General Secretary and President To Lam: University autonomy, State investment based on output results

General Secretary and President To Lam speaks at the ceremony - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

On the morning of October 12, General Secretary and President To Lam attended the opening ceremony of the new school year and inaugurated the "Project to enhance training and science and technology capacity" at the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture.

Striving to become a multidisciplinary, multi-field university

Speaking at the ceremony, General Secretary and President To Lam said that the Vietnam National University of Agriculture is one of the country's key universities. Over the past 70 years, the university has trained more than 120,000 university-level agricultural scientists, technicians and managers, over 15,000 masters and over 700 doctors.

The General Secretary and President assessed that the cadres trained by the academy are a very important human resource contributing to the outstanding achievements of the country's agriculture and rural areas.

According to the General Secretary and President, the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture has also achieved many important results, such as being one of the first 6 universities trusted by the Government to pilot autonomy according to the Government's resolution on piloting innovation in the operating mechanism for public higher education institutions. The Academy is considered one of the universities that most vividly and successfully implemented the Government's decree on regulations on autonomy mechanisms for public service units.

In terms of training, the academy is one of the universities that is always at the forefront of innovation in training programs, content and methods, combining smoothly and dialectically between scientific research and training, between the school and production and business practices, arousing the spirit of entrepreneurship, self-reliance, innovation and creativity for students.

The General Secretary and President said that the Party has repeatedly emphasized that education and training are the top national policies, and that science and technology are key to the country's prosperity. Universities must be an important entity in the national innovation system, meeting the requirements of the knowledge economy, circular economy and digital transformation.

Therefore, the General Secretary and President requested that the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture 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.

According to General Secretary and President To Lam, the academy needs to develop a comprehensive development project with a suitable roadmap to become a multi-disciplinary, multi-field, multi-branch research university following the model of advanced research universities in the world.

Need to fully and synchronously implement university autonomy

The General Secretary and President said that today's university graduates, in addition to good professional knowledge and skills, must also have the ability to quickly and promptly adapt to new issues (such as artificial intelligence, automation and digital transformation...).

At the same time, it is necessary to have the desire to contribute, lifelong self-learning skills, innovation skills, along with other soft skills, to ensure adaptability to job requirements.

The General Secretary and President requested that universities, including the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, actively improve training quality, and training programs must ensure compatibility, integration, and internationalization according to advanced standards.

It is recommended that the Ministry of Education and Training and relevant ministries and sectors continue to research and issue policies so that universities can fully and synchronously implement university autonomy, so that a university education system can soon be "on par with the world powers".

The General Secretary and President emphasized: "University autonomy does not mean that the State does not invest, but invests according to the "output results" that educational institutions commit to the State.

In particular, priority should be given to placing orders and assigning tasks to professions that are difficult to socialize and less attractive to learners, but which the country really needs and are our strengths, such as agriculture, forestry and fishery.

The General Secretary and President requested that the academy's research must aim to contribute to the construction of "ecological agriculture, modern countryside, civilized farmers", developing a smart agriculture that adapts to climate change, green growth, high added value, on par with advanced countries in the world.

To further promote intellectual resources, land resources and modern facilities, the General Secretary and President requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology to create the best conditions for the academy to actively participate in science and technology programs, first of all the programs on new rural construction, climate change adaptation, low emissions and other programs.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tong-bi-thu-chu-tich-nuoc-to-lam-tu-chu-dai-hoc-nha-nuoc-dau-tu-theo-ket-qua-dau-ra-2024101209454224.htm