Trend or race to enroll students?

In 2024, the National Economics University (NEU) plans to open 6 new majors, of which 4 majors are in the field of computers and information technology, including Software Engineering, Information Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Information Security. All four majors will train two systems: bachelor and engineer, with an expected quota of 50-100 students per major.

Foreign Trade University (FTU) also plans to enroll students in Computer Science , with the target this year being 30, and may increase in the following years.

Many universities that used to train specialized majors are now opening many new majors. (Illustration photo).

University trends

Associate Professor Dr. Bui Duc Trieu, Head of Training Management Department, National Economics University, explained that to be suitable with the goals and the digital age, developing a number of additional fields in the field of science and technology is the immediate and long-term task of the school.

The technology and engineering majors that the National Economics University is about to open are also different because of their application orientation, focusing on economics and business administration. The school’s plan to open majors will be completed and approved to report to the Ministry of Education and Training before April 13.

Explaining the opening of a new major in technology, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Thu Huong, Vice Principal of Foreign Trade University, said that this is an inevitable trend stemming from the needs of schools and from the perspective of society changing over time.

In the past, when the level of development was not high, the question was how to solve existing, existing and clearly visible problems. However, when the level of development is at a higher level, the important question is to solve in advance, to anticipate trends and problems of society instead of not waiting until the problem arises and is visible before finding solutions.

In addition, the current educational trend in the world shows that the world's top universities also have a strong interdisciplinary connection between economics, business and technology. Up to now, the world's top universities have developed science and technology development majors in the fields of economics and business.

It is not until today that Foreign Trade University has thought of opening this major, but has been preparing for this for the past 3 years. “After 3 years of conducting surveys and opening satellite programs to explore the market, we found that the demand from employers and employees is very large,” said the Vice President.

Faced with concerns about quality when an economic university opens a technology major, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Thi Hien, Head of Training Management Department, Foreign Trade University, said that the plan to open a Computer Science major was built by the school from 2021.

After having a framework, the school experimented by making Computer Science a short-term training program, 15 credits in three months. Students inside and outside the school will be awarded certificates upon completion.

In addition, the Computer Science major of Foreign Trade University is built towards application in the field of economics and business to take advantage of training strengths.

Ms. Hien sees the challenge of opening a Computer Science major as fierce competition. The demand for IT human resources is huge, but there are also many universities training in this major. However, she believes that each school has its own "file" of candidates, so if it ensures quality conditions and takes advantage of its inherent strengths, schools that do well can still find a place, regardless of whether they "play across fields" or not.

"We are confident in opening majors that many people still think are the strengths of technology and engineering schools," Ms. Hien affirmed.

Experts advise candidates to carefully research information before registering and choosing their wishes. (Illustration photo)

Worried about the quality of training?

This is not the first year that specialized economic schools have opened new technology and study majors. Since 2020, the University of Economics (University of Danang) has opened a new major "Data Science and Business Analytics".

In 2021, Banking Academy will open a new major and enroll students in Information Technology. In 2023, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics will open a series of new majors, including some Technology majors such as Eobot and Artificial Intelligence, Logistics Technology.

On the contrary, many universities in the technical sector also enroll students in economic majors such as: Hanoi University of Science and Technology trains in Business Administration, Finance - Banking, Accounting; Water Resources University trains in Law and Language.

According to some experts, multidisciplinary universities are a common trend in the world, in line with the trend of interdisciplinary training. In Vietnam, the development of universities in the direction of multidisciplinary and multi-field is inevitable to ensure sustainable development. However, if we rush and follow the trend without good preparation in all aspects, it will be very dangerous, especially the quality of training.

Professor Nguyen Dinh Duc, Chairman of the Council of the University of Technology (Hanoi National University) stated that building a major is not a simple matter, because it is not only about having enough human resources. This is only the minimum condition.

Building an industry requires hard work, that is, building a team, building must be linked to the research orientation and development strategy of the school.

"My point of view is that schools must build a clear development strategy and have a roadmap for staff development, research directions as well as basic conditions to ensure quality, and plan for future careers before opening. They should not open indiscriminately," said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Duc.

The principal of a university in Hanoi also said that multidisciplinary training is inevitable. However, the important thing when opening a new major is to correctly assess the needs and potential of the market. If we follow the majority and oversupply human resources, it will be a waste. Vietnamese universities have many lessons on this, for example in the field of finance and banking.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Director of the Center for Testing and Training Quality Assessment of Ho Chi Minh City National University, opening majors following trends and naming majors according to "trends" is essentially a form of promotion and candidates need to research carefully.

There are schools that open new majors with new names, such as microchip design, but the training program is not much different from the existing major. It is just a change of name, adding a few words to the name so it is more of a formality, not changing the essence.

This is completely different from opening a new major with a newly designed training program. Therefore, candidates need to carefully study the training programs of the schools to choose the major that suits their wishes.

Experts say that although most universities have implemented autonomy and are allowed to open their own majors according to regulations, the Ministry of Education and Training should have a plan to develop appropriate training majors for each stage, avoiding widespread opening of majors, affecting training quality and causing imbalance in the structure of majors and human resources in the future.

Source: https://vtc.vn/truong-kinh-te-mo-nganh-cong-nghe-xu-the-hay-chay-dua-tuyen-sinh-ar849516.html