Teacher Vu Cao Dam - the pioneer of new lands in science

Teacher Vu Cao Dam was born in 1938 in Thai Binh.

Born and raised in a turbulent historical period of the country, Mr. Vu Cao Dam's educational path also went through different educational systems: primary school in French schools, secondary school in schools of the Bao Dai Government and finished secondary school in schools of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He graduated from a technology major at Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 1961 and became a lecturer at Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Hanoi University of Mining and Geology.

It was thought that his teaching and research career would be positioned in the field of science, engineering and technology, but that was not the case. There were events that created turning points in his career - the pioneer of new lands in science.

Building the Science and Technology Management major

In the early 1970s, he went to the Soviet Union as a graduate student. Here his scientific career turned a new page, when he had the opportunity to work at the Kiev Institute of Cybernetics and was taught by the Vice-Director, Academician GM Dobrov - one of the founders of the field of Epistemology.(Theory of Science),famous book authorScience of Science – Introduction to General Scientology.From here, he realized the paradox: We learn many types of science, but have not officially learned a simple definition of "What is science?" We learn many scientific theories, but have not learned "Theory of Scientific Theory", and even less how to build a scientific theory. He laid the first bricks for the field of Scientology in Vietnam to contribute to explaining the above questions.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Cao Dam is the founding Director of the Institute of Science and Technology Management, now the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy and Policy, Ministry of Science and Technology (1978-1992); Director of the Center for Policy Research and Analysis, now the Institute of Policy and Management, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (2008-2011).

In early 1976, when he learned that Vu Cao Dam was entering the field of Scientology, Academician Tran Dai Nghia, Chairman of the State Committee for Science and Technology (now the Ministry of Science and Technology) assigned him the task of establishing a research institute for science and technology management, and in 1978, he became the founding director of the Institute for Science and Technology Management at the State Committee for Science and Technology, with the predecessor being a Science and Technology Policy Research Group of the State Committee for Science and Technology.

Since 1983, Mr. Vu Cao Dam has been working concurrently at Hanoi National University, first as a thesis advisor on topics related to the modern Scientific and Technological Revolution at the Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Sociology - Psychology, and since the mid-1990s, he has moved to work at Hanoi National University.

Although different approaches to Scientific Methodology have been introduced into training programs in many countries around the world, its introduction into Vietnam has always been a major obstacle. Professor Vu Cao Dam has made tireless efforts to find ways to integrate it into training programs, first of all by introducing the subject of Scientific Research Methodology into the main curriculum. His books on Scientific Research Methodology were published for that reason. The bookScientific research methodology(Science and Technology Publishing House),Scientific Research Methodology Textbook(Education Publishing House),Scientific Research – Theoretical and Practical Foundations(National Political Publishing House) are the first attempts to follow a modern and universal approach in scientific research in different fields. Fortunately, these books quickly attracted the attention of colleagues with an unbelievable number of reprints: Science and Technology Publishing House reprinted 18 times, Education Publishing House reprinted 7 times and especially, in 2015, the book wasCenter Career Guidance and Assistive Technology nblind man Daystarswitch to audio media to serve the blind.

In 1991, Mr. Dam, together with his colleagues from the Ministry of Science and Technology, opened a master's program in Science and Technology Policy, and in 1997, he and his colleagues from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, opened a master's program in Science and Technology Management. In 2012, he began training PhDs in Science and Technology Management, and at the same time opened a bachelor's program in Science and Technology Management.

Building the Public Policy Industry – Approaching Policy Science

Although policy making is a seemingly familiar field, examining policy from modern approaches is a very new field.

In the workPolicy SciencePublished by Hanoi National University Publishing House in 2011, Mr. Dam introduced new pairs of concepts, such as the declared goals and implicit goals of policy, positive and negative impacts of policy, peripheral impacts and successive chains of policy impacts, conflicts and social inequality due to policy, paradigms and social constructions of policy... along with these pairs of concepts are the process/methods of policy analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation approached under modern scientific approaches. The bookPolicy Scienceis the textbook of the subject of the same name in the Bachelor of Science in Management training program and some other majors.

