Building environmental curriculum to meet training and teaching programs

Reporting at the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Huy - Rector of Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment (TN&MT) presented the draft Standard Training Program for the Environment and Environmental Protection Block built according to Circular No. 17/2021/TT-BGDDT dated June 22, 2021 of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in which, the University builds undergraduate training programs for the following majors: Environmental Engineering Technology, Natural Resources and Environment Management; Postgraduate programs in the following majors: Environmental Science, Natural Resources and Environment Management, Environmental Engineering.

Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Anh Huy - Principal of Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment reported at the meeting

The school has researched and proposed lists and plans to compile textbooks according to the requirements of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for groups of knowledge in the environmental field. At the same time, it has received comments from experts and scientists from 2022 - 2023. The school has compiled 7 key textbooks including: Environmental monitoring (2 volumes); Environmental auditing in the industrial and agricultural sectors; Diversity conservation and ecosystem restoration; Natural resource valuation; Sustainable solid waste management and treatment towards a circular economy; Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment Methods.

Based on the contents of Notice 116/TB-BTNMT on the conclusion of Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment has implemented the progress and completed the acceptance at the basic level of the Training Program Standards for the Environment and Environmental Protection Sector, built 5 undergraduate and graduate training programs in the environmental field and has put these training programs into teaching. Thereby, to update the knowledge group to meet the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment plans to compile textbooks for the period 2024-2025.

Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Quyen - Principal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment spoke at the meeting

Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Quyen - President of Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment said that recently, under the close direction of the Steering Committee, the University has systematically compiled the curriculum in the following order: Building a Workshop (determining the name of the curriculum, implementation plan and orientation of the curriculum content); Building a curriculum framework/outline, organizing to ask for opinions from scientific experts; Building a draft curriculum through a steering committee meeting to ask for opinions on the draft curriculum as planned in March 2023; Editing the draft curriculum. To proceed with printing and publishing, 2 schools under the Ministry have proposed a list of scientific experts to review the curriculum and sent it to the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry, waiting for approval of the draft to ask for opinions to complete the curriculum.

Up to now, Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment has completed 4 textbooks in the List of proposed textbooks compiled in 2023. The textbooks have been carefully compiled, with the participation of many lecturers and domestic science experts. The textbooks are intended to be used as teaching materials and educational textbooks in universities.

Meeting on building environmental curriculum to meet training and teaching programs

Contributing ideas to the development of the curriculum, Mr. Nguyen Thac Cuong - Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology said that the development of the curriculum, for the textbooks of the University of Natural Resources and Environment in Ho Chi Minh City, has clarified the basic contents; however, for the University of Natural Resources and Environment in Hanoi, especially in the textbook on environmental monitoring, the key contents have not been clarified, so it is necessary to clarify the monitoring objects to ensure the logic in the curriculum, at the same time, for forecasting and warning work, the University needs to rearrange the folders to clearly show the important contents.

The representative of the Department of Environment gave his opinion that the contents of the training materials must be linked to the tasks and functions of the Ministry, ensuring legality. After receiving the training materials and documents related to environmental strategy assessment and environmental impact assessment, the Department will organize an internal discussion, and the Department will invite experts to give feedback and contribute to the process of developing training materials.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan requested the two schools to carefully review the contents of the curriculum on issues such as: Environmental technology, environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, solid waste management, circular economy according to the correct methods and appraisal processes... to be able to conduct forecasting and warning studies, thereby serving the people and applying scientific research products and curriculums into practice.

Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan directed at the meeting

To complete the curriculum approved by the Ministry, the 2 Schools need to review the draft curriculum, determine the methodology in each study, clearly identify the collective authors of each research work and need to have the opinions of lecturers, scientists, experts, managers and especially students studying Natural Resources and Environment, requiring students to read, comment and evaluate to complete the existing curriculum.

The Deputy Minister assigned the Department of Environment and the Department of Environmental Pollution Control, after receiving the textbooks from the schools, to organize research and give comments on those textbooks, especially for the Steering Committee, to improve the quality of the textbooks, to advise the Ministry not to let matters related to inappropriate content, laws, and authors. Continue to organize seminars, invite experts on environmental impact assessment and some businesses to give comments on the textbooks, and provide additional necessary information in the draft. This is the task and responsibility of the School to complete the textbooks well and include them in the core education program.

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