Reporter: Good morning Dr. Thu. Would you mind sharing something with us about your project?
Dr. Phan Ngoc Thu:Certainly! The study was approved on July 15th by the Science and Technology Department of Quang Nam Province. Staff, lecturers, scientists and researchers from many local institutes will participate in the project. We are planning to hold two seminars at the DTU campus in November, 2011 and June, 2012. The study is expected to be completed December, 2012.
Reporter: How will a specific study of the literature of Quang Nam relate to the literature of Vietnam in general?
Dr. Phan Ngoc Thu: That’s a good question! Quang Nam Province has a traditional culture of patriotism and revolution. Local literature expresses the history, human values emotions of a region. By conducting research into history of Quang Nam’s literature, we will be able to discover and preserve those values for future generations and assist in the development of new works of literature in the 21st Century.
Reporter:Your study will be published for the public to read. Can you tell us something about this?
Dr. Phan Ngoc Thu: The one thousand-page project will be printed in two books. The first one will be entitled “A History of the Literature of Quang Nam Literature in the 20th Century”, with approximately three hundred pages. The second, including literary articles, poems and texts will be called “A Collection of the Literature of Quang Nam in the 20th Century”.
Reporter: In recent years, the decreasing numbers of university students majoring in Social Science has been a big concern. As an experienced teacher, can you share with our students the importance of this major in modern times?
Dr. Phan Ngoc Thu: Of course. In a developing country like Vietnam, many university students choose majors such as Technology or Business. However, especially today, the roles of Natural Science and Social Science are interconnected. In a more modern a society, more citizens should be aware of human and social relationships. Social science helps us to broaden our knowledge, our emotions and our love of life. Only when these social values are understood can we can maintain sustained development.
Reporter: So, what is being done to encourage DTU students to study Social Science?
Dr. Phan Ngoc Thu: Well, we’ve struck a balance between our Natural Science and Social Science programs. In 2011-2012, the DTU Social Science Department will offer three new majors. These will be: “The Culture of Tourism”, “International Relations” and “The Press”. In this way we plan to supply a more highly-qualified workforce for the future development of Central Vietnam. The DTU Management Board will offer fifty scholarships, worth from 25% to 50% of the tuition fee, for students interested in these majors.
Reporter: Thank you so much for meeting with us, Dr.Thu! We wish you the best of success in your project.
(Media Center)