Many Vietnamese agricultural products have become famous in the world market.

General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated the training achievements of Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture.

Also attending the opening ceremony were members of the Party Central Committee: Head of the Central Economic Commission Tran Luu Quang; Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung; Permanent Deputy Chief of the Office of the Party Central Committee Lam Thi Phuong Thanh and representatives of many departments, ministries, branches, central agencies, Hanoi city, representatives of embassies and international organizations in Vietnam.

Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam said that after 40 years of renovation, Vietnam's agriculture has developed strongly, becoming a pillar of the economy, and many Vietnamese agricultural products have become famous in the international market.

"I visited and worked in a number of countries, and they highly appreciated Vietnam's development, including the agricultural sector. In 2023, Vietnam exported 8 million tons of rice," General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized.

General Secretary and President To Lam visited, attended and delivered an important speech at the opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 school year of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture and the inauguration of the "Project to enhance training and science and technology capacity" using ODA capital from the World Bank.

Appreciating the role of human resources in the remarkable development of the agricultural sector in recent years, General Secretary and President To Lam assessed that the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture is one of the country's key universities. Over the past 70 years, the Academy has trained more than 120,000 scientific, technical and managerial staff with university degrees, over 15,000 masters and more than 700 doctors. The Academy is one of the first 6 universities trusted by the Government to pilot autonomy according to the Government's Resolution on piloting innovation of the operating mechanism for public higher education institutions; and is considered one of the universities that most vividly and successfully implemented the Government's Decree on Regulations on the autonomy mechanism of public service units.

Citing the figure of over 90% of the Academy's students finding jobs right after graduation, General Secretary and President To Lam highly appreciated the Academy's training work, proving that the training work has met the needs of businesses, contributing to arousing the spirit of entrepreneurship, self-reliance, innovation and creativity for students.

General Secretary and President To Lam was also impressed by the fact that the Academy considered scientific research and technological development as the lifeblood of the university, organically linked to the training mission. The Academy is also always proactive, positive and creative in transferring technology into practice. The Academy is also a typical example of international integration according to the motto "using external forces to promote internal development".

"The presence of international guests such as ambassadors, the World Bank, JICA, KOICA... and representatives of international students from many countries studying here is a very convincing proof of the stature of the Academy in the eyes of international friends", the General Secretary and President emphasized.

General Secretary and President To Lam presents a photo of Uncle Ho to the Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA).

6 key tasks to develop a multidisciplinary, multi-field university for agriculture, farmers, and rural areas

Reaffirming the Party's viewpoint that education and training are the top national policies, and science and technology are the key to the country's development and prosperity, General Secretary and President To Lam requested that the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture must strive to not only be the country's leading training and research center but also a prestigious university in the region and the world, a center of innovation, and a trusted address for national startups.

The Academy needs to develop a comprehensive development project with a suitable roadmap to become a multidisciplinary, multi-field, multi-branch research university following the model of advanced research universities in the world.

Second, today's university graduates not only need to have good professional knowledge and skills, and the ability to quickly and promptly adapt to artificial intelligence, automation and digital transformation; but also need to have lifelong self-learning skills, innovation skills, critical thinking and collaboration skills, along with other soft skills, to ensure that they have enough autonomy and adapt well to a rapidly changing working environment.

Third, higher education institutions, including the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, must continue to implement university autonomy more substantially and at a new level, according to the criteria and practices of higher education in developed countries; ensure more comprehensive integration in higher education, but still imbued with Vietnamese culture and soul, originating from the realities of the country and people of Vietnam.

Fourth, the research of the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture must aim to serve the goal of "prosperous agriculture, wealthy farmers, and civilized rural areas". The focus of the Academy's research is to serve the development of a smart agriculture that adapts to climate change, has green growth, and high added value, while contributing to the construction of a prosperous and civilized new rural area.

Fifth, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to create the best conditions for the Academy to actively participate in science and technology programs chaired by the Ministry, first of all the programs on new rural construction, adaptation to climate change, low emissions and other programs in the coming time; the Academy's laboratories with equipment on par with advanced universities in the world must be the main force in the system of reference laboratories, designated by the country, playing an important role in enhancing the added value and competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products.

"I request the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assign the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture to act as a focal point for relevant universities to organize training on natural disaster prevention to form a team of professional natural disaster prevention officers in our country; at the same time, assign the Academy to reopen the training program for cooperative management officers in the form of public-private partnership, a very important field of the country," the General Secretary and President assigned the task.

Sixth, there must be closer ties between universities and localities, especially the host localities. Universities located in a locality need to have training and scientific and technological activities serving that locality; at the same time, local authorities at all levels need to collaborate and actively support the development of universities in their locality.

Student representatives of Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture presented flowers to congratulate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Director of the Academy.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the new school year 2024 - 2025 and the inauguration of the "Project to enhance training capacity, science and technology from ODA capital of the World Bank", Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, Director of the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture said that throughout the 68 years of establishment and development, the Academy has made constant efforts, overcoming many difficulties and challenges to affirm itself as one of the leading units in training high-quality human resources for the country, especially in the field of agriculture and rural development.

According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan, with the attention of the Party, Government, National Assembly, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, ministries and branches and the World Bank, the Academy has been invested in the project: "Strengthening science and technology capacity and training human resources to serve agricultural restructuring and new rural construction" with a total capital of 58.7 million USD.

This is a project that marks an important milestone in the 68-year development history of the Academy. The project has invested synchronously in infrastructure, equipment for research rooms, practice rooms and improved management capacity, which has changed its appearance and created an important foundation to help the Academy reach new heights to continue making important contributions to the agricultural sector and the country in the new period.

"The core ideas and orientations for the country's development, along with the important messages that the General Secretary and President delivered at the Future Summit, at Columbia University on Vietnam's path and vision for the new era; as well as the policy speech at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland; at the FrancoTech Forum... the messages bearing the mark of the times, carrying the vision for the new era of the General Secretary and President have inspired and truly become a source of pride, a call for the hearts of the Vietnamese people to turn towards the noble goal of building a prosperous Vietnam, a rich people, a strong country, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers. Nearly 30,000 students and 1,400 staff of the Vietnam National Academy of Agriculture expressed their highest determination, constantly striving to work, study and research to contribute to the completion of the noble goals that the beloved General Secretary and President have set out," affirmed Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan.

Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, formerly the University of Agriculture and Forestry, was established in 1956. With 68 years of development, Vietnam Academy of Agriculture has trained 69 courses of students. In the 2024-2025 school year, the Academy welcomed more than 6,000 students. Accompanying the students are nearly 1,300 officials and civil servants, including nearly 700 lecturers and scientists with high academic titles and degrees: PhDs, senior lecturers, associate professors, professors... with a love for the profession and students.

The SAHEP – VNUA project funded by the World Bank has been implemented at the Academy, contributing to improving the Academy’s research and training capacity. Through this project, the Academy’s technical facilities have developed strongly, spaciously and modernly with 13 newly built works to meet the working, teaching and studying needs of staff and students.

Source: https://danviet.vn/tong-bi-thu-chu-tich-nuoc-to-lam-nhieu-nong-san-cua-viet-nam-da-vang-danh-o-thi-truong-the-gioi-20241012105732802.htm