With the collaboration of the Rosa Luxemburg Institute (Federal Republic of Germany), Mr. Dam and his colleagues have organized many training courses for policy planning and implementation experts in localities such as Bac Lieu, Can Tho, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Ha Nam, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Vinh Phuc. He and his colleagues also organized policy training courses for experts from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Central Party Office, the National Assembly Office, the President's Office, and the Government Office. In particular, the Institute for Legislative Studies under the National Assembly Standing Committee sent an official dispatch requesting the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to provide 500 policy training materials for National Assembly deputies.

In 1996, Mr. Dam was appointed by the President of the National University as Head of the Department of Management Science of the General University. In 2003, he was appointed as Head of the compilation team of the High-Quality Bachelor of Management Science training program. He was also appointed by the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities as Head of the compilation team of the Bachelor of Public Policy training program and the Master of Public Policy training program, expected to start training from 2016.

Summary of Vietnam's philosophy of science and education development

Many scholars and managers have discussed education and training reform, but Mr. Dam followed a different approach.

Starting from the research on philosophy of science and technology, he realized that philosophy of education and philosophy of science always go hand in hand. He spent a lot of time researching this fascinating relationship, to prove that reforming philosophy of education cannot be effective without being associated with the innovation of philosophy of scientific development.

Starting from the workThinking about Science and Education in Contemporary Vietnamese Societypublished by Science and Technology Publishing House in 2007 and the bookParadox of Science and Education in Contemporary Vietnamese SocietyPublished by The Gioi Publishing House in 2009, he discussed the relationship between science and education.

From this approach, Vu Cao Dam developed a philosophical system analyzed in the book.Paradox and the way out: Discussing the philosophy of developing Science and Education in Vietnampublished by The Gioi Publishing House in 2014, which argued that “Science and Education are twin sisters. Science was born to create a treasure trove of knowledge for humanity; Education was born to bring that knowledge back to humanity. Without Science, Education has nothing to teach; conversely, without Education, Science is not known to anyone to apply.”.

The book was introduced by Professor Dr. Tran Hong Quan, former Minister of Education and Training. He commented that Vu Cao Dam had: “...discovered many unusual things, many paradoxes that if one is still immersed in the old way of thinking, one will see them as normal, logical, and obvious”. He said, “His (Vu Cao Dam) opinions are not too strange. We have also encountered similar opinions here and there, from this person and that person, but have never seen them as systematic, straightforward, and thorough as in this work”.

The philosophy of the relationship between science and education has been described by Vu Cao Dam in three general stages: Stage 1: Education follows science, imparting to learners what science has created before; Stage 2: Education advances alongside science, imparting to learners knowledge that is regularly updated by contemporary science; Stage 3: Education goes ahead of science, imparting to learners scientific creative methods, the ability to foresee and know how to choose decisions that adapt to all changing situations of future society.

From that point of view, Mr. Vu Cao Dam determined that the educational reform roadmap must aim towards Phase 3 in the relationship between science and education.

Former Minister Tran Hong Quan commented:“…This book will be received with very different attitudes, even fiercely, whether in agreement or opposition. Many of the issues raised here deserve further study.”.

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In 2008, when preparing to publishCollection of published worksOn the occasion of Mr. Dam's 70th birthday, we wrote:“Through more than 40 years of research and teaching, he has left his colleagues at home and abroad with dedicated works, from theoretical studies on science and technology to articles with practical applications in management and policy making. Through the works recorded in this collection, it can be said that he is the one who laid the foundation and built the fields of Scientology, Technological Theory, Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Management in our country.”.Today, we continue to write: Teacher Vu Cao Dam is the one who has explored new lands in science, which are policy science, philosophy of science and education development.

Up to now, in his entire working life, Mr. Dam has left his colleagues with over 200 articles, 17 books, 12 monographs and lectures. He has presided over the implementation of 9 scientific programs/topics at all levels (including 5 state-level programs/topics), 9 works published in English, is the director/coordinator of 12 economic, scientific and technological cooperation projects with foreign countries, presided over 5 projects to compile strategic documents, policies and legal documents on science and technology. He has been an advisor on science and technology strategy and policy for the Government of Ethiopia (1984) and the Government of Laos (1986).

Looking back at his contributions, we realize a consistent value, which is the passion that is always burning in his published and unpublished works that he left for his colleagues. He has trained many generations of students to become famous in the fields of science and education, but above all, he has instilled in them a boundless love for the cause of science and education.