The University of Social Sciences and Humanities organized a conference on the implementation of the Prime Minister's directive and the Ministry of Education and Training's action program on reforming higher education management for the period 2010-2012 on May 8, 2010.
Participants included leaders of functional units and departments, chairpersons of departmental trade unions, and Party committee members. Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Duc (Vice Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi) attended and chaired the conference. The conference heard a report from the Board of Directors on the draft Action Program on reforming higher education management for the period 2010-2015 with the following main contents: - Thoroughly understanding the content of Directive No. 296/CT-TTG, Resolution No. 05-NQ/BCSĐ, and Decision No. 179/QĐ-BGDĐT, aiming to create a deep understanding among staff and students about the need to reform higher education management, improve training quality and scientific research effectiveness; - Developing a development strategy for the university for the period 2010-2015, with a vision to 2020; - Adjusting the organizational structure of the university, developing two additional faculties by 2015: the Faculty of Political Science and the Faculty of Anthropology; establishing new research centers and programs according to the university's development needs; considering the possibility of adding functions and tasks to the Center for Quality Assurance in Training, transforming it into a Center for Examination and Quality Assurance in Training. - Completing and supplementing management documents within the university; - Innovating management practices and improving the capacity of staff; - Enhancing the quality of training, ensuring training meets social needs and achieves international standards at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels; - Innovating the management of scientific research, using scientific research as the foundation for innovation and improvement of training quality; - Strengthening resources to ensure comprehensive reform of the university. Next, the Conference heard a report on the Draft Development Strategy of the University for the period 2010-2015, with a vision to 2030. The University's vision for 2030 is: "To maintain its position as a leading university in the country in social sciences and humanities, on par with leading universities in the region, and to effectively serve the cause of national construction and development." The University's development orientation is defined as: - Leveraging the strengths of the basic science school, focusing on enhancing the creative thinking and operational skills of students; - Building and developing several disciplines and specializations to international standards based on internationalizing training programs, innovating training content and methods of organization and management; - Strengthening academic activities and expanding cooperative relationships with high-ranking universities in the region and around the world. Based on an assessment of the strengths, limitations, opportunities, and challenges ahead, the strategic objectives for 2020 are defined as follows: - To build and organize the University according to the model and standards of a research university; - To train high-quality human resources in social sciences and humanities, meeting the needs of society, with some disciplines reaching the level of prestigious universities in the region and approaching international standards; - Regarding scientific research: to strengthen the research capacity of faculty and students; to promptly access advanced research methods; to conduct scientific research serving the socio-economic needs of the country and serving the training mission of the university itself with the philosophy: research for training and training goes hand in hand with research; - To build a team of staff and lecturers: increasing in quantity and with high professional quality; - To expand and enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation. - Increase the number and effective use of funding sources to strengthen infrastructure, improve teaching quality, and increase the income of staff and faculty. The second part of the conference was dedicated to contributions and discussions from units within the university on the current situation and solutions for reforming management activities at the university, with specific contents such as: the role of student union members in ensuring and improving the quality of training; reforming personnel work to improve the quality of training; solutions to improve the quality of undergraduate training in the 2010-2012 period; external relations work in improving the quality of research and teaching; solutions for managing and investing in infrastructure to improve the quality of training; Factors contributing to improving the quality of scientific research... At the conference, Professor Nguyen Huu Duc (Vice Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi) stated: “The university is the first unit within Vietnam National University, Hanoi to organize a conference to implement the Ministry of Education and Training's action program on management reform, and moreover, it has organized these activities very correctly and effectively. In particular, the opinions expressed at this conference were very heartfelt and of high quality.” Professor Nguyen Huu Duc also highly appreciated the university's boldness and willingness to take risks in setting a goal of being among the top 300 advanced universities in the region by 2020 and planning to have its training programs accredited according to the standards of the Association of Southeast Asian Universities (AUN) by 2022. At the upcoming VNU-level conference on innovation in higher education management, he also expressed his hope for the participation of many representatives from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, with insightful and practical contributions similar to those made at this conference.
