Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of the Department of Culture, Aesthetics, and Ethics (Faculty of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy) still sat diligently reading each line, occasionally stopping to correct a few places or take notes on issues that needed further clarification in the doctoral dissertation manuscript of a graduate student. Many a time, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai returned home when his wife and children were already fast asleep...

The path to cultural philosophy

More than 30 years ago, Nguyen Thanh Hai left his hometown of Phu Van commune, Kim Bang district, Nam Ha province (now Phu Van ward, Ninh Binh province) to join the army at the Weapons Department (now the Weapons Department, General Department of Logistics and Technology). The work at that time was related to the warehouse, inventory, preservation of weapons and equipment... very quiet but also extremely hard. Recalling that time, he confided: "The years when I first joined the army gave me a lot of experience, gave me a lot of valuable practical materials so that later when I researched and taught Philosophy, I would use them to reflect, reflect and understand more deeply the Marxist-Leninist Philosophy".

Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai.

After graduating from the political cadre training at the platoon level, in 2003, Nguyen Thanh Hai was retained as a student management officer at the Political Academy. It was still a practical activity, but this time it was student management practice, educational practice in a place that has always been a pioneer in research and teaching of social sciences and humanities of the Army and the country. It was that "practical piece" that gave him a new perspective on life, on the military field and further expanded his philosophical thinking, at the same time urging him to further his determination to one day stand on the podium to impart the wisdom of humanity and Marxist-Leninist Philosophy to students. Recognizing Nguyen Thanh Hai's research and teaching ability, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Political Academy successively sent him to train as a lecturer, transferred him to be a lecturer in the Faculty of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, and then continued to train him for a doctorate in Philosophy.

The more he studied, taught, and researched, the more he found harmony with cultural philosophy - a narrow but very deep major, helping him find the "essence" and the most general rules to explain the movement and transformation of spiritual values, the rich and vivid manifestations of customs, lifestyles, and behaviors... of people in general, soldiers and the military field in particular. "Cultural philosophy requires us to have a truly profound view, to know how to ignore all trivial, superficial manifestations of life to find the "sediment" layer that has been weathered under the depth of each culture. And that is also the wisdom of our ancestors, extremely profound, extremely profound but also extremely delicate and subtle. Our responsibility is to dig deep into that treasure trove of wisdom and learn and promote it", Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai's eyes lit up with a passion for science in every passionate sentence.

Colonel, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai conducts academic activities with lecturers in the Department of Culture, Aesthetics, and Ethics (Faculty of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy, Academy of Politics).

With that passion, Nguyen Thanh Hai has researched deeply and contributed to the development of cultural philosophy theory with many scientific products such as thesis topics, dozens of articles published in prestigious scientific journals, 2 scientific topics at the industry level, 6 topics at the academy level and many textbooks and documents. At the same time, as Head of the Department, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai always wholeheartedly guides and trains both content and methods for the teaching staff in the Department to continuously improve the quality of teaching and scientific research. Bringing the spirit of "solidarity, cooperation, and collective achievements" into carrying out tasks, he and the team of lecturers of the Faculty of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy and the Department of Culture, Aesthetics, and Ethics are increasingly effectively exploiting the potential of national culture and the quintessence of human culture, applying it to building a worldview, revolutionary methodology, science, education, and training cultural personality for future political commissars, teachers, and scientists.

Thinking and creating to inspire passion

Attending a lecture by Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai at a training course for regimental and brigade political commissars, I truly understood what the lecturers and staff of the Department of Marxist-Leninist Philosophy said about him. In contrast to his pensive demeanor while working on his dissertation, he transformed into a completely different person, full of youthful energy and enthusiasm for his students. Each point was meticulously crafted, clearly and logically explained, with many witty yet profound examples.

"Studying with Instructor Hai is tiring, but it's a lot of fun!" Major Nguyen Van An, a student in Class 61B, System 1, told me during a break.

- Why so, comrade?-I asked.

- Because he raised many issues that forced us to think and debate. There were issues that students had previously considered "sensitive" and always avoided, but Mr. Hai aimed even more at them. For example, with the question: "Is there a fading of military cultural identity among soldiers?", we had a heated debate for dozens of minutes before reaching a consensus...

Increasing the level of interaction with students, putting learners in cognitive situations to force them to think and solve problems on their own, that is how Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai applies the flipped classroom model, the flipped teaching method to implement the breakthrough policy, improve the teaching and learning quality of the Party Committee and Board of Directors of the Academy of Politics.

"But I don't always teach like that in every lesson!" Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai suddenly interrupted my train of thought.

- Maybe on "weather-changing" days, you will be less "fiery"?- I joked with him.

- Oh no, when I teach, I have to be passionate. But for each group of students, I have to use a different teaching method, and the content has to be adjusted quite a bit. To do that, I have to think a lot!

For Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, there is no single lecture that can be used for all audiences, nor is there a teaching method that is “all-purpose”. Even with the same audience, each lecture is the result of pedagogical work, reflection, and contemplation to innovate. For decades now, although he may be busy during the day, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai has never missed the “mode” of watching the evening news and the morning news of Vietnam Television. That is the official source of information for him to supplement and update his daily lectures. Therefore, his lectures are always full of information, figures, names of people, events... extremely vivid.

"But how do you 'bridge the gap' between the abstract theories of cultural philosophy and the 'dry, rigorous' practice of military operations?" I asked curiously.

"If that's what I want, I'll take on the role of a student again to learn more from practical experience!" he replied.

To make the lectures closer to life and military activities, he proactively reported his wishes and was sent to practice at the base unit, holding the position of Deputy Political Director of the 604th Information Brigade, Military Region 2. Participating in leading and directing the implementation of Party and political activities at the unit, he learned more and more about military culture, military culture... Constantly pondering the need to improve practicality in teaching, whenever he felt that the unit of knowledge was still "far" from the learners, he did not hesitate to go to the place, directly meet the students to learn more about the nature of their tasks and characteristics of their activities before enrolling. Therefore, when listening to Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai's lectures, everyone seemed to see their own shadow in it.

Through his diligent efforts and dedication to his duties, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai's achievements have steadily increased over the years. In 2024, he was awarded the title of Excellent Lecturer at the Ministry of National Defense level, and for five consecutive years, he has received the title of Excellent Lecturer at the grassroots level. For two consecutive years (2024 and 2025), he was awarded the title of Emulation Soldier at the grassroots level and was nominated for a commendation from the Minister of National Defense. During the peak emulation campaign "Raising the Red Flag of August" to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, he achieved outstanding results and received a certificate of merit. For Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hai, the recognition from the Party committees and commanders at all levels, and the trust of his colleagues, are sources of encouragement and motivation for him to continuously innovate and create, continuing to "pass on the flame" of philosophy and culture to the students.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-17/nguoi-thay-truyen-lua-triet-hoc-van-hoa-1016060