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| Professor Tran Van Tho introduced his book Memories of the Future - Reflections on Culture,Education and the Development Path of Vietnam at the Eastern University of Technology recently. Photo: H.Yen |
In the context of information flooding the cyberspace, Professor Tran Van Tho believes that students need to have the ability to select and analyze information to turn that information into knowledge.
From the perspective of industrialization
Sharing with Dong Nai Newspaper reporters, Professor Tran Van Tho said that developing high-quality human resources to serve the country's economic development must originate from a clear vision of future industrialization policies. According to him, Vietnam should refer to the experiences of successful countries such as Japan and South Korea - countries that have a complete and feasible industrialization policy system. This vision is not only limited to the next 5 or 10 years, but also must identify the industries in which Vietnam will have a comparative advantage in the international market.
According to Professor Tho, to effectively build this vision, there needs to be close cooperation between the Government and large enterprises.
Professor TRAN VAN THO was born in 1949 in Quang Nam province. He went to Japan to study from 1967-1968, then stayed to work in Japan. From 2000 until his retirement in 2020, he was a professor of economics at Waseda University, Tokyo. He currently holds the position of honorary professor there. He is one of the first three foreigners invited to join the Economic Advisory Council of the Japanese Prime Minister, with nearly 10 years of service through many terms. In Vietnam, he participated in the Economic and Administrative Reform Advisory Group for Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, then was a member of the Economic Advisory Group of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for the 2016-2021 term.
He analyzed: “Large enterprises often possess a lot of valuable information, along with the ability to research and analyze the market in depth. Meanwhile, the Government has a role in synthesizing and mobilizing intelligence from many sectors, creating a combined strength to provide the right directions. The Government and large enterprises discuss together to come up with a vision, to see which industries in Vietnam need to develop, which industries in Vietnam will have advantages in the world market."
Once the vision of the industrial structure has been shaped, specific industries will develop, such as the semiconductor industry, the automobile industry or the food industry. This will directly lead to an analysis of the necessary human resource needs.
Professor Tho gave a specific example of the semiconductor industry: "To develop the semiconductor industry, it is clear that highly qualified IT engineers are needed. Therefore, developing high-quality human resources for this industry is very important. Meanwhile, Vietnam is in great need of IT specialists and engineers who are good at English. The demand from the market is very large but the domestic training capacity is not enough to meet it. Therefore, universities must adjust their training programs to meet that demand."
Professor Tran Van Tho emphasized that educational institutions must be flexible and update their training programs and methods to keep up with the development trends of key industries.
One of the misconceptions in the concept of training high-quality human resources was also dissected by Professor Tho. According to him, in the past, Vietnam often thought that training many PhDs meant training high-quality human resources. However, he affirmed: "In reality, it is not like that, training PhDs is mainly for teaching and research. Human resources for production activities, for leadership in production activities at construction sites and factories do not need PhDs."
Limitations of students and the path to becoming true knowledge
Sharing about the limitations of students today, Professor Tran Van Tho said that not only in Vietnam, but also in many other countries, students spend too much time accessing the internet without the ability to select and analyze information.
"If we have access to too much information and do not have the ability to select information or analyze information, we will not have high capacity and will not be able to receive the achievements of science" - Professor Tho expressed.
According to Professor Tho, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between information and knowledge: "Information and knowledge are different. Information is just raw information. Information must be selected, analyzed, and generalized to become knowledge." His advice to students is: "You should read a lot and think a lot, and not spend too much time accessing information online."
In the era of integration, English is an important tool to access modern and scientific knowledge. However, Professor Tran Van Tho emphasized that being good at English is not enough. Students need to be good at history and Vietnamese language, and must be able to write and express themselves fluently and richly. He frankly pointed out: "I have noticed that many people, although they have graduated from university, do not write very standard Vietnamese."
Professor Tran Van Tho reminded young people of the importance of cultural and linguistic "roots". He believes that firmly "rooting" in this foundation will create inner strength, helping each individual develop and become more successful when reaching out to the world.
Hai Yen
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202506/dao-tao-nguon-nhan-luc-phu-hop-tam-nhin-cong-nghiep-hoa-bcf1106/
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