VNUHCM’s President’s Speech at USSH at the Online Opening Ceremony for the academic year 2021-2022
Dear distinguished delegates, lecturers, parents and students who are attending the Opening ceremony for the academic year 2021-2022 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), a member of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNUHCM).
First of all, I would like to congratulate all the students who have been recently enrolled at the USSH. This university, with its rich traditions, has substantially contributed to the development of our nation. To be a USSH member is a great achievement, an important milestone in your life, and the beginning of your journey to explore and conquer knowledge – a journey full of challenges and opportunities.
In the past academic year, the USSH achieved many remarkable results, highlighting the effort of a collective of united, intellectual and determined individuals. The University has come up with novel ideas that promote not only academic research but also applied research, practically contributing to the community and society. The great achievements of the university include the Scholarship Initiative program to award to the students who are facing financial difficulties, the New Countryside Construction program, and most recently the Vaccine for Mental Health program.
I highly appreciate the USSH’s leadership together with its intellectual and enthusiastic academic and support staff, whose hard work has helped the university accomplish these astonishing feats. Its remarkable achievements have greatly contributed to the development of VNUHCM.
Dear all beloved lecturers and students!
The world today is facing many challenges. Among these challenges are the problems of climate change and sustainable development, the problems of poverty and diseases, the problems of population ageing and resource depletion, the problems of nationalism and geopolitics, the problems of technology’s effects on professions and moral standards… And the most recent challenge is the grave impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and social activities of every nation in the world.
In such a difficult setting, the 13th National Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam has agreed on a resolution that identifies three strategic breakthroughs, one of which is the breakthrough in human resource development, especially the development of high-quality workforces. The resolution also states the need to promote research and technology transfer, application, and development. Seeing the tremendous roles of human resources, science, technology, innovation and creativity, the Party has high expectations for every university in the country, including the VNUHCM system.
More than ever, higher education has to be aware of its vital role in determining the fate of the whole nation. Together with other universities, the VNUHCM system has to play an active role in implementing the national strategy, contributing to the development of the country. It also has to become a bridge to connect the past, present, and future of Vietnam, as well as a bridge to connect Vietnam with other countries in the world. It is fully aware that its greatest asset is the intellectual prowess of all the lecturers and students.
VNUHCM’s strategic development plan for the period 2021-2025 and its vision for 2030 have been defined as follows:
Vision: VNUHCM is to become a leading system of research universities in Asia, a hub of science, technology, innovation, creativity, and Vietnamese culture and knowledge.
Specific goals:
By 2025, VNUHCM will catch up with the leading research universities in South East Asia in some research and training fields.
By 2030, VNUHCM will be among the top 100 universities in Asia; and by 2030, VNUHCM will become a smart and friendly green district , and a nucleus of the highly interactive innovative district to the East of Ho Chi Minh City.
VNUHCM has identified three groups of strategic breakthroughs in order to allocate its resources to achieve its goals:
(1) Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of university governance;
(2) Ensuring the excellence in training, research, technology, innovation, and creativity;
(3) Building a green and smart university district with its own identity.
Dear all beloved students!
Today, you embark upon a new journey as a student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, a proud university member of VNUHCM with rich traditions of high-quality education, research, innovation, creativity, and social contribution. The university has recently been ranked among the top 200 universities in the world in terms of the quality of university graduates by the QS rankings. As a new USSH student, you will continue to write another chapter for the university’s long history. It is my hope that you will help the university achieve even greater success through your hard work and creativity.
As the COVID-19 pandemic is still ravaging our country, I would like to give you a keyword “resilience”. It refers to an endurable ability to overcome difficulties and challenges for happiness and success. My expectation is that you will always remain resilient throughout the pandemic so that we can see each other in person in VNUHCM District as soon as possible.
On this very special occasion, I wish all the lecturers and students health and peace so as to enter the academic year 2021-2022 with boundless optimism and achieve great success.
