This was the question posed by PGS.TS Vu Hai Quan - Chancellor of Viet Nam National Univeristy Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), in his speech at the Outstanding Young Officials and 5-Excellent Student Festival of VNU-HCM in 2023, organized by the VNU-HCM Youth Union on the afternoon of December 7 at Tran Chi Dao Hall.
This year, VNU-HCM honored 99 Outstanding Young Officials and 284 students who achieved the title "5-Excellent Student" at the university level.
PGS.TS Vu Hai Quan, in his speech, emphasized the concept of "innovative thinking"
"Innovative thinking" is the key
PGS.TS Vu Hai Quan stated that VNU-HCM has redefined its development strategy for the period 2021-2030, with a vision until 2045. Accordingly, VNU-HCM strives to become a leading research university system in Asia, where talents converge, and knowledge and Vietnamese culture spread. One of VNU-HCM's missions is to train and nurture comprehensive talents with social responsibility, leadership capabilities, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The Chancellor of VNU-HCM emphasized that the 5-Excellent Student program is a typical illustration of VNU-HCM's mission in the training and development of talents, aiming for comprehensiveness in individuals, not only in specialized knowledge but also in social knowledge and participation in activities. In addition to keywords such as "perseverance," "enthusiasm," "passion," and "open-mindedness" mentioned by young officials and students at the festival, PGS.TS Vu Hai Quan added and emphasized the keyword "entrepreneurial thinking" or "innovative thinking."
According to him, individuals with innovative thinking are those who, when faced with challenges and difficulties, seek every solution to overcome them instead of turning back or stepping aside. They differ from those who only do assigned tasks and, when faced with difficulties, do not make efforts to overcome them or often find reasons to delegate tasks that require innovation.
Having had the opportunity to meet with the top 10 largest Korean corporations investing in Vietnam, the Chancellor of VNU-HCMmentioned that the leaders of these Korean corporations highly appreciate the competence of Vietnamese engineers and people. However, they have two concerns based on observations of Vietnamese students working in their companies.
The first concern is the passivity in work. These Vietnamese students only perform assigned tasks without demonstrating initiative and creative ability or exploration. The second concern is "loyalty." Large Korean corporations have mentioned that they provide a very long training and development program to enhance the capacity and expertise of Vietnamese students in their work. Therefore, the initial salaries may not be high. They have observed many Vietnamese students, after graduation, moving to other places with higher salaries, leaving the corporation.
Building innovative thinking is necessary
Illustrating innovative thinking, the Chancellor of VNU-HCM cited the example of establishing two national universities. After the country opened up to international integration, Vietnam's old university training model was no longer effective. Faced with numerous challenges at that time, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and the Party Central Committee demonstrated innovative thinking by proposing a multi-disciplinary, multi-field university system that meets the requirements of international integration.
Another example is the 5-Excellent Student program. Stemming from the issue of how to launch a movement to encourage students to train and enhance skills alongside formal education, the HCMC Youth Union and HCMC-NU proposed the 5-Good Student movement, with criteria including "Good Morality - Good Academic Performance - Good Physical Health - Good Volunteering - Good Integration."
The Eureka Scientific Research Student Award is also an initiative of the HCMC Youth Union and VNU-HCM, aiming to provide a scientific playground for students nationwide. Over the course of 25 years, the Eureka Award program has continuously developed.
PGS.TS Vu Hai Quan mentioned that the country is facing difficulties with numerous opportunities and challenges. Individuals honored at the Outstanding Young Officials and 5-Excellent Student Festival of VNU-HCM are exemplary teachers, lecturers, and students of VNU-HCM.
"The country is expecting, waiting for us. Will we have proposals to demonstrate innovative thinking, or will we continue to wait together? This is a question that I hope young teachers, students, with their qualities and capabilities, will build innovative thinking to contribute ideas and innovations for the development of the country in this new period," emphasized the Chancellor of VNU-HCM.
By Le Hoai - UIT Admissions
Detailed Information: https://vnuhcm.edu.vn/tin-tuc_32343364/chon-phat-huy-tu-duy-doi-moi-hay-chon-tiep-tuc-cho-doi-/353630363364.html
Hạ Băng - Media Collaborator, University of Information Technology
English version: Phan Huy Hoang
