Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen: "Nearly 80% of students of the first course of Public Relations have found jobs"

Monday - February 20, 2017 22:44

37 students of the first class of Public Relations (PR) of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, University of Social Sciences and Humanities had a successful graduation law defense and are expected to graduate one semester early. Besides the joy of the students when they officially entered the labor market, which is both stressful and attractive, the PR profession, we must also mention the joy and emotions of the teachers themselves when witnessing the sweet fruits after so much effort. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Head of the Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Faculty of Journalism and Communication shared with us:

PGS.TS Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền: “Gần 80% sinh viên khoá I ngành Quan hệ công chúng đã có việc làm” — Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen: "Nearly 80% of students of the first course of Public Relations have found jobs"

I am very happy and proud of the determination and sincere companionship of leaders, colleagues and students. We have built a training roadmap and envisioned this result many years ago, so we are not really surprised. As many people know, the Faculty of Journalism and Communication is the first formal research and training institution on QHCC in the North. Since 2001, we have been publishing research and teaching in this field. However, according to the regulations of Hanoi National University, we can only open a major when there are prerequisites that cannot be achieved overnight, for example: there must be at least one doctor in the right major to "take the lead" and cannot use people with similar or different expertise. To achieve that, the Faculty had to "go first and come last". While many other training institutions without experts could still quickly open a major to attract the attention of the labor market, it was not until 2010 that we were able to establish a major project and in 2013 were allowed to enroll the first class of QHCC after many persistent efforts to pass the examinations of the Science and Training Councils at all levels. Therefore, more than anyone else, we have been looking forward to welcoming students to the school every day, working three or four times harder, opening summer semesters without breaks to help 37/52 students of the first class to graduate early to welcome the very exciting recruitment season after Tet. In fact, up to 80% of students of the first class have jobs in their major at this time. Many students, even after their thesis defense date, still have to take on jobs in positions for which they have signed full-time contracts.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Head of Department of Public Relations and Advertising, Faculty of Journalism and Communication

- Although the QHCC major was only opened at the Faculty more than three years ago, it has always been one of the majors that has received a lot of attention in recent admission seasons. Could you please tell us about the outstanding orientations in training the QHCC major at the Faculty in comparison with other training institutions?

QHCC has been and is one of the most attractive majors in the field of social sciences and humanities, not only in Vietnam but also in the world. The number of QHCC specialists trained in our country in recent years is like a drop in the ocean in the recruitment market because it needs to meet the very high labor demand of all types of organizations, from state agencies to private, non-governmental organizations, businesses, schools, hospitals... According to our research, the trend in the next 10 years, the demand for human resources in this industry will continue to grow strongly, so graduates do not have to worry much about job opportunities. Regarding the training orientation of the Public Relations major in the Faculty, we will continue to adjust to further improve the training program that we have built and implemented over the past 3 years in the direction of enhancing the knowledge and communication skills that employers have ordered such as: (i) writing, presenting ideas through multimedia communication forms, (ii) strategic planning based on research and scientific arguments, and (iii) enhancing interdisciplinary elective subjects (politics, environment, social management, tourism...) so that students can immediately apply according to their inclinations in those fields. At the same time, we continue to promote the interdisciplinarity between the Public Relations major and the Journalism major in the Faculty to increase the competitiveness of students of both majors after graduation. In addition, we will also consider building an interdisciplinary program with other faculties in the school to take advantage of the best Vietnamese resources in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities of the School in faculties such as Philosophy, History, Literature, Language, Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Management Science, etc. We will also continue to implement a training method associated with professional practice by increasing the invitation of employers and experts to the faculty to teach, as well as organizing more field trips and internships for students to master the profession and train their mettle, love for the profession, and be ready to step into their careers right before graduation. The following batches of students will also be given the opportunity to graduate early like the first batch.

Graduation thesis defense ceremony of students of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication

- It is known that the training of the Public Administration Department focuses on enhancing students' practical professional capacity right from school. Could you please share about this issue?

