On the morning of November 15, the Faculty of History and International Relations organized the 2025 Employer Conference - a forum connecting the lecture hall, the labor market, and the alumni community. In his opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Tang Nghi, Dean of the Faculty of History and International Relations, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM, emphasized the desire to establish the conference as a recurring dialogue hub, where feedback from businesses, regulatory agencies, and alumni is recorded and compiled as a reference database for the adjustment process of the 2026-2027 training curriculum.
Dr. Nguyen Tang Nghi delivering the opening speech - Photo: Organizing Committee
In a frank exchange atmosphere, delegates shared various practical perspectives on the human resource needs and training orientation for the International Relations major.
From the employer's side, Mr. Nguyen Tran Bao Chau - representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations - highly appreciated the comprehensiveness of the training curriculum, which covers core fields such as foreign politics, international economics, and international law. He stated that diplomacy is a field that requires long-term accumulation of knowledge and practical experience; therefore, graduates still need to continue training in the civil service environment. He also encouraged students to boldly pursue diverse branches of diplomacy and emphasized the need for a young generation of officials with courage, passion, and a spirit of dedication.
Mr. Nguyen Tran Bao Chau sharing feedback on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
From an academic perspective, M.A. Tran Nam assessed that International Relations students possess systemic thinking, good critical skills, and proficiency in foreign languages and technology; however, to maximize their potential, they still need additional support in career orientation. He proposed developing career-oriented topics along a roadmap to help students understand the industry and the profession, establish development goals, and equip themselves with competencies suitable for various environments such as international organizations, journalism and communications, policy consulting, or international projects.
M.A. Tran Nam sharing feedback on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
In the field of journalism, Mr. Pham Quynh Trung (Tuoi Tre Newspaper) stated that the International Department receives many International Relations students and highly values their analytical and expression skills. He believes that students have the potential to develop much further if they continue to hone their journalism and communication skills, especially the ability to convey information to the general public. He encouraged expanding cooperation between the major and news agencies, thereby creating more opportunities for internships and early professional experience for students.
Mr. Pham Quynh Trung sharing feedback on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
Alumni such as Ms. Nguyen Thi Ny (QH15-17 cohort) and Ms. Ngo Thi Minh Giang (QH15-20 cohort) also noted many strengths of the program and expressed their desire for it to become increasingly practical, connected, and specialized. Furthermore, essential skills such as professional email writing, external communications, and policy analysis were also strongly recommended to be supplemented. The delegates particularly emphasized promoting student-alumni connections through mentor-mentee models to effectively support the internship and career orientation process.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ny sharing feedback from an alumni perspective on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
Ms. Ngo Thi Minh Giang sharing feedback from an alumni perspective on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
Mr. Vu Manh Quynh giving feedback on the International Relations training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
In the concluding session, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van affirmed that the Major will continue to review and adjust the training curriculum on a two-year cycle, based on the important feedback recorded. The focus of the next phase is to increase the application aspect of modules, establish clear learning outcomes, expand cooperation with agencies, businesses, and press outlets, create more professional experience opportunities for students, and strengthen foundational capacities so that students can develop in-depth expertise. She highly appreciated the proactiveness and self-study spirit of students, and expressed her expectation that the alumni community will continue to accompany the school to build a sustainable support network for subsequent generations.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van responding to feedback on the training curriculum - Photo: Organizing Committee
The 2025 Employer Conference concluded with four in-depth presentations and many practical proposals, helping to clearly outline the labor market's human resource needs for the International Relations major. These findings will serve as an important basis for the Major to continue refining the training curriculum for subsequent cohorts, aiming for a training model that is more closely linked to practice.
