The 5th Party Congress of Vietnam National University, Hanoi: Unity – Creativity – Breakthrough – Integration

Thirty official delegates, representing over 1,600 party members and 28 affiliated Party organizations, were summoned to attend the 5th Party Congress of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The Congress was honored to welcome Comrade Nguyen The Thao - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee, and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee - to attend and deliver a guiding speech.

Also attending the Congress were: Comrade Dao Trong Thi - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, and Children; Comrade Ha Ngoc Chien - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee; Comrade Mai Tien Dung - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Secretary of the Ha Nam Provincial Party Committee; Comrade Phung Huu Phu - Standing Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council; Comrade Le Quang Vinh - Deputy Chief of the Central Party Office; Comrade Pham Quang Thao - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Agencies Bloc; and representatives of leaders from central and local ministries, departments, and agencies.

Overview of the 5th Party Congress of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, term 2015-2020/Photo: Quoc Toan

The political report presented at the congress stated that during the fourth term (2010-2015), despite facing many difficulties and challenges, the Party Committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, always remained united and strived to overcome difficulties to achieve important results in all areas of activity.

During the past term, the legal status and high degree of autonomy of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) have been affirmed in Article 8 of the Law on Higher Education; the Decree and Regulations on the Organization and Operation of VNU and its member educational institutions have been issued, creating a favorable mechanism for the development of VNU into an advanced research-oriented university. The model of an advanced, autonomous, and highly accountable research university of VNU is being gradually perfected.

Work related to developing the civil servant workforce. Officials, especially the team of scientists, were promoted.To date, the number of scientific staff at Vietnam National University, Hanoi with doctoral and scientific doctoral degrees has increased significantly: from 38% in 2010 to 47% in 2014; the percentage of scientific staff under 45 years old with doctoral degrees reached 31%. The percentage of scientific staff holding professor or associate professor titles reached 20.6% of the total scientific staff. The ratio of full-time lecturers to students reached 1/15, nearly meeting the criteria of a research university.

Training programs have many groundbreaking initiatives:Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) is a pioneer in reforming its admissions methods towards competency-based assessment, which has been highly regarded by society. Emphasis is placed on talent-based, advanced, high-quality, and internationally standardized training programs. The scale of postgraduate training is approximately on par with that of leading universities. The quality accreditation and national and international educational rankings have made breakthroughs, with three scientific fields ranking in the top 100 and one field in the top 200 of leading universities in Asia.

Scientific and technological activities have developed in both scale and quality.Research in the social sciences and humanities has made a positive contribution to summarizing practical experiences, providing scientific arguments, and serving theoretical work and policy planning for economic, cultural, social development and national defense. Natural sciences, science and technology, and medicine continue to develop strongly, approaching international standards.

Development cooperation has been expanded, contributing to enhancing the prestige of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.Collaboration with reputable higher education institutions, research institutes, businesses, and educational organizations is prioritized. The integration and internationalization index of Vietnam National University, Hanoi is steadily increasing.

Party building work has been given importance and has seen many positive changes.Government organizations and mass organizations at all levels continue to be strengthened and improved, and the quality of their activities is enhanced.

Comrade Nguyen The Thao - Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee, Chairman of the Hanoi City People's Committee, delivered a speech at the Congress/Photo: Quoc Toan

Entering the 2015-2020 period, the development goals of the Party Committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi are:Leveraging the leadership role of Party committees at all levels, effectively mobilizing resources, and creating breakthroughs in all areas of activity, by 2020, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) strives to build and complete the basic criteria of an advanced research university in the region."

Accordingly, the key tasks were identified: Firstly, improving the quality of training to international standards and increasing the employability of learners; secondly, developing potential and enhancing scientific and technological capabilities; thirdly, developing and improving the effectiveness of cooperation and development to attract resources for the development of VNU; and fourthly, continuing to create strong changes in Party building work.

The Party Committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) has also identified two key breakthroughs for development: Firstly, developing the staff in both quantity and quality, especially the highly qualified scientific staff, to meet the requirements of VNU's development into a research university. Secondly, developing infrastructure, with priority given to accelerating the implementation of the VNU construction project in Hoa Lac.

Speaking at the congress, Comrade Nguyen The Thao highly appreciated the proactive and creative approach of the Party Committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) in closely adhering to the policies of the Party, State, and Hanoi City to lead and direct the concretization and implementation of the Party Committee's political tasks. VNU has seized opportunities and utilized all advantages to concentrate resources on building a new, modern university structure model, focusing on a multi-disciplinary and multi-field structure, closely linking training with research, promoting mutual support, and creating a strong and unified connection throughout VNU. As a result, VNU has affirmed its leading position in the Vietnamese higher education system and is the only representative of Vietnam in the top 200 universities in Asia.

To further build upon the achievements and fulfill the core role of the higher education system, Comrade Nguyen The Thao proposed that the Party Committee of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) continue to lead in effectively implementing Resolution No. 8 of the 11th Central Committee on fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training and Resolution No. 6 of the 11th Central Committee on the development of science and technology; perfect and develop the VNU model, and soon develop it into a prestigious research university in the region and the world; continue building a clean and strong Party Committee; leverage potential and strengths, actively seek and mobilize resources from society to invest in expanding facilities and modernizing research and scientific equipment; and be more proactive in coordinating with ministries, departments, and localities to accelerate the construction of VNU in Hoa Lac, creating a foundation for VNU to take off and rise.

Highly appreciating the dedication and significant contributions of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) to the development of Hanoi, Comrade Nguyen The Thao suggested that in the coming time, VNU and Hanoi should further promote the realization of the cooperation agreement signed by the leaders of both sides, focusing on tasks where VNU has strengths in education and training, science and technology.

Comrade Nguyen The Thao emphasized: The city will create all favorable conditions for the Vietnam National University, Hanoi to continue developing in all aspects and soon become a center for university, postgraduate, research and knowledge transfer on par with the region and internationally.