Post-merger higher education: Driving force for regional educational innovation

GD&TĐ - The merger of provinces and cities will promote connections between universities, creating a foundation for high-quality education and training centers.

Universities take advantage of this connection to share resources, improve training and research quality; aiming to meet the need for high-quality human resources.

Shorten the distance

In the Mekong Delta, an important factor creating new momentum for Can Tho City is the merger of two neighboring provinces, Hau Giang and Soc Trang . This merger has increased the central urban position of Can Tho City, while expanding the population to more than 4 million people, an area of about 6,000 km2, creating new space and momentum for economic development, especially in education and training.

On July 15, the Prime Minister signed Decision No. 1531/QD-TTg on transforming Can Tho University into Can Tho University - a national regional university, with the functions of training, research and technology transfer to serve the socio -economic development of the Mekong Delta and the country. According to the school's leaders, this is not only an organizational transformation, but also an important milestone, affirming the school's role as an academic, research and innovation center in the Vietnamese higher education system.

To develop human resources, before the merger into Can Tho City, the People's Committee of Soc Trang Province (old) handed over the facilities to Can Tho University to establish a branch. This is the first higher education institution in Soc Trang (old), contributing to helping people, especially students in remote areas, ethnic minorities in the southern localities of the Mekong Delta, have more opportunities to access higher education.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Trung Tinh - Rector of Can Tho University, said: In the first phase, the branch will organize short and medium-term training courses in the fields that Soc Trang province (old) is in need of. In 2025, the branch plans to train full-time university level with 3 majors: Accounting, Law, Logistics and Supply Chain Management. In addition, it will train masters, with majors: Information Technology, Agricultural Systems - specializing in climate change and sustainable tropical agriculture, Crop Science - specializing in smart agricultural engineering...

Mr. Tran Van Lau - Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee added that the establishment of Can Tho University branch in Soc Trang (old) will contribute to solving the problem of high-quality human resources of the province and neighboring localities in the coming time. Meeting the expectations and desires of the people, solving the need for on-site learning, shortening travel distances, and reducing costs.

Currently, Can Tho University has 6 specialized schools: Polytechnic School, Information Technology and Communication School, Economics School, Agriculture School, Pedagogy School, Fisheries School and 10 faculties, 3 research institutes, 1 Pedagogical Practice High School. With the vision of becoming a prestigious research university in the region and internationally, Can Tho University constantly innovates to maintain its leading role...

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Nguyen Doan Khoi - Head of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (Can Tho University) said that with its position as a key higher education institution in the Mekong Delta, the school has been affirming its key role in promoting the startup and innovation ecosystem of Can Tho City.

With strong internal capacity in terms of high-quality staff and lecturers, abundant student resources with great entrepreneurial potential, along with modern facilities and a wide network of partners, Can Tho University has created a solid foundation for innovation activities in the city and the Mekong Delta region.

Photo illustration INT.

Enhance cooperation

After 25 years of construction and development, Cuu Long University has become a trusted address for parents and students of Vinh Long and the Mekong Delta region. Up to now, Cuu Long University has cooperated with nearly 200 institutes, universities, associations, and foreign enterprises in many different fields...

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Minh Cu - Party Secretary, Rector of Cuu Long University, said: “We are interested in investing in facilities, equipment and human resources to serve the training needs of the school in the era of Industry 4.0. Along with that, we promote collective strength, uphold the spirit of internal solidarity. We pay attention to supporting students, creating maximum conditions for them to participate in learning and research, helping students develop comprehensively”.

With the goal of building a brand to become a prestigious university in the region, the country and internationally, Cuu Long University continues to innovate teaching methods, regularly update and improve training programs and cooperate in training and academics. Strengthen quality assessment; invest in facilities and equipment to serve the teaching, learning and research activities of lecturers and students. Pay attention to the development of lecturer resources. In particular, promote scientific research and international cooperation.

Discussing the opportunities after merging provinces/cities, Associate Professor Dr. Ho Van Thong - Principal of Dong Thap University said that the school wishes to become a long-term strategic partner with the Department of Education and Training in training and fostering teachers and educational managers.

The school is committed to providing high-quality teaching resources and designing flexible training programs to suit the needs of each unit. Regarding training to improve teachers' qualifications according to Decree 71/2020/ND-CP of the Prime Minister, the school proposes that the Departments of Education and Training consider and create conditions for coordination in implementing the task of training human resources in the form of training orders.

“Dong Thap University has many years of experience in providing training to improve teachers’ qualifications in many localities, with a full range of pedagogical majors, meeting all subjects in the 2018 General Education Program,” Associate Professor Dr. Ho Van Thong emphasized.

Can Tho University trains 19/24 fields, with 121 undergraduate training programs, 59 graduate training programs and 24 doctoral training programs. Notably, the proportion of the university's teaching staff with doctoral degrees reaches 58.5% with 24 professors and 182 associate professors and a training scale of over 49,000 students, postgraduate students and doctoral students.

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/giao-duc-dai-hoc-sau-sap-nhap-dong-luc-doi-moi-giao-duc-vung-post744338.html