Your Excellency Mr. Do Van Chien, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front,

Your Excellencies Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, leaders of ministries, central agencies, localities, national and international businesses and partners,

Leaders of VNU and her member units throughout the years,

VNU generations of scientists, faculties, staff and students,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In realization of the strategic policy of the Party and Government of Vietnam, responding to the imperative demands of the country’s renovation, learning from international experience, exactly 30 years ago, on the 10^th of December, 1993, the Vietnamese State and Government made a crucial decision on the establishment of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). 

Decree No.97/CP promulgated in 1993 defines VNU as a major multidisciplinary training and research center which closely attaches training and research to practices and is assigned with the tasks to produce high-quality experts and human resources in science and technology, and provide academic support to other higher educational institutions. VNU is a central-level public service unit, operating under the Decree of the Government and Regulations of Operation issued by the Prime Minister and having the National Emblem. VNU Board of Presidents are appointed by the Prime Minister. VNU has high autonomy in terms of professional aspects, finance and human resources, and was given the priority of allocating an area of more than 1,200 hectares to build the University Town in Hoa Lac area.

VNU is proudly to inherit the glorious 117-year-long history and traditions of the University of Indochina (1906), the Vietnam National University (1945, with the presence of Late President Ho Chi Minh at the Opening of the new academic year at 19 Le Thanh Tong) and the University of Hanoi (1956). VNU is privileged to continue her autonomous development in new models and with priority mechanisms in service of the nation in the renovation period.

Today, on the 10^th of December, 2023, VNU solemnly celebrates the 30^th year of the promulgation of the Decree on VNU and the 117^th year of her traditions, which is a significant milestone in her history. This is also a valuable occasion to extend her gratitude to the Party and State leaders as well as her national and international partners. Furthermore, generations of faculties and students will take this opportunity to recollect their memories, review their achievements to date, draw out important lessons, uphold the traditions, upsurge their pride and confirm their determination to successfully realize VNU’s development strategy in the new era.    

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Throughout these 30 years, the Politbureau, CPV Secretariats, the National Assembly and the Government have issued several critical directives on VNU development, namely,

- Notification No.315 dated the 29^th of August, 2000 of the Politbureau’s Standing Committee, which asserted that the determination to develop the two National Universities as centers for multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral training, research and technological transfer of high quality on the par with regional standards and gradually reaching international levels was an absolutely correct orientation compatible to the country’s development requirements, regional and international trends of higher educational development.

- The National Assembly’s passage of the Law on Higher Education on the 18^th of June, 2012, in which Article 8 on national universities affirms that National Universities receive priority investment from the State for their development; enjoy high levels of autonomy in training, scientific research, finance, international relations and structural organization; operate under the Government’s Decree; report to the Prime Minister issues related to their performance and development.

- The Politbureau’s Decision No.80 dated 18^th August 2022 confirming that the National Universities are central agencies; the position of National Universities’ Presidents is decided by the CPV Secretariats.

- Most recently, Resolution No.45 issued under the 13^th Session of the 8^th CPV National Congress on 24^th November, 2023, which set out the task to develop VNU Hanoi and VNU HCMC so that they are ranked among the world’s top 500 universities by 2030.

In her 117 years of traditions, VNU and her affiliated units have been conferred with numerous noble titles and accolades, including the Golden Star Medal. Many VNU affiliated units have been conferred with Hero of Labour title, Medal of Independence, Medal of Labor, etc. Today, VNU is honored to receive the First Grade Medal of Labor as the State’s recognition of her incessant contributions to the Fatherland’s construction and protection.

It is also VNU’s great honor to receive the congratulatory letter of from H.E. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong which said “after 30 years of development, VNU has recorded eminent achievements and has truly become a major training and research center which assumes the special and important position, and plays a key role as the flagship of Vietnam higher educational system.

With a profound pride, I hereby highlight the most significant achievements and development lessons in the past years.

First, VNU has truly become a multidisciplinary, multi-sectoral HE institution with 9 member universities and 5 research institutes established under the Prime Minister’s decisions; 7 VNU-affiliated schools, faculties, institutes and research centers; 14 training and research support service units; two hospitals and 04 high schools of high quality and for gifted students. VNU’s training and research units operate in an open and under VNU’s consistent management and coordination, and share her treasure of scientists and scholars, technical facilities and technological infrastructure.  

