President Truong Tan Sang attends the opening ceremony of the 2012-2013 school year

This morning, September 14, 2012, at the opening ceremony of the 2012-2013 school year, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities was honored to welcome the presence of comrade Truong Tan Sang - Politburo member, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.Also attending the ceremony were Associate Professor Dr. Tran Quang Quy - Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Dr. Le Dinh Tien - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Giang Son - Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Prof. Dr. Phung Huu Phu - Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council; Prof. Dr. Mai Trong Nhuan - President of VNU; along with leaders, staff, lecturers and students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) on behalf of the staff, scientists, lecturers and students of the University expressed his honor to welcome President Truong Tan Sang to visit and attend the Opening Ceremony. This event demonstrates the deep concern of the Party and State for the development of the University in particular and the social sciences and humanities of Vietnam in general. Reporting to the President, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh emphasized that with its long history, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has always been at the forefront of the country in training and scientific research, serving the development of the country. In the 2011-2012 school year, the University has achieved many outstanding achievements in training: after 5 years of converting from the year-based training method to credit-based training, the training quality has increased significantly, the rate of good and excellent students in the last school year reached over 90%. In addition, the University has successfully completed and on schedule the adjustment of 22 undergraduate training programs and 61 postgraduate training programs according to output standards, and has completed the construction of 5 new training programs to meet social requirements such as: Southeast Asian Studies, Public Relations, Anthropology, Cinema Arts and American Studies. The scale of postgraduate training has been focused on expanding, accounting for 35% of the scale of undergraduate training. To improve the quality of training, the University has deeply innovated the content and teaching methods. With the reputation of a leading university in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities, the University has attracted hundreds of international students to study. Also in the past school year, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has achieved proud achievements in scientific and technological activities: accepting more than 70 scientific topics, including many topics at the State level, Protocol; organizing dozens of international scientific seminars and conferences of high interdisciplinary nature; published nearly 600 articles in journals and monographs; proposed recommendations, provided important scientific arguments in promoting historical values, protecting national sovereignty such as studies on the Oc Eo culture of the South, proposed research programs on the East Sea... With the achievements, in the past school year, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities was awarded noble prizes by the Party and the State, including 5 Ho Chi Minh prizes and the State prize for Science and Technology (accounting for 1/6 of the total number of prizes awarded in 2012). Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh said that the achievements that the University has achieved, besides the efforts of the staff, lecturers, students and pupils, also have the attention and close direction of the Party, State and Government.Speaking at the ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang expressed his joy when visiting and attending the opening ceremony of the new school year at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. On behalf of the Party and State leaders, the President warmly commended and congratulated the achievements that the staff, students and trainees of all generations of the University have achieved in the past development period. President Truong Tan Sang highly appreciated the long tradition and great contributions of the University to the country's science, education and training, affirming: "The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has gone through a long journey of constantly striving to become a leading training and research center in the country, with prestige in the region and the world in the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities. The academic level and training quality of the University have won the trust of society and are highly appreciated by international friends and colleagues". More than 30 thousand bachelors, thousands of masters and hundreds of doctors trained by the School have worked creatively, contributed and sacrificed for the independence, freedom and unity of the Fatherland and the development of the country; many have become prestigious scientists, managers and political and social activists. Some of the school's professors have won high State awards in science and technology; and have been honored by a number of prestigious universities and scientific organizations in the world. President Truong Tan Sang also emphasized that as scientific fields that study the movement and development of history, social relationships and structures, cultural values, the identity of our nation and the quintessence of world culture, Social Sciences and Humanities shoulder an important responsibility in educating ideology, fostering patriotism, national pride, building social relationships, values, ethical standards, lifestyles and personalities of Vietnamese people. Therefore, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has a great role and responsibility. The President suggested that, in response to the current requirements for improving the quality of comprehensive education in the country, the most important task of the University is to research and innovate programs, content, teaching and learning methods, innovate testing, examination, and assessment of learning outcomes to create interest, passion, promote positivity and creativity in learning of students, train moral qualities and lifestyle for students, improve the quality of education comprehensively and substantially. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities must be the leading unit, actively and effectively implementing the Party's resolutions, so that education and training is truly the top national policy, the driving force for the rapid and sustainable development of the country. President Truong Tan Sang also added: “In recent years, there has been a situation where high school students are not interested in history, and in university entrance exams there are quite a few zero points in this subject, causing social concerns about the lack of understanding of national history among the younger generation. I suggest that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, with its capabilities, should actively and effectively participate in solving this problem.” In addition, President Truong Tan Sang said that the University must further strengthen and improve the quality of scientific research activities, including basic research on the history, culture, country, and people of Vietnam and other countries and regions in the world, providing scientific arguments for solving urgent problems posed by reality in the cause of national construction and defense. President Truong Tan Sang hopes that the University will continue to have many research projects of high quality and value, worthy of its prestige and reputation. To successfully carry out the above tasks, President Truong Tan Sang also requested the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to pay special attention to building a team of staff, especially the teaching staff, the decisive force in creating the quality of training and the reputation of the University. The teachers of the University must be truly exemplary in terms of talent, passion, sense of responsibility for work, moral qualities, lifestyle, and be an example for students and trainees to follow; the collective of leaders, managers, cadres and civil servants of the University must be truly united, close-knit, and support each other in comradeship and colleagueship. To the students and trainees, President Truong Tan Sang said: "Being proud to be students, graduate students, and researchers of a university with a long tradition of being the leading university in the country, you must strive to study and practice well to become good cadres, useful to society in the future".

Some pictures at the opening ceremony of the 2012-2013 school year