For a University of Social Sciences and Humanities worthy of the future!

In his opening remarks at the Conference, Professor Pham Quang Minh, Rector of the University, addressed the special context of the academic year: the whole country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the implementation of President Ho Chi Minh's Testament, the 74th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2nd. In the field of education, the National Assembly has just passed the amended Education Law - an important legal document that greatly influences the development of education in Vietnam in general and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular. In the 2019-2020 academic year, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will have two important events: the 75th anniversary of the University's tradition and the 28th Party Congress of the University.

Furthermore, the University is facing numerous challenges: the trend towards university autonomy, fierce competition among domestic universities, the strong trend of integration and internationalization in higher education, and the trend of university rankings to affirm prestige and brand in the region and the world. These trends are directly impacting the University's development direction, requiring the university's staff to reflect and truly innovate in thinking and action to find the right path for the University in the present and future.

Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Nguyen Kim Son

The conference also heard Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Kim - Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice Rector of the University - present the achievements of the 2018-2019 academic year and the key tasks for the coming academic year. Accordingly, in the past academic year, training activities maintained their quality, achieved success in student recruitment, and launched new training programs to meet social needs. Four new training programs were launched during the year: Japanese Studies, High-Quality Management Science, High-Quality Journalism, and High-Quality Information Management. At the master's level, one program was issued and assigned for training (Cultural Management), one program (Journalism and Media Management) was accredited by the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and four joint programs with the University of Economics (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) are currently under development. At the doctoral level, the conversion and issuance of 30 doctoral programs have been completed in accordance with Regulation 4555 of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

In terms of scientific activities, the University successfully organized 24 scientific workshops and conferences, including 15 international workshops. These workshops and seminars have been significantly reformed to focus on international publications or discussions of significant importance to the nation's historical progress and the Party and State's policies. The university's scientific staff is currently leading and implementing 20 state-level research projects and 7 projects funded by the National Science and Technology Fund.

Regarding personnel, the number of professors and associate professors at the University has increased to 108, accounting for 28.1% of the total scientific staff. The University has 130 postgraduate students, including 21 who are currently studying abroad. In the 2018-2019 academic year, 27 staff members successfully defended their doctoral dissertations. Currently, the percentage of lecturers and researchers with doctoral degrees reaches 66.8% of the total scientific staff.

The field of cooperation and development has seen significant achievements: signing and renewing 26 cooperation agreements with international partners; continuing to effectively implement international cooperation programs and projects; sending 251 students abroad for study and cultural exchange; and welcoming nearly 1000 students and scientists for scientific exchange and research at the university. The university also successfully organized summer courses for students from many international universities such as Meiji, Senshu (Japan), Zurich (Switzerland), Chongqing (China), Prince of Songkla, Silpakorn (Thailand)...

Regarding quality assurance activities, 3 training programs have been accredited according to AUN and Ministry of Education and Training standards. Post-accreditation work has made progress with training units actively developing plans and implementing quality improvements based on recommendations from evaluation teams.

Speaking at the conference, the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Nguyen Kim Son, acknowledged the bright spots in the overall picture of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in the past academic year in various fields: student recruitment, training innovation, increasing the number of qualified young scientific staff, promising research, and improved living standards for staff and faculty.

However, the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi also suggested the need for thorough and comprehensive strategic and planning preparation for a new phase of development for the University in the near future. This is also a time when social sciences and humanities face opportunities and expectations – when issues concerning humanity, culture, and development in a technological and digitally-driven society are posing major challenges for the nation and for humankind.

The first and foremost preparation is ideological and spiritual – that is, there must be unity and solidarity within the collective to determine a correct direction and development philosophy. The second preparation concerns development strategy and plans, but these must be placed within an international and national vision, taking into account the great societal need for social sciences and humanities. The third preparation concerns the development model, organizational model, and governance model, with a focus on human resources. Preparation of the workforce is essential to ensure sustainable development in the coming period.

In the field of scientific research, Director Nguyen Kim Son emphasized the urgent need to invest in international publications in the social sciences and humanities, considering this a matter of survival for the university. To achieve this, the university must be determined and implement groundbreaking, specific solutions, even investing in and commissioning research from individual research groups and individuals with potential. Currently, highly qualified human resources in the social sciences and humanities at the national level are increasingly scarce, and many major tasks are becoming increasingly difficult to accomplish. Meanwhile, the major scientific projects undertaken by the university in recent years have received support from the state and society. This success also reflects the abundant, yet untapped, scientific potential of the university.

Regarding training, the Director suggested that over the next five years, the school should continue its planning and development orientation for training programs, focusing on new directions to meet societal needs. The school must find its place in meeting the workforce training needs of society in the coming years. Regarding the training philosophy, training activities should aim to provide fundamental knowledge and foundations, but also cultivate adaptability, responsiveness, and self-adjustment skills in learners to adapt to the rapidly changing labor market and society.

Among the five key priorities for Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) in 2020, innovation in teaching will be a key policy and direction that needs to be widely disseminated among the staff. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities needs to take the lead and continue to promote this trend. Innovation in teaching at VNU will be based on digital infrastructure, data, and operating systems; along with a philosophy of individualized training and the application of science and technology in teaching. This policy must be implemented with unwavering determination from the entire staff, contributing to a new vitality in training activities.

With the trend towards university autonomy drawing near, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) has chosen and established the rights of expertise and science as the core value of autonomy. The rights and professional voices of scientists must be the core and highest rights reflecting university autonomy, not other administrative powers.

Based on the above orientations, suggestions, and assigned tasks, Director Nguyen Kim Son wished the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to make groundbreaking transformations to build the University to be worthy of the role, position, potential, and expectations that Vietnam National University, Hanoi, and society have for it.