Development of Program Standards for Architecture and Construction

On 23 April, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), in collaboration with the Australia Embassy, held a roundtable on the development of Program Standards for Architecture and Construction in Hanoi.

Participants at the roundtable

The roundtable, which was attended by more than 50 representatives from leading Vietnamese universities offering degrees in architecture and construction, focused on important issues around program standards for a group of majors in this sector.

Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Director General of Higher Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) stated: “Following the Decision 436/QĐ-TTg dated 30/3/2020 by Prime Minister of the Government, MOET will promulgate guidelines on program standards for all levels of higher education. This is to serve as a basis for the development of program standards for a group of majors in architecture and construction. The program standards for this sector will be developed in the context of university autonomy. These standards will provide tools for the assessment of accountability and quality assurance of universities. Therefore, our discussions around program standards for a group of majors in architecture and construction is very important to human resources development in this sector”.

Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy further added that the program standards for all levels of higher education are general requirements, based on which universities can develop their own standards that suit their respective strategies, missions and brands.

Mr Brendon Brooker speaking at the roundtable

Mr Brendon Brooker, Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi, stated that the Government of Australia’s Aus4Skills program has supported Vietnam’s human resource development since 2016. He noted that this roundtable is part of the Australia’s continued support to Vietnam in the implementation of Vietnam Qualifications Framework (VQF), which contributes to the enhancement of higher education quality and towards university autonomy.

VQF is important for controlling the quality of vocational and higher education of Vietnam. It helps formulate an effective mechanism for the connection between employer’s requirements for quality of human resources and the system of education levels through education and quality measurement, assessment and evaluation.

The Australian Government’s Aus4Skills program has been providing support to Vietnam’s MOET in the development of program standards for groups of majors in Technology and Engineering; Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries; and Architecture and Construction.

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Since 2016, the Government of Australia’s Aus4Skills program has supported human resource development activities in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnamese universities. From 2017 to 2020, Aus4Skills supported universities in Vietnam’s northern mountainous region, including: strengthening their governance and university councils under Vietnam’s amended law on higher education; strengthening their leadership and strategic planning; increasing their engagement with the private sector; improving their quality assurance systems and tools; renewing their curricula to better meet workforce skills demands; and mainstreaming inclusive teaching and learning methods.

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Source: Education & Times