International standard criteria for social sciences and humanities

In the development of international standard training programs under the Strategic Mission (SMS) of VNU, the social sciences and humanities (S&H) are identified to have their own characteristics. The establishment of international standard criteria for S&H majors/specializations is necessary to successfully implement the S&H in practice. Regarding this issue, a number of scientists have shared their views. * Prof. Dr. Vu Duong Ninh - former Head of the Faculty of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities: to reach international standards, we must access modern theoretical systems.In the current integration period, Social Sciences and Humanities, like all other sciences, need to aim to reach international standards. International integration is to raise the level of one's university; expand learning opportunities and integrate one's own students into the world's education and research system; absorb the strengths of the world's sciences but also to promote the unique features of the country's science. Once integrated, we must definitely reach a certain international standard. Therefore, if we ask whether it is necessary to reach international standards for science, including Social Sciences and Humanities, the answer is: it is necessary and very necessary!

It is indeed very difficult to build a set of criteria to meet international standards for Social Sciences and Humanities, but in my opinion, any science that wants to meet international standards must first demonstrate its fundamental and systematic nature, in compatibility with world science. Because that is the most important foundation that all science fields need to have. On that basic foundation, the second factor to consider is modernity, that is, accepting new things, which is especially important in the current information civilization era. Third is creativity, which can be international-level creativity, contributing to the world's common knowledge, such as the case of Ngo Bao Chau; or creativity applied to solve specific and practical situations in Vietnam. So what is the solution to achieve international standards for education and science? First of all, we must "liberate" the foreign language problem. Foreign languages ​​must be used proficiently and effectively as a tool to help us exchange information and dialogue with international colleagues. In the past, teaching and learning foreign languages ​​in our country depended on political fluctuations. During the colonial period, we learned French, then Russian, and from the 90s onwards, we switched to English. Our foreign languages ​​are taught very well in specialized language schools or foreign affairs departments, but general training has not yet reached the standard. Students learn foreign languages, spending a lot of time and effort but not effectively, not being able to use them. The second is the ability to use computers and the internet. The third is mastering methodological issues: approach, research methods, teamwork methods... In the criteria for meeting international standards of social sciences and humanities, in my opinion, the most important is to be able to access a modern theoretical system. The fields of study must be built on the basis of a modern theoretical system, updated with the world. This is also our current weakness. Another criterion is the number of scientific research articles published in international journals. But there also needs to be a distinction, while the natural sciences are more interested in international publications, the social sciences and humanities with their own characteristics need to consider: do those studies solve practical problems in Vietnam?* Prof. Dr. Dinh Van Duc - Director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities: building criteria that are both consistent with international practices and demonstrate Vietnam's creativity and uniquenessBecause science is a field, a separate area, it also has principles and processes that are standardized at the international level, that is, universal values ​​for all places, countries, and areas, whether it is social sciences or natural sciences. When talking about science, we must talk about: fundamentals, modernity, and creativity. However, besides the universal characteristics, there are still local issues belonging to each field, region, country, ethnicity, etc., so the general principles of science are "localized" in each field, each area, but still have to ensure the above 3 requirements. Social sciences and humanities must also fully demonstrate the above characteristics of science, but social sciences and humanities also have specific characteristics because they are associated with society and with people. And society has its own characteristics in terms of nation, ethnicity, operating mechanism, etc. Therefore, we have international standards but also national standards. International standards must still be general, while national standards depend on the specific conditions of each place, they are rules but are more specific. With such a way of posing the problem, social sciences and humanities in any country must strive to meet international standards. These standards also change over time. Current social sciences and humanities standards must be associated with global information, information technology, and with interdisciplinary and interconnectedness...

When building international standard criteria for social sciences and humanities, it is necessary to take into account both the general principles of science and the specific criteria of social sciences and humanities, the criteria of each major; and the specific creativity of Vietnam but must be consistent with international practices. There are criteria that can be seen immediately: modernity, accuracy, but there are also criteria that must be clarified such as foreign language standards... VNU is a multidisciplinary, multi-field university center with a research orientation, so building these standards is very necessary. But I think we should not be too hasty, but must have a long-term strategy, a step-by-step plan. In my opinion, we should develop a set of international standard criteria for the Strategic Mission programs in the immediate period, the pilot phase is different from the expansion phase, the standards for undergraduate level are different from the standards for postgraduate training... These standards need to be very detailed, in which the output standards are very important, and must be very practical with the current level of Vietnamese society and science. Regarding solutions to achieve international standards in social sciences and humanities, for VNU, first, it is necessary to clearly define two standards: training standards and research internship standards. for students and postgraduates. Second, it is necessary to provide regular information and teach students modern knowledge. Third, it is necessary to link that knowledge with Vietnamese reality. Secondary solutions are: improving foreign language proficiency, information technology, library system (providing scientific information, learning materials...), scientific journals... For teachers, there must be international scientific publications, students must have domestic scientific publications. In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to skills education: professional skills, soft skills, life skills...* Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Deputy Head of the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities: International standard criteria must be consistent throughout the entire training process.Simply put, international standards in science are the standard value systems that any scientific field must aim for if it wants to be recognized by the world scientific community for its professional quality. Social sciences and humanities are an organic part of general science, so of course there are also international standards, although it is impossible not to consider the high specificity of certain fields. In our country, in the context of the current strong global integration process, training fields in the field of social sciences and humanities also need to have a correct and timely view of international standard value systems to avoid falling too far behind the advanced social sciences and humanities in the world, which have been developing very rapidly recently. To do that, of course we have to think of international standard criteria that are consistent for the entire training process, including from input standards (conditions for professional degrees, scientific research results, foreign language skills, etc.) to training program standards (professional training management; modern facilities; advanced training programs; promoting international training cooperation; focusing on promoting academic foreign languages ​​so that learners can proactively cooperate internationally to develop their expertise; building an international training environment to attract scientists from around the world to come to lecture and do research to create conditions for learners to ...), output standards (human resources with high professional qualifications and good foreign language skills, capable of independent research, teamwork and international cooperation; degrees recognized by the world scientific community, etc.). The pilot project of VNU to build 03 international standard social sciences and humanities training programs within the framework of the NVCL is considered a breakthrough solution to achieve the above goal. Based on the evaluation of the results of the above programs, in the coming time, VNU should expand the training subjects of the social sciences and humanities sector, giving priority to the majors close to international standards, while focusing on investing human and material resources in training programs to have more majors meeting international standards in the coming years.