The profession of QHCC is a highly practical and applied profession, so at the undergraduate level, we also focus more on practice. Students always have to practice and discuss in most of the specialized courses/subjects. The output standards of the courses clearly state what students can do after finishing that course, as well as how to meet that output standard. The practice rate in the courses is at least 50%, there are subjects where this rate is up to 80% such as writing, planning and implementing QHCC programs... For example, the final exam of the subjectEvent organizationis a real event planned by students, renting a location, investing in costs, inviting experts, media..., subjectPublic Relations Programsis a QHCC program implemented for a specific real client that fits their communication strategy, subjectWriting for Public RelationsIt can be a set of business profiles both printed and online to present self-introduction when the business participates in bidding... Even the theory subject requires students to discuss and present by finding typical cases in professional practice, then using the theoretical basis to analyze, explain and present to the class. Interactive learning is one of the highlights of every module in the training program of the Public Administration major. It is very rare to see students sleepy, teachers reading and students copying in our classes. On the contrary, the classes are always lively and full of inspiration for discovery, expression and creativity for both teachers and students.

Public Relations students at their graduation thesis defense ceremony

- As the Associate Professor shared, during the training process, not only do we provide students with basic knowledge about the field of study, but teachers also help them discover the true beauty of the field of public administration and awaken in them love and passion for the profession. How is this done?

Many students come to study with very little knowledge about it. We cannot say that this profession is wonderful if in reality it is not. There is a definition of QHCC as follows: "QHCC is 90% doing it well and 10% talking about it". Fortunately, we have many good examples and stories to prove to students the beauty of this profession, especially in its scientific and creative nature, always ahead of the times and its warmth and winning people's hearts. I always keep in mind that a professional QHCC worker, in addition to professional ability, must also have professional ethics, one of the manifestations of which is love and sincere contribution to the profession and colleagues. We always share that so that students can absorb it drop by drop, each lesson incorporates a few ideas so that they do not feel dogmatic and can absorb it most naturally.

- The first class of the QHCC major has had a successful graduation thesis defense. Can you give some initial assessments of the training products of the Faculty?

The most accurate assessment result is the satisfaction of employers, I cannot be subjective to speak for them. The road ahead is still long, we are extremely grateful to those who have supported and accompanied the teachers and students of the department, and also hope to continue to receive help from all sources so that more and more good QHCC professionals can participate in the labor market and help society develop.

- Can you share some advice with students who want to learn about and choose Public Relations to pursue at university, as well as with Public Relations students who are preparing to graduate this year?

The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is always the number one training institution in Vietnam for the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities. For those who are about to take the university entrance exam, if you find it suitable, confidently choose QHCC or any other field of study as the field you pursue for your own career, and do not let it be a decision that others impose on you. For those who are about to graduate, always be confident with what you have been equipped and trained in during your university life, teachers and the school always follow you and expect you to return to share practical lessons and experiences with the students of the next class, as well as continue to conquer higher peaks on the path of education.

- Thank you for sharing, Associate Professor.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and students of the first course of Public Relations

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Head of Department of Public Relations and Advertising

Graduated with honors from the first class of the Faculty of Journalism, Hanoi National University (K36, 1995), Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen was retained in the faculty as a lecturer. As a pioneer in research and teaching on Public Relations (PR) in Vietnam, in 2001 she successfully defended her first Master's thesis on the subject of PR and began teaching this subject in the faculty's regular training program.
In 2010, she became the first Vietnamese PhD in Public Administration after 5 years of studying at Sogang University, Korea under the sponsorship of the Korean Government Scholarship Program.
In 2012, the project to open the QHCC major that she wrote was approved and since 2013 she has directly managed this training program. This is the first training program in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities designed according to output standards at VNU. Ms. Huyen actively participates in research activities, designing training programs, compiling learning materials, teaching students and communication directors, and providing communication consulting for businesses.
In 2015, she was the Vietnam representative for the Asia Pacific Communication Monitor's research project. The results of this project put the current status and trends of Vietnam's public relations industry on the world communication research map for the first time and were highly appreciated by the professional community.
She is also the author of many books.Many monographs, textbooks and articles published in domestic and foreign scientific journals. She was recognized as Associate Professor in 2014, when she turned 40 years old.