Currently, VNU boasts 5,200 faculty and staff members, including 2,700 faculties and researchers, 550 of whom are professors and associate professors, and 1,700 doctoral degree holders, accounting for 62%. Many of them are topnotch scholars of their fields with worldwide reputation, who rank high among the world’s most influential scientists, and have secured numerous State prizes, Ho Chi Minh Award as well as respectable international accolades.

A progressive organizational structure, a powerful contingent of scientists and scholars, a high level of autonomy and priority investment of resources are keys to VNU’s assurance of quality and efficacy in training and research.  

Second, VNU pioneers innovations and asserts its prestige in high-quality, highly-qualified human resources, providing training and nurturing talents to satisfy the country’s demands for socio-economic development and international integration. 

In tandem with the innovations in training programs and contents in the direction of modernity and international standards, VNU has developed and piloted nearly 50 novel programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels, which testifies her crucial autonomy that facilitates her rapid approach to advances around the world and performance of her flagship role in the country’s HE system. As early as 1997, VNU was the first to carry out the initiative to deliver bachelor of science programs for talented and high-quality students, which have been widely replicated elsewhere. VNU also took the lead in accreditation of educational institutions in 1995, development of internal quality assurance systems, provision of guidance and contributions to quality culture development in the country’s HE system.

Currently, over 500 programs are offered by VNU, including 190 undergraduate and over 300 graduate programs. Her student body has grown large with about 55,500, including nearly 1,000 international students. In recent years, VNU has always been a leading university in recruiting and training graduate students in both quantity and quality. University admission receives great attention from society. In 2022-2023 academic year alone, the number of candidates registering for admission to VNU has reached more than 100,000. VNU is also a unit that has its own policy to recruit good students in the majors of science. Gifted students of VNU’s high schools have won 240 medals at various international Olympiads, including 77 Golds, 87 Silvers, and 76 Bronzes. In 2023 alone, VNU’s Golds account for more than a half of the country’s total.

Third, science and technology development have vigorously increased to reach international level and make positive contributions to the country’s modernization and industrialization.

Initially, VNU had to cope with numerous difficulties in scientific and technological activities when the total research funding was only around 1 billion VND and fewer than 20 articles were published internationally a year. Presently, VNU boasts 210 laboratories in all fields, including 01 State-focal lab, 10 VNU-focal research centers, 36 strong research groups, and VNU’s Journal of Science: Advanced Materials and Devices is the only one in the country. The year 2023 witnesses over 1,700 articles by VNU scientists which are internationally published in prestigious scientific journals, which maintain a steady increase of over 16% p.a.

VNU science and technology activities continue to help solve various crucial issues in the country, especially technological development and knowledge transfer for sustainable development of regions and localities, among which the Program of Science and Technology for the Northwest is the most notable. Numerous projects have secured reputable awards, including 18 Ho Chi Minh Awards, 13 State Prizes, 03 International Accolades, 04 Ta Quang Buu Awards and dozens of other prestigious research grants.

Fourth, VNU’s effective performance of the cooperation model in training, research, scientific and technological transfer and service provision

Cooperation is a characteristic of a research and innovation university model. VNU has signed various MOUs with ministries, sectors, business groups; effectively operate the public-private cooperation model to increase the effectiveness of training and contribute to the successful implementation of many important scientific and technological cooperation tasks. In the previous period, VNU successfully piloted many models of affiliated faculties and affiliated research centers... The HSB School of Management and Business model is a typical cooperation between VNU and businesses. VNU has established and developed cooperative units to support startups and knowledge transfer, developing science and technology enterprises and spin-offs. In recent years, VNU has continued to be a pioneer in investment promotion and public-private cooperation. VNU's investment promotion conference attracted the attention of a large number of businesses and created differentiated values by promoting the role of universities and businesses in developing human resources, scientific research and technology transfer. This December, VNU inaugurated two public-private cooperation research centers with RMIT University in technology and SHB Bank in finance... In the coming years, VNU is assigned with the task of pioneering in promoting PPP with projects of convenient urban areas, conference centers, hospitals, technology trading centers, medicinal herbs trading centers, arts, culture and sports center, etc. We believe that in just a few years, VNU campus in Hoa Lac will welcome the presence of large businesses and this area will become a place to support and incubate SMEs, science and technology enterprises, social enterprises...

Fifth, VNU’s international reputation and status have been enhanced

Currently, VNU has established cooperation linkages and partnership with over 160 international universities, research and technology institutions, and multi-national groups. VNU academic expertise has been highly appreciated by regional and international HE communities. VNU’s quality has been recognized by major universities in the region and the world, and they have established fair and equal cooperation with VNU.

