Held on October 22nd in Ba Vi, the conference aimed to evaluate postgraduate training in 2010 and 2011, set directions and tasks for the 2011-2012 academic year, and outline key solutions to improve the quality of postgraduate training.Attending the conference were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Nha – Head of the Training Department of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Rector of the University, representatives of the Dean's Office, and postgraduate training assistants from various faculties. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Van Quyet – Head of the Postgraduate Training Department – presented a general assessment report on postgraduate training. According to the report, postgraduate training in 2010 and 2011 showed positive changes in terms of quantity, quality, and organization. In 2009 and 2010, the University held one admissions round in August. In 2011, the University conducted two admissions rounds in May and September. Including the number of students admitted in the first round of 2011, the total number of postgraduate students at the University was 2285, reaching 37.9% of the total number of full-time postgraduate students. This included 2060 master's students and 225 doctoral candidates. There were 48 international postgraduate students, including 10 doctoral candidates. In 2010 and 2011, the University added 4 postgraduate programs approved by the Vietnam National University, including 2 doctoral programs: Sino-Vietnamese Studies and Archival Studies, and 2 master's programs: Social Work and Management Science. This brought the total number of postgraduate programs offered by the University to 64, including 31 doctoral programs and 33 master's programs. Currently, the University has 4 standard programs awaiting accreditation from the Vietnam National University and is in the process of developing 5 more standard programs. Training is conducted quite rigorously, following the training process outlined in the credit-based training regulations.
At the conference, several limitations in postgraduate training in 2010 and 2011 were also highlighted in the general assessment report: Current postgraduate training programs were only adjusted in the 2007-2008 academic year, but most of these adjustments only involved a mechanical horizontal conversion from the annual-based training method to the credit-based training method; some training specializations are not attractive to students; postgraduate training is heavily dependent on visiting lecturers; and some departments lack dedicated teaching assistants, relying mainly on part-time lecturers. In his concluding remarks, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh – Rector of the University – emphasized several key tasks for postgraduate training in the 2011-2012 academic year, specifically: continuing to strengthen the application of the positive aspects of credit-based training; Functional departments coordinate the transformation of undergraduate and postgraduate training programs in a closely interconnected manner; focus on innovating training management to be more formal and professional; strengthen international cooperation in postgraduate training, especially programs under strategic tasks; review master's and doctoral training programs to identify those that are no longer suitable and be ready to replace them and conduct research to develop new specializations to meet social needs; and ensure that management staff and assistants have a thorough understanding of regulations on postgraduate training. Representatives from various units also offered suggestions to improve the quality and effectiveness of postgraduate training: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa – Head of the Faculty of Tourism Studies – clearly stated that inviting lecturers to participate in master's training has fundamental advantages: attracting many experts from different fields, meeting the learning objectives and interests of students. However, certain difficulties are unavoidable: limited pedagogical skills, low training allowances, etc. This is a common reality in many departments, so Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hoa also made some recommendations: adjusting teaching fees for master's degree programs, establishing a mechanism for inviting experts to give lectures or assist in teaching specialized subjects. Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Literature - suggested that attention should be paid to developing and enhancing the status and role of postgraduate training assistants towards professionalization. Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thanh Hung also proposed two options: either having a full-time position for postgraduate training assistants or continuing the system of assigning teaching staff to concurrently serve as postgraduate training assistants, but with certain preferential treatment. Several opinions from representatives of other units were also discussed regarding other activities related to postgraduate training: examination and evaluation, external relations, and some regulations in the postgraduate training regulations of the Vietnam National University issued under Decision No. 1555. The conference unanimously agreed on the direction and tasks of postgraduate training for the 2011-2012 academic year with the following basic targets: + Strategic task: Ensuring that postgraduate students of the 2008 and 2009 cohorts successfully defend their theses and meet the graduation requirements; developing and implementing two additional training projects under the strategic task. + Organizing the successful defense of theses and dissertations for over 500 postgraduate students and 45 doctoral candidates, and ensuring their graduation. + Organizing the entrance examination according to the guidelines of the Vietnam National University, with a projected enrollment of 900 new postgraduate students. + Organize master's and doctoral training programs according to the content of Regulation 1555 of Vietnam National University, Hanoi; complete and submit to Vietnam National University, Hanoi the specialized programs currently under development. The main solutions proposed include: + Actively innovate teaching methods and assessment methods; + Standardize and adjust training programs; update new subjects; limit subjects/topics that are repetitive from previous levels of study; + Develop and organize postgraduate training according to the semesters of the regular undergraduate training system; + Assessment should be conducted according to the course syllabus; encourage highly effective assessment methods… + Coordinate with Vietnam National University, Hanoi to implement postgraduate training management software.
