Achieving the goals of Resolution No. 71: Determination, resources, and breakthrough approaches are needed

To achieve that goal, it requires very high political determination, accompanied by specific resources and breakthrough approaches.

Aim to reach world rankings

Resolution 71 sets a target of having at least 2 universities in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields by 2035 according to prestigious international rankings; by 2045, at least 5 universities in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings. According to Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen - an independent education expert in Ho Chi Minh City - these goals are completely grounded.

In addition, some organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)... have made positive forecasts about the prospect of Vietnam becoming an economy in the top 20 countries in the world in terms of GDP size by 2045, based on current factors. Therefore, Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen believes that the goal of "Vietnam having a modern, equitable and quality national education system, ranking in the top 20 countries in the world" by 2045 is also reasonable.

“With a developed economy reaching a GDP of about 2,000 - 2,500 billion USD (4 - 5 times higher than present) and an average income per capita of approximately 20,000 USD/year (higher than Malaysia today) by 2045, Vietnam will certainly have huge resources to invest in education development, especially building research universities in the world's top 100 on rankings such as THE, ARWU, QS”, Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen further analyzed.

From a more cautious perspective, Mr. Nguyen Vinh San - a member of the VNUR university ranking research team - commented that the above goals are not impossible, but are also very challenging to achieve.

Mr. Nguyen Vinh San explained that currently, Vietnam has a number of universities in the top 500 in the world and top 200 in Asia according to QS and THE (2 National Universities, Duy Tan University, Ton Duc Thang University). However, the number is still small, the rankings are not stable and most of them are only in the 801-1,000 group in the world or 301-500 in Asia. To move from the current ranking to the top 200 in Asia and the top 100 in the world, it requires comprehensive, synchronous changes and huge investments from the universities themselves and the State.

Vietnamese universities have advantages in terms of development speed, new support policies from the Party and State, and the trend of increasingly deep international integration; but our starting point is still low.

Sharing specific difficulties that Vietnamese higher education faces when it wants to achieve the goal of reaching world rankings, Mr. Nguyen Vinh San presented four groups: Finance and facilities; human resources; university administration; academic culture and integration.

Regarding finance and facilities: Prestigious international rankings (QS, THE, ARWU) all highly appreciate the criteria of international publications, citations, research and investment in R&D. Meanwhile, budget expenditure for higher education and scientific research in Vietnam is still limited, only about 0.4 - 0.5% of GDP, much lower than countries with universities in the top 100 in the world. Laboratory infrastructure, electronic libraries, and research data are still lacking and not synchronized.

Regarding human resources: The proportion of lecturers with doctoral degrees is still low compared to international standards; income and remuneration mechanisms are not attractive enough to attract domestic and foreign talents; foreign language proficiency and international publication capacity are still limited, leading to the quantity and quality of international articles not being strong enough.

Regarding university governance: University autonomy is still in its infancy, with many constraints on finance, organization, and personnel; the governance mechanism has not kept up with international standards (the university council operates in a formal manner, lacking real autonomy); there is no clear long-term strategy to participate in international rankings, and many schools are not yet ready to publicly disclose data.

Regarding academic culture and integration: International publication culture and scientific research spirit have not really spread widely; international cooperation has developed but is not sustainable, lacking deep connections in research, co-guidance, and co-publication; international standard training programs, dual degrees, and student exchanges are not competitive enough.

Need high political determination, specific resources, breakthrough methods

Mr. Nguyen Vinh San said that the goal is only feasible when there is a very high political determination accompanied by specific resources and breakthrough methods. Specifically, to realize the goal of Resolution 71, the education sector needs to synchronously deploy the following solutions:

First, focus on investment and system stratification. Select about 10 key national universities (Hanoi National University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Da Nang University, Hue University, Can Tho University, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, National Economics University, some strong private schools...) to focus investment, create mechanisms and avoid spreading investment; establish specific mechanisms on finance, personnel, and organization for this group of schools.

Second, improve the quality of the team. It is necessary to rapidly increase the proportion of lecturers with doctoral degrees (priority given to sending them to study at top universities in the world); expand the program to attract international scholars to teach and conduct long-term research in Vietnam; improve income and working environment to attract and retain talent.

Third, promote international research and publication. Accordingly, build a national research fund to support publication in ISI/Scopus journals; develop interdisciplinary laboratories and excellent research centers; build a mechanism to link research with businesses and practical applications; reduce/exempt taxes for businesses when investing in research, cooperating with universities and research institutes...

Fourth, innovate governance and autonomy by removing administrative barriers in university autonomy, scientific research and business cooperation; make operational data transparent, be ready to participate in international rankings; apply digital technology in university governance.

Fifth, strong internationalization by expanding joint training programs with top 200 schools in the world; encouraging long-term exchanges of lecturers and students; attracting international students at key schools.

According to Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen, goals need to be accompanied by specific action programs to clearly indicate implementation methods and demonstrate commitment to realizing the goals.

For example, if we are to strive to have a university education system in the top 100 in the world, we need to commit corresponding resources to build excellent research universities. The strategic questions that need to be answered are: Will we invest in existing universities, or reorganize some leading universities, or build completely new universities? Many successful and failed models in the US, Middle Eastern countries, Korea, Singapore, China... we can refer to in order to choose the right direction for ourselves.

It is also important to note that as we strive to reach the top 100, universities in other countries will also continuously improve to improve their rankings. That is, in this race, we must make double efforts: to both surpass ourselves and avoid falling behind other universities and countries.

In order for higher education institutions to quickly advance in international rankings, it is certain that they must invest large resources. However, the investment must be based on the capacity and achievements of the unit demonstrated through specific figures. Emphasizing this, Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen said that it is not advisable to specify which universities should be invested in to enter the top 100, but rather to set clear criteria for a number of large universities to register to participate. When receiving budget support, schools must commit to completing specific targets (KPI) in each stage.

“An economy in the world’s top 20 also requires a workforce and brainpower that is commensurate in both quantity and quality. Therefore, investing in building leading domestic higher education institutions, in addition to increasing the number of international students, is a very welcome action,” Mr. Bui Khanh Nguyen further emphasized.

In addition, this expert also proposed establishing a “National Education Fund” so that all citizens and philanthropists can contribute to realizing educational goals. Or build a mechanism so that higher education institutions can receive large grants to help develop important faculties and majors; allow philanthropists to sponsor the construction of modern lecture halls, laboratories, dormitories, etc. These actions can help quickly upgrade domestic higher education institutions, increasing their competitiveness globally.

“The goal set by Resolution 71 is quite high in the current context but necessary, reflecting the aspirations of Vietnamese education to rise and integrate. Whether the goal is feasible or not depends on political determination, breakthroughs in governance, financial investment, and especially changes in academic culture in each university,” said Mr. Nguyen Vinh San.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/dat-muc-tieu-nghi-quyet-so-71-can-quyet-tam-nguon-luc-cach-lam-dot-pha-post747816.html