VNU has secured her place in prestigious international ranking lists by maintaining her status among the world’s top 1000. In 2022, VNU was the first Vietnamese university to have won the QS Ranking’s Award for Quality Improvement, with 6 subjects among the world’s 350-600. In 2023, VNU finds herself among the world’s Top 401-600 in THE Impact Rankings, in which Education Quality index ranks 70^th in the world (5^th in Southeast Asia, and 1^st in Vietnam).

We are highly aware that these prideworthy achievements are attributed to the leadership of the CPV and Government, the support from ministries, central agencies, localities, the companion of national and international businesses and partners, particularly the wisdom, the devotion, the dedication, the enthusiasm and the efforts of generations of scholars, faculties, students, and staffs at VNU.  I hereby express our deepest gratitude to the CPV and Government for their encouragement, trust and facilitation for VNU to accomplish her assignments. We are thankful to all ministries, central agencies, localities, and partners for all your support and assistance. Our special thanks are dedicated to the late Professor, Academician Nguyen Van Dao, an eminent scholar, a respectable leader with bold vision, the first VNU President; our predecessors – Prof. Dao Trong Thi, Prof. Mai Trong Nhuan, Prof. Phung Xuan Nha, Prof. Nguyen Kim Son; and other generations of leaders for your enormous contributions to VNU’s construction and development in the past three decades.

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

30 years are not a long period in the life of a large university, but so significant to VNU in the context of the country’s renovation and integration; also, it is a journey full of difficulties but filled with glories.  The lessons learnt today provide VNU with instrumental drives to soar higher in the coming time.

Thanks to favorable mechanism, enormous potentials from a large contingent of scientists and scholars, and unprecedented space for development, VNU will definitely prosper on the basis of VNU traditions and spirits – the prerequisite for her development. VNU will stay firm with her model of organization and operation, with her commitment to the mission, vision, and core values of a university entrusted with national responsibilities. Her avant-garde, innovative spirit and incessant creativity, invincible determination for academic pursuits, for final realization of what she believes to be true and actual performance of difficult tasks that other institutions do not or cannot do – only these can enable VNU to become an institution that the Party, Government and People of Vietnam entrust as the flagship of the country’s HE system, and appreciate as one of the beautiful symbols of the Vietnamese spirit, wisdom and cultural essence.

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Sharing the national aspiration, continuing her 117 years of glorious traditions, VNU boldly looks to the future with the following fundamental strategies and goals:

The construction of VNU smart, modern, sustainable university city in Hoa Lac on the par with regional standards which accommodates 25,000 students by 2025, and 100,000 population by 2030, including 80,000 students and around 10,000 faculties and staffs, becoming an innovative university associated with businesses. VNU is determined to become the core center of Hoa Lac City, Hanoi Capital.

Faculty development: apart from maintaining her traditions in talent incubation and nurturing, VNU will focus on talent attraction with flexible and effective mechanism, delivering an enabling environment for eminent scholars to fully utilize their professional capacity, expertise and potentials to generate quality, valuable products with instrumental contributions to the country’s socio-economic development.

Training: quality continues to be a core value and principle of action for VNU. VNU attaches great importance to discovering and fostering talent, considering training in scientific disciplines, training of experts/scientists/university lecturers as a fundamental task; promotes training in technology, creativity, and arts (technology-engineering sector reaches nearly 30%); promotes application and practice training; focuses on training according to international standards. Furthermore, VNU sets the goal of comprehensive student development – high expertise, integrative competence, cultural understanding, adherence to national traditions, and especially improved physical health. 

Research and innovation: VNU continues to exploit her strengths in cooperation with 12 provinces of the Northwest along with coastal provinces for fostering socio-economic development of the coastal areas; increasingly cement linkages with investors and businesses in focal economic zones. In this process, the merger of Ha Tinh University to VNU will facilitate research and transfer related to marine economy and cooperation with the neighboring friends of Laos PDR and Cambodia.

Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, upon the land of Hoa Lac, the land of aspiration and morale, VNU faculties, staffs and students are committed to fully utilize their wisdom, enthusiasm, dedication and innovation to continue maintaining VNU prime status in the country, gradually reaching farther and soaring higher among top universities in Asia and the world, and successfully accomplish her assignments entrusted by the Party and the People.

May Your Excellencies, our Distinguished Guests, Leaders, Scholars, Faculties, Students, Friends and all of you have good health, happiness and success!

Thank you very much for your attention!