Alumni - "Messengers" connecting the past with the future

Today (March 16), the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) held a meeting with alumni representatives to celebrate the Lunar New Year 2019.

The meeting attracted the participation of more than 40 outstanding alumni of the faculties. They are representatives of generations of students, many of whom currently hold important positions in society and have quite close ties with their old school and class, including people who are very familiar to the public such as Mr. Nguyen The Ky - Member of the Central Executive Committee, General Director of the Voice of Vietnam, Editor Thanh Huong...

Regardless of age or position, all are… former students of “Humanities”

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh, the school's principal, a famous person in the media from television to electronic and printed newspapers... in international commentary programs, was extremely moved when meeting familiar faces who were students of the former University of General Sciences, now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SHS&NH) - Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU Hanoi).

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh (right), Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU Hanoi

As a former student of the school's class 23, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh said: There is a very special thing in today's alumni meeting: "There is no distinction in terms of position or age, even though those who have held and are holding very high positions in society such as Mr. Nguyen The Ky - Member of the Central Executive Committee, General Director of the Voice of Vietnam; Prof. Dr. - People's Teacher Nguyen Quang Ngoc - Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences (VNU), or Mr. Vi Quang Dao - General Director of the Government Electronic Information Portal... all have a common brand: "former student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities".

The President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities said: “I only studied for one year, and I am still an alumni. You guys are luckier, studying for 4 or 5 years, receiving a degree from the school. But we are all the same, no matter how short or long the study time is, whether they are graduate students, researchers or undergraduates… they are all students of the school.”

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh expressed his joy that the alumni who grew up from this school have been present and successful in many different fields, “from politics to economics, culture, society, from universities to research institutes or state agencies, private enterprises…”. Along with that, he was very happy that the achievements of the school were used and recognized by society; the alumni promoted the knowledge and skills they learned at the school, making that knowledge richer, and thereby making the reputation of the school more and more sustainable and widespread.

Alumni - "Messengers" connecting the school with society

At the meeting, many alumni shared their memorable memories of their time at school. Mr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc emotionally said: “The luckiest thing in my life is to be able to attend the University of General Sciences”. He said that, here (the University of General Sciences), he had the opportunity to study with a generation of wonderful teachers, even though he had studied in many places around the world.

Mr. Nguyen The Ky - Member of the Central Executive Committee, General Director of Voice of Vietnam, former student of the Faculty of Literature, University of General Sciences (former)

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc

Venerable Thich Dam Lan, abbot of Bo De Pagoda, Hanoi, is one of the alumni of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - VNU Hanoi.

He said he had also taught at many universities in and outside the country, and realized that “synthesis” or “interdisciplinary” is the most important thing, a great “tradition” of the former General University, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities today. “It can be said that it synthesizes all the knowledge and experience of many fields, including social and natural sciences,” Mr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc emphasized.

That is also what many alumni shared in today's meeting. For them, the comprehensive and interdisciplinary knowledge has helped them not only complete their assigned work and tasks well, but also achieve certain successes, recognized by friends, colleagues and society. There are even alumni who work in "different fields" but are still very successful; and they shared that knowledge of social sciences and humanities is the "background knowledge" that helps them achieve sweet results after leaving school.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh also thanked the alumni for studying at this school, congratulated and wished the alumni of the school to be more and more successful. “They are the ambassadors of the school, bringing the knowledge learned at school to society, serving society. They are the best image of the school, connecting the school with society, connecting the past and the future”.

There is no country or individual without its own history, all current and future development is based on the past. And we need to know how to preserve and cherish the past, including successes and failures, including things we have not done. That is also the meaning of the slogan "Cherish the past, hold the future" - the slogan of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.