traditional martial art of our nation. And when my name was on the list for thesis writing, I didn't hesitate to choose this topic even though many people advised that it would be very difficult."Hong Thuy shared.
Hong Thuy's thesis has a simple yet concise structure with two main chapters. Chapter 1 covers the entire theoretical part of public relations, titled: "Public Relations and the Role of Public Relations in Sports Brand Development." Chapter 2 is the core of the thesis, titled "Public Relations Strategy for the Vietnam Vovinam Federation until 2020." Thuy's topic is a strategic perspective on a martial art from a media viewpoint, effectively combining specialized knowledge in Journalism and Communication with in-depth knowledge of Vovinam.
Thuy said:The most difficult part for me was the survey process. I conducted two surveys: one polling 100 people, and another involving in-depth interviews with 10 Vovinam experts. Interviewing the experts was challenging because Mr. Long (President of the Hanoi Vovinam Federation) and Mr. Tuan (Head of the Vovinam Department at FPT University - the martial arts school with the most students in Vietnam) were both very busy. My thesis only had a month and a half to complete, and I spent a whole month on these in-depth interviews."
Thuy also happily revealed that:Professor Long said that if the thesis was good, he would use it for the Vovinam Federation. That gave me even more motivation to do well on this thesis."
Completing this graduation thesis not only helped Thuy build more relationships, gain a deeper understanding of the traditional martial art she is passionate about, and broaden her knowledge of QHCC (Vietnam's National Defense and Security) but also fulfilled her desire to use her specialized knowledge in Broadcasting and Communication to contribute to the development of Vovinam.
Currently, Thuy is continuing to refine her research topic to apply it to the practical activities of the Vovinam Federation. Initially, some aspects of this public relations strategy are being realized, such as opening Vovinam clubs and promoting Vovinam on television.