SVVN - The High School for Gifted Students in Social Sciences and Humanities under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi organized the entrance exam for the first course on July 12-13, 2020. The Vietnamese Student page of Tien Phong newspaper had an interview with Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu - Principal of the School.
Dear Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu,The High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities is enrolling its first class right at the time when public opinion is buzzing about "specialized schools." How do you feel?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:Recently, there have been some discussions about specialized schools in the media, but I really don't care much. What I care about most right now is that the High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities is about to enroll its first class, so what should we do to achieve the best results and select the best students? However, if we talk about specialized schools, we must affirm that they are not new in Vietnam, but have been organized in many countries. In the past and present, many provinces and cities have specialized schools and they affirm that specialized schools are places to educate and train high-quality human resources for those provinces and cities. Becoming a specialized student is an honor for both students and parents. I personally contacted the staff of the High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities as well as the excellent students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, most of whom come from specialized schools. That said, the quality of education at specialized schools is basically good. What is important is how specialized schools carry out the educational process to fulfill their mission and achieve their goals.
Do you and your family have any memories of "specialized schools"?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:Personally, I did not have the opportunity to study at a specialized school, but I was able to study in a selective class. After 3 years of high school, I saw that all of my classmates in the selective class passed the university entrance exam (in the 1980s, it was rare for the whole class to pass the university entrance exam).
Recently, my daughter majored in Literature at Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. At first, I had some concerns about whether it was appropriate for her to study at a specialized school or if it was like training a fighting cock. However, after 3 years of studying, I saw her grow a lot in all aspects, especially skills and foreign languages. After graduating from high school, my daughter participated in a program of international organizations teaching English in China. At first, the family was very worried because the daughter had not yet left her parents, so what would happen if she went to teach for 8 weeks like that? With her professional capacity, life skills and good English, she has completed her plan excellently, and has been highly appreciated by her seniors in the group from many countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, France, etc. for her professional capacity and life skills.
Through the above story, I asked myself whether my child could have completed that job if he had gone to another school?
As the first Principal of the School, what values do you want to be the core values of the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:The High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities inherits the quintessence of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities with its long tradition and noble mission of being a pioneer in training high-quality, highly qualified human resources; researching, creating and disseminating knowledge of social sciences and humanities, serving the cause of national construction and defense and international integration.
The core values of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities will help the Specialized High School orientate basic values with the goal of training and nurturing talents.
I think that students majoring in Literature, History and Geography will study and shape their academic style throughout high school, university and post-graduate studies at the School in such specialized subjects, which will form a consistent thinking, a basic and comprehensive academic style of social sciences and humanities. This is difficult to achieve in specialized schools that are not affiliated with universities. This is a great advantage of specialized high schools within universities.
On what basis are you confident that the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities will be the place to train the elite for society?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:Elite training has been of interest to many countries to create high-quality human resources for national development.
As for the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities, we are confident that the School will be the place to train and nurture the best talents for the country for the following reasons:
Tfirst, if we want to train elites, first of all, the teaching staff must be talented people, also known as the elite intellectual team. This is the decisive factor for the quality of education and training. The teaching staff must be people with good expertise, proficient in modern teaching methods, good at foreign languages and good skills, only then can we meet the requirements of elite education.
Monday, facilities must be synchronous and modern such as computer rooms, laboratories and teaching equipment.
Tuesday, the learning resources must be complete, especially specialized subjects must have appropriate advanced programs. The school is very confident about this point because there is a team of prestigious scientists from the university who will edit advanced textbooks that meet national standards and the school will be a pioneer in innovating high-quality learning resources.
Wednesday, students must be carefully selected to have the best quality input source. In the first year of enrollment, a lot of students registered, we believe that we will choose a source of good, quality students.
To create the elite, the people who teach and work at the school must also be elite. How do you recruit and train these people?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:As mentioned above, the teaching staff plays a decisive role in education and elite training. In order to have a good team of teachers, the School has a fairly strict recruitment plan and recruitment method. Recently, the School has selected a team of teachers starting from specialized students who have won high prizes in national exams, are admitted directly to pedagogical universities, have excellent bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, and have teaching experience at specialized schools. In addition, we have a team of experts who are leading professors, associate professors, and doctors of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities who will help the specialized school in advanced and specialized education. It can be affirmed that this is the most important resource for elite training. In addition, we also aim for uniformity in recruitment. Not only the teaching staff but also the team of specialists must have high qualifications. Currently, the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities has an office specialist with a master's degree and is fully sponsored to 11 different countries through international youth exchange and research programs. This is also an important resource to help students in their studies and activities, especially in extracurricular activities.
This year is 2020, in 2030 (after 10 years) what will the High School for Social Sciences and Humanities be like in your imagination?
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Lieu:2020 is a special year celebrating a quarter of a century since the founding of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, formerly Hanoi University of Science, and 75 years of tradition of the University of Letters, the school established by a decree signed by President Ho Chi Minh. What is even more special is that in 2020, the High School for the Gifted in Social Sciences and Humanities will enroll its first class. In my vision, with a comprehensive and sustainable development strategy and a suitable roadmap, after 3 years students will graduate from high school, 3-3.5 years to graduate with a bachelor's degree, 1-1.5 years to graduate with a master's degree, and 2-3 years to complete their doctoral thesis. Thus, by 2030, after 10 years of construction and development, the School will have its first class of students achieving a doctoral degree. This will be a high-quality resource in the field of social sciences and humanities, contributing to the country's development process, turning our country into an industrialized and gradually modernized one.
Thank you very much.