Brave, pioneer in training and research of social sciences and humanities of the country

Backed by 70 years of tradition

On October 10, 1945, just over a month after our country declared independence, amid the numerous difficulties of the new government, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 45 establishing the University of Literature to help the country "catch up with other countries in the world". More than a month later, on November 15, 1945, at the Great Hall at 19 Le Thanh Tong, the first opening ceremony of the new school year of the University of Literature took place under the chairmanship of President Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese university system under the new regime was officially born. In the speech of the Director of the University Department - Professor Nguyen Van Huyen at the opening ceremony of the new school year, he raised his voice with a bold and confident voice:"We want this new university to be a strong force among the fighting forces of the Vietnamese people. We want it to be a stronghold for a long-term resistance to restore the entire territory and liberate the spirit of the nation. We are a nation with a thousand years of independent history and have created a unique civilization along the Pacific coast.". That is the core value, the tradition that has been nurtured over the past 70 years and has been built up by the achievements of 20 years of construction and development of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi from 1995 to present.

University of Social Sciences and Humanities is a destination for academic exchange between domestic and foreign scientists.

In 1956, the Government established Hanoi University on the basis of the University of Science, University of Literature, University of Basic Sciences and University Preparatory in Zone 4. The teachers who laid the foundation for the University of Literature such as Professors Dang Thai Mai, Dao Duy Anh, Hoang Xuan Nhi, Hoang Nhu Mai, Tran Duc Thao, Tran Van Giau, Cao Xuan Huy, Nguyen Manh Tuong... and other scientists, together with their excellent students, worked together to build Hanoi University from the very first days.

In 1995, in response to the need to build the Hanoi National University, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities was established, separated from Hanoi University of Science, to meet the needs of society and the country's innovation and development in the new era. The steps taken by the school over the past 70 years, together with the contributions of scientists and outstanding and talented teachers, whose foundation is patriotism and national pride, have become the foundation for the school to quickly develop into a leading university in the country in the fields of social sciences and humanities.

Promoting the "Pioneering University Spirit" in the new era

The spirit of Vietnamese universities is to build a national university. That spirit is concretized by the pioneering and noble mission of the University towards the country: "The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi has the mission of taking the lead in training high-quality, highly qualified human resources, conducting creative research and disseminating knowledge in social sciences and humanities, serving the cause of national construction and development."

To fulfill the above mission, the Party Committee and the School Board always attach importance to the work of building human resources and innovating training programs, considering them as the core conditions for building and developing the School. The Resolution of the School Party Congress for the first term (1996 - 1998) determined: "Take care to build and develop a team of cadres with sufficient quantity and strong quality, overcoming the imbalance and risk of shortage of successor cadres.".

In order to implement this orientation, the School has considered the goal of building a team of highly qualified teachers as a decisive factor in the development of training quality and scientific research. The training and fostering of young staff has received special attention, with many preferential policies to create a source of additional staff, sustainable continuation, meeting the requirements of innovation and international integration. Up to now, the whole school has 530 staff, including 370 teaching staff, 25 teachers awarded the title of People's Teacher and 56 teachers awarded the title of Excellent Teacher. The professional qualifications of the scientific staff have been raised rapidly compared to the 1990s: 164 masters, 195 doctors, 6 professors, 91 associate professors. The number of staff with postgraduate degrees reached 96%, of which over 51% have doctoral degrees. In addition, the School attaches importance to improving and enhancing management capacity, through implementing the administrative reform project according to ISO standards 2 years ago. The process of transforming from an administrative management institution to an autonomous and highly responsible institution is a breakthrough in the development of the School.

President Truong Tan Sang attends the opening ceremony at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (September 2012)

The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU was established in the context of rapid innovation and international integration. Therefore, the issue of improving the quality and diversifying training professions has been raised and resolutely implemented by the University. Up to now, the whole University has 16 faculties, 12 research and training centers, 01 Anthropology Museum, 01 company, 10 functional departments, 01 Institute for Policy and Management Research. The key task in the coming time is to focus on and continue to expand and develop high-quality, high-level training programs, both meeting the social needs and developing the country's economic, cultural and social development; at the same time, being consistent with the development trend of social sciences and humanities in Vietnam and the world. One of the breakthrough solutions to achieve that goal is to quickly internationalize training programs. In particular, focusing on building and implementing subjects and training programs in English, to attract foreign students and trainees to study at the school, in Vietnam. After many times of building and adjusting the training program in a synchronous and comprehensive manner, currently, the School has 22 undergraduate training majors with 22 standard training programs, 6 high-quality training programs, and 1 international standard training program. For postgraduate level, the School is managing 62 training majors, including 29 doctoral training majors. The school's training majors are developed in 3 groups: 1) Basic science majors; 2) Applied science majors; 3) Interdisciplinary science majors. In 2007, the School converted from the year-based training method to credit-based training, integrating with international trends, and actively standardizing the organization and management of training. The orientation in developing the training sectors of the School is to focus on developing basic sciences and interdisciplinary sciences to carry out the primary mission of higher education in the field of social sciences and humanities in Vietnam; and to develop applied sciences to promptly meet the needs of socio-economic development and international integration that the academic potential and human resources of the School are capable of meeting best.

Reaching scientific heights and enhancing integration

It can be said that, besides training and staff development, the third outstanding achievement of the school is scientific research, which is reflected in knowledge and theories on building Vietnamese people and culture in the integration and globalization period. Some of the school's research results also contribute to providing arguments and scientific basis for the construction and planning of the Party's policies and guidelines, and the development of the country. 10 teachers were awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize and 16 teachers were awarded the State Prize for Science and Technology, which are concrete evidence of the school's pioneering position and outstanding achievements in scientific research activities. Currently, the school is implementingThe University's science and technology development strategy until 2020; Program for developing high-quality scientific products to meet the country's socio-economic development requirements, etc.

Building and fostering the team is a core task that the School always pays attention to. The School always promptly encourages and rewards individuals and groups with outstanding contributions.

Extensive international cooperation is a fast and effective way to access advanced knowledge and research methods, especially when wanting to become a research university. In international cooperation, the University has both firmly relied on its existing achievements and gradually approached the common criteria and standards of regional and international universities, to create new values ​​of Vietnamese social sciences and humanities, taking them as comparative advantages, as strength in cooperation and competition, affirming its position as a leading university in the country. Thanks to that, up to now, the University has established extensive international relations with over 200 universities and international organizations across all continents. Many successful training cooperation programs, linkages, and international scientific conferences have created a high academic reputation and reputation at home and abroad.

With 70 years of tradition and 20 years of development as an independent entity within the structure of VNU, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has increasingly enhanced its position, affirming its leading position in the country in research and training in the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities. The achievements in training and scientific research of the University are certified by noble titles: First-class Labor Medal (1981), First-class Independence Medal (2001), the title of Labor Hero in the renovation period (2005), Ho Chi Minh Medal (2010). The profound lesson to ensure all the successes of the University is the spirit of solidarity, unity of the units, collectives and individuals, generations of staff and students; is the combined strength of the inside and outside mobilized, participating in the cause of building and developing the University; must always be proactive, positive, sensitive, have high courage to be ready to commit and pioneer in the research and training career. Without sensitivity, it is not possible to promptly meet the development needs of the country. But without courage, it is not possible to dare to think, dare to do, and cannot fulfill the mission of a pioneer soldier on the educational and scientific front of the country.