Innovating student affairs work towards a "care and service" approach.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Son, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Permanent Deputy Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, attended and chaired the conference.

Attending the conference were Mr. Duong Van Ba ​​– Deputy Director of the Student Affairs Department, Ministry of Education and Training, representatives of leaders, officials in charge, and staff and specialists working on student affairs at member and affiliated units of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Accordingly, during the 2014-2015 academic year, student affairs were regularly and directly supervised by the leadership of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) and the heads of its units through timely and appropriate management and guidance documents; student management became increasingly systematic, actively supporting training and improving the quality of education; career guidance and support to enhance students' employability were implemented with many innovations in content and form, diverse and flexible according to the specific characteristics of each unit and profession, yielding certain results; the task of building a cultural environment and caring for the lives of students truly went into depth, bringing practical benefits and effectiveness to students. Student affairs in the past year contributed significantly to the successful implementation of the political tasks of VNU and its units.

During the 2015-2016 academic year, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) identified several key tasks for student affairs as follows:

- Continue to innovate methods of disseminating and guiding the implementation of directives from the Party, the State, the Ministry of Education and Training, and Vietnam National University, Hanoi to students. Actively participate in major campaigns of the country, the education sector, and Vietnam National University, Hanoi to bring practical results in learning and training activities.

- Strengthen legal education for students. Continue to do a good job in educating students on politics, ideology, ethics, and lifestyle.

- Continue to innovate student affairs and student management towards standardization, modernization, efficiency, practicality, and alignment with the development strategy of VNU and each unit.

- Implement various appropriate solutions and methods to further enhance the effectiveness of student support; provide career counseling and job placement assistance for students; link training with societal needs; and increase opportunities for interaction between students and employers, especially large, reputable companies and businesses both domestically and internationally. Continue to strengthen the post-graduation student monitoring program to ensure it becomes a systematic and well-organized activity. Implement a comprehensive alumni network across all member and affiliated training units to attract comprehensive support for students.

- Effectively exploit and utilize non-budgetary scholarship sources for students. Strengthen international student exchange programs to attract more foreign students to study and conduct research at VNU, as well as create opportunities for VNU students to study and conduct research at prestigious educational institutions abroad.

- Strengthen the training and professional development of staff involved in student affairs at all levels to meet the requirements and tasks of student affairs work in the current period.

- Ensure that periodic reports are submitted on time and that statistical data on student affairs from various units are provided to VNU.

The delegates attending the conference discussed and exchanged experiences in the implementation process, and also proposed solutions to improve the quality and effectiveness of student affairs work at the unit in the future.

Concluding the conference, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Standing Deputy Director of VNU, Nguyen Kim Son, commended the encouraging results of student affairs work throughout VNU in the 2014-2015 academic year. Deputy Director Nguyen Kim Son affirmed that student affairs work is a crucial task, accounting for a high percentage of the criteria and standards for evaluating the quality assurance conditions of higher education both domestically and internationally.

Deputy Director Nguyen Kim Son requested that, in the coming period, staff working in student affairs throughout Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) should continue to create and implement innovative models of student affairs work towards "caring for and serving students"; review management documents related to this area of ​​work to gradually adjust and amend student regulations; continue to improve the capacity and skills of staff working in student affairs at member and affiliated units of VNU; promote coordination mechanisms between relevant departments, and at the same time, strengthen student exchange activities to enhance students' skills.

Within the framework of the conference, Mr. Duong Van Ba ​​– Deputy Director of the Student Affairs Department, Ministry of Education and Training – disseminated new documents and discussed and answered some questions regarding the implementation of student affairs.