Humanistic training philosophy of Hanoi Open University

After 30 years of construction and development, Hanoi Open University has determined the training philosophy: Open opportunities - Open hearts - Open minds - Open visions - Open futures. This is the consistent ideology of the school to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party and the State, thereby helping all people realize their desire to study, study regularly, study for life; have working skills, life skills, creativity and adaptability in modern society.

Open opportunities: Create equal access toeducation for everyone

Carrying out the mission of “Opening learning opportunities for everyone with good quality”, this university is a pioneer in removing barriers in education. In the training model of Hanoi Open University, learners have access to knowledge and majors that suit their wishes and personal conditions. In particular, for the form of distance learning, learners can study any major or subject in the school’s training program, as long as they meet the prerequisites for admission. The learning and training of learners become regular, continuous, lifelong, contributing to building a learning society according to the correct policies of the Party and State. This is also the first university in the country to have a complete online training system, training and granting degrees online since 2008. The application of modern technology in teaching and learning has helped learners access lectures and knowledge anytime, anywhere, eliminating barriers of space and time, creating equal access to education for all people.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhung, President of Hanoi Open University, said that for learners, the school always wants to bring the most favorable conditions, including calculating tuition fees at the minimum level, and learning costs suitable for many people. In order to ensure both training quality and create good conditions for learners, the school has sought and received support projects from domestic and foreign organizations, notably the project to build online training infrastructure invested by KOICA with a total budget of more than 3 million USD; coordinating with more than 70 training stations and affiliated units in more than 40 provinces and cities to effectively use the facilities of the units, helping learners across the country to study at home and take exams locally, saving costs and travel time.

Open heart: Spreading human values to the community

Hanoi Open University is known for its humane culture, fostered through generations through the tradition of solidarity, mutual love and positive contributions to the community. This spirit is expressed through the daily care and support of teachers and students, spread in the relationships between individuals in the school and widely spread to society.

Promoting humanity in the training philosophy, this university cares and targets disadvantaged and disadvantaged groups in society such as: people with disabilities, people in difficult circumstances; people in remote areas... From there, it removes barriers, creating equality in access to education for everyone. Many examples of disabled students overcoming their circumstances, studying well, having stable jobs, creating jobs for themselves and creating jobs for many people, making positive contributions to society.

At Hanoi Open University, lecturers guide and instruct students to use knowledge and skills in their majors to solve social problems. Through this, students gain a deeper understanding of professional knowledge, create opportunities to develop soft skills, nurture personality, a mindset of connecting with the social community and fulfilling the responsibilities of a citizen. Some typical projects serving the community and imbued with humanity include: Caso App Connecting the Elderly (Second Prize in the National Student Startup Idea Competition 2020); Project "Conquering Language for Children with Developmental Disorders" (First Prize in the National Creative Startup Idea Competition for Female Students 2022); Project "Smart Wheel Chair" to support people with disabilities (Second Prize in the National Student Startup Idea Competition 2023).

The school is also known for its volunteer and humanitarian activities. Many volunteer movements and activities of the school's staff, lecturers and students have left their mark such as: Donating blood for the "Red Ambition" humanitarian campaign; Supporting families with revolutionary contributions and disadvantaged families; Teaching children for free; Disseminating information technology knowledge, improving legal knowledge for free; Supporting many partner agencies, units and communities in overcoming difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open Mind: Creating knowledge contributes to comprehensive human development

In the training model of Hanoi Open University, learners are the center, the subject of knowledge creation. Here, learners can explore and enlighten themselves; lecturers have the responsibility of inspiring and orienting. The mission of lecturers is to create an environment and motivation for learners to gain practical experience with problems they have encountered and will encounter in the process of discovery and creation, thereby helping learners develop comprehensively. To create an environment for knowledge creation, Hanoi Open University focuses on developing a team of lecturers with in-depth specialized knowledge, constantly improving professional skills and practical experience. As a pioneer in applying new technology, this university continuously upgrades its technological infrastructure to effectively support the process of knowledge creation.

Along with developing doctoral, master's, undergraduate and short-term training programs, since 2019, Hanoi Open University has built a system of massive open online courses (MOOCs) providing lectures to serve the community. Currently, there are hundreds of free courses posted on the system, attracting millions of views and registrations. The school is also trusted by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education and management agencies to organize training and propaganda activities, build open courses... contributing to spreading knowledge to the community.

Open vision: Developing creative thinking to meet the trend of the times

Hanoi Open University builds an application-oriented training program, focusing on job positions, emphasizing skills and creative thinking, opening learners' vision, meeting the trend of the times. Each training program has comments from experts, employers and alumni, helping students have a longer-term vision to be able to orient their work positions during the learning process, thereby proactively building personal study plans. Hanoi Open University students are maximally supported to be creative and develop comprehensively through creative start-up activities, international exchanges, etc.

Open the future: Be proactive and integrate to create the future

The fifth word “Open” in the training philosophy of Hanoi Open University is the result of the four previous words “Open”. Here, learners are equipped with knowledge and skills, have their vision broadened, and cultivate compassion to be proactive and integrate to create the future. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Nhung, Principal, said that in the training model of Hanoi Open University, learners have access to knowledge and majors according to their individual needs. It can be said that the University has implemented personalized learning from a very early age, making learning and training of learners regular, continuous, and lifelong, contributing to building a learning society.

By 2035, Hanoi Open University will become the leading university in open and distance education and training in Vietnam; achieving regional and international quality standards; and being the core in building a learning society and lifelong learning.

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