In August 2021, based on an online evaluation in December 2020, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) certified the DTU Software Engineering program with its highest ABET accreditation until 2026.
DTU Software Engineering program gains ABET accreditation
DTU is the second university in Vietnam to be accredited, in addition to the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, in 2014. Currently, DTU offers four ABET-accredited programs, in Network Engineering, Management Information Systems, Electrical Engineering and Software Engineering. In comparison, the HCMC University of Technology has two, Vietnam National University in HCMC has two and Cao Thang Technical College two also.
ABET commented: “DTU has collaborated with 15 universities worldwide, including four in the US. One of the programs is the annual "Train the Trainers" course, administered by the ISR’s Executive of Carnegie Mellon University in America, This program has allowed the DTU faculty to broaden their knowledge and skills, which, in turn, has had a significant impact on the quality and globalization of education at DTU, expanding opportunities for IT graduates to study or work abroad.”
ABET evaluators at DTU in December 2020
ABET is the internationally recognized gold standard in Engineering and Technology education. Up to now, hundreds of other universities worldwide have been accredited, including the University of Applied Sciences in Austria, the Mody University of Science and Technology in India, the AMA Computer University in the Philippines, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California University in Berkeley (UCB), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Purdue University, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University and many others.
Their evaluation was based on nine criteria, including Students, Student Outcomes, Continuous Improvement, Curriculum and Faculty, and the DTU Software Engineering program met 100% of the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission criteria. In preparation for accreditation, DTU has spent years investing in the latest facilities, hiring highly qualified teams of lecturers and expanding international collaboration, to maximize the quality of education and research.
DTU IT programs are ranked high globally
Dr. Nguyen Duc Man, Head of Software Engineering and Dean of DTU International School, said: “The ABET Software Engineering accreditation began with a strategic investment in 2008, in collaboration with the Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) Institute for Software Research for technology transfer, to share their curricula and train DTU lecturers and staff to contribute to the community. Up to now, they have made 150 training trips to CMU and around Vietnam to expand their knowledge and teaching methods. DTU annually welcomes experts from CMU to evaluate, advise and train its team of lecturers. In 2019, after ten years of preparation, DTU applied to the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) for ABET Software Engineering accreditation.
ABET accreditation from EAC is exceedingly difficult to obtain. A technology program that meets all the required criteria requires much development, modification and continual improvement in lecture content, teaching quality, teamwork, business relations and infrastructure, all aimed at meeting the student output standards modified by ABET in 2018. EAC examines programs stringently, with extra attention on course content quality, teaching methods, teaching records, program logic and program currency, determines if the program enables students to solve complex and everyday problems and evaluates their teamwork and career development skills. The inspection team interviewed almost every single lecturer, including the visiting ones, as well as current students, alumni and local businesses and received very positive evaluations.
Dinh Viet Nhat Tan and his friends
Over the years, several high scoring candidates have chosen DTU. This year, Ngo Le Hoang, with 24.45/30 points, Dinh Viet Nhat Tan, with 25.8/30 and Nguyen Minh Phu, with 25.85/30 enrolled in Software Engineering.
Freshman Dinh Viet Nhat Tan was awarded a full scholarship and said: “I have planed to qualify as a programmer and find an excellent job on graduation. Therefore, I have spent much time researching universities with high quality study programs. Choosing Software Engineering at DTU was a wise decision because the university partners with CMU, one of the top four American IT universities, to offer international-standard courses. I also discovered the program has just gained ABET accreditation, confirming the excellence of an IT Education at DTU.”
The DTU Computer Science programs global rankings:
- Ranked 301-400 globally in 2021 by the Shanghai Ranking consultancy in China
- Ranked third in Vietnam and 691 worldwide by URAP in 2020-2021
(Media Center)