Research

On July 21st, The Association of Vietnam Universities and Colleges (AVU&C), in collaboration with the Phoenix Contact Company from Germany, held an international conference entitled “The Industrial Revolution 4.0 and its Applications at Vietnam Universities & Colleges.”

 

 

 

Delegates included government officials and two hundred academics from universities and colleges nationwide. They learned how the Industrial Revolution 4.0 will enable higher education to reform their curricula and teaching methods to meet the strict new demands of the workplace.

Dr. Phan Quang Trung, AVU&C Vice-President, said: “As we enter the Industrial Revolution 4.0, our way of living, working and communicating will change radically, with a scale, scope and complexity that we have never before experienced. The philosophy of Industry 4.0 is to integrate diverse physical, digital and biological technology to develop and integrate interdisciplinary artificial intelligence, robots, the internet, material science, biology and wireless mobile technology. It is critical that the implementation is well-balanced, in order to avoid disruption in the labor market. The rapid transition requires that you now acquire the essential knowledge, skills and creative thinking to adapt to the challenges and job demands, to avoid the risk of being made redundant.”

 

  

 

In her report entitled: “The impacts of the 4th Industrial Evolution on Vietnamese Higher Education”, Dr. Pham Thi Ly, from VNUHCMC and Nguyen Tat Thanh University, stated that universities in Vietnam must become more international, to ensure a higher standard of education, and focus on practices to respond to fast technological change. According to Dr. Ly, “respond” means “survive”. Educational strategies and academic programs should aim to graduate students with broader qualifications, able to easily adapt to the rapid changes that industrial evolution will bring.

Mr. Klaus Hengsbach, Head of Didactics at Phoenix Contact, said: “As you know, Industry 4.0 is changing the world, with comprehensive impact in so many fields, including education and training. This conference will detail the impact of  Industry 4.0 on education, to provide policy-makers, universities and researchers a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges we are facing, as we establish the appropriate new policies and strategies. As one of the leading manufacturers of electrotechnology and automation, Phoenix Contact is always in need of highly-qualified engineers and professionals. Therefore, we have proactively expanded our partnerships with many universities and companies worldwide by financing local educational activities. Phoenix Contact has more than 14,500 employees, with the revenue of 1.9 billion Euros. Our success depends on the qualifications and innovative skills of our staff, which is a big challenge in our training mission. Phoenix Contact wants to become a strategic partner of Vietnamese universities and colleges and support them to design the best academic programs to graduate the highest quality engineers to meet our future needs.”  

 

Hero of Labor, Distinguished Teacher Le Cong Co, DTU President and Provost, said: “Ever since its foundation, DTU has centered its development around the English language, Informatics, Industrialization, Internationalization and Renovation, which are vital components in creating a strong and prestigious university. DTU has collaborated with well-known universities worldwide to provide international-standard curricula and partnered since 2008 with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), one of the top four American IT universities to improve the qualifications of IT engineers. In 2012, DTU, in conjunction with Norton University in Cambodia, the National University of Laos and the Myanmar Computer Institute, founded the P2A program so that students could learn more about the cultures of other countries in the region and improve their soft skills in preparation for better future careers. By carefully priming students with broader knowledge, we will make them more confident to innovate and create, in order to find the best global jobs in the future.”