Boosting Employability! Strengthening Universities to Make Graduates Fit for Work
Vietnam’s economy is booming with world-topping growth rates. It is forecast to see the region’s biggest increase in venture capital deals from 2025 to 2030. Much of this investment will be in high-tech sectors such as semiconductors or green technology – and to be successful in these fields, the market will need highly trained and skilled workers. Skilled workers are also needed on Vietnam’s intended development path towards a high-income country by 2045.
The education system, however, is lagging. Teaching is still very theoretical at many universities, the proportion of application-related knowledge and skills acquisition is rather low, many companies claim that applicants are not well prepared for the realities of the job, despite their technical knowledge and skills. Partners from the private and public sectors are only sometimes included. This means that many universities provide training bypassing the labour market – which is in dire need of well-qualified graduates.
University leadership as well as political leadership are well aware of this problem and are tackling it to increase the performance of Vietnamese universities. One of the objectives is to better prepare the students and graduates for the employment market. In order to do this successfully, universities and their internal management have to adapt accordingly.
Expected outcomes of the workshop
- It creates a space for exchange and insight and making contacts on the topic of how to boost graduates’ employability.
The main target group of this DIES-Workshop are a) decision makers at the management level in Vietnamese universities (Presidents & Vice-Presidents), b) heads of central management departments who are responsible for topics such as cooperation with the world of work or university engagement, and c) educators and heads of faculties, academic departments and schools, responsible for the set-up of academic programmes. To foster mutual understanding and cooperation, private and public sector institutions will be represented as well as further Vietnamese and international organisations working at the interface of education and the world of work. A total of 50 participants is expected. - By examining good practice examples from Vietnam and Germany, participants gain a better understanding of the ways in which the topic of “boosting employability” can be addressed within universities.
The workshop’s topic can be approached from a number of different angles. Didactics is a key issue: practice-oriented teaching methodology, focusing less on theory but on group work, experimental and project-based learning or simulation. Curriculum Design is a second: including practice-oriented and applied elements such as internships, excursions or writing the final theses in close cooperation with companies, offering new types of certificates such as micro-credentials. External Networks is a third: strengthen the cooperation between universities and industry and promote strong networks with the universities’ social and economic environment. And expanding Universities’ internal Eco-Systems is a fourth: fostering start-ups and small businesses, setting up and expanding incubators, offering coaching for your entrepreneurs. - Decision-makers at Vietnamese universities are sensitized to which structures and capacities in university management can be helpful in improving the employability of their graduates.
It is key to understand what structures within universities are supportive for fostering up-to-date didactics, practice-oriented curriculum design, strong external networks and innovative internal support structures. How could/should they be institutionally anchored? At which levels (central management/within faculties) and with which sort of mandate and what implementation authority?
An additional vantage point will be added to all discussions: What role can international cooperation play in this? How can German partners be instrumental in the endeavour of qualifying Vietnamese graduates more precisely to the needs of the labour market? And how can DAAD provide potential support?
Agenda
DAAD-DIES Workshop_Employability_Concept & Agenda
Date and Time
Day 1: 26 September (Thursday, from 12:30 to 18:00)
Day 2: 27 September 2024 (Friday, from 09:00 to 13:00)
Venue
Novotel Saigon Centre, 167 Hai Ba Trung, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Speakers
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Dr. Viet Dung Trinh is a visionary leader in higher education, currently driving the expansion of Kühne Logistics University (KLU) into Southeast Asia as the Campus Director for the region. Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Dr. Trinh is at the forefront of establishing KLU’s new campus in one of Asia’s most dynamic business and logistics hubs. His work is focused on enhancing logistics, operations, and supply chain management education, with the goal of shaping future leaders equipped with a strong operations mindset.
With over a decade of experience in higher education, Dr. Trinh has held various leadership roles that bridge academia and industry. Before joining KLU, he served as the Academic Program Director at VinUniversity in Hanoi, where he played a key role in advancing educational quality and student experience. His career also includes significant contributions to the International University – Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City, where he managed business programs and forged strategic partnerships.
KLU, founded in 2010 and supported by the Kühne Foundation, is dedicated to providing world-class leadership and management education rooted in logistics and supply chain management. The new campus in Ho Chi Minh City will offer comprehensive programs at both the bachelor’s and master’s levels, as well as executive education and lifelong learning opportunities tailored to the needs of the region.
Dr. Trinh’s research focuses on premium branding, customer experience design, and the application of marketing technology. He is a recognized speaker at national and international conferences and has an extensive portfolio of publications, including journal articles, book chapters, and other scholarly works.
As KLU prepares to extend its global impact through its Southeast Asia campus, Dr. Trinh is eager to collaborate with local partners to provide exceptional educational experiences and cultivate the next generation of leaders in logistics and supply chain management.
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Associate Professor Pham Ngoc Nam is the Vice Dean of College of Engineering and Computer Science, VinUniversity, Vingroup. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 1997 and his M.S. in Artificial Intelligence and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from KU Leuven, Belgium in 1999 and 2004 respectively. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence, QoS/QoE management for multimedia applications, reconfigurable computing and low-power embedded system design.
Prior to joining VinUni in 2018, he was with Hanoi University of Science and Technology where he served as Vice Dean at School of Electronics and Telecommunications. With this position, he has gained a lot of experience in CDIO based curriculum development and AUN-QA quality assessment at program level. He attended various trainings, both at home and abroad, on curriculum development and accreditation, quality assurance, higher education leadership development, active teaching/learning. He was a visiting scholar at Cornell University from 9/2020 to 8/2024, at the University of Aizu, Japan in 2015, at Chulalongkon University, Thailand in 2013, and at University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA in 2009.
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Dr. Do Thi Hai Ninh is a Senior Researcher Analyst at the School of International Business and Marketing, University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City (UEH). She holds a Ph.D. in Business from the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology and an M.S. in International Management and Business Administration from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. Dr Ninh has extensive experience in data analysis and is an expert in digitalization, innovation, creation, consumer behaviour, and technology. Her research focuses on various aspects of digitalization, education, consumer behavior, and e-commerce, particularly in the context of the digital economy. She has led and contributed to numerous research projects, including studies on the impact of innovation on SMEs, the Vietnamese entrepreneurial map, constructivist learning environments, and the influence of technology on consumer purchasing behaviour.
In her academic career, Dr. Ninh has held a key role as Marketing Program Director at UEH. She has been instrumental in designing undergraduate and short courses, supervising dissertations, and promoting innovation in teaching methods. Dr. Ninh is also a prolific author, with publications in esteemed journals and presentations at international conferences. Her contributions to education and research have been recognized with multiple awards.
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Registration
Link: https://www.daad.de/surveys/327159?lang=en.%20
Deadline: 10 September 2024
Contact
Ms. Pham Ngoc Mai
Programme Coordinator Higher Education Management (DIES)
Email: p.mai@daad.de
