On the morning of December 16, 2022 in Da Lat, the G7 group including 7 leading technical universities in Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement in the field of education internationalization with the content of international accreditation and quality assurance to meet international quality human resource training requirements. The signing ceremony was attended by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy – Director General of Higher Education Department - Ministry of Education and Training.

Under this cooperation agreement, seven schools will coordinate in the field of education internationalization, with joint activities organized by seven schools. This will be an opportunity for 7 schools to develop cooperation and mutual support in international accreditation and quality assurance activities. In the context of the internationalization of higher education, the promotion of international accreditation activities will contribute to improving the effectiveness of the implementation of the development strategy and the fulfillment of the mission, goal and vision of each University. Cooperation activities include: organization of self-assessment, verification, external assessment; documents serving the internal quality assurance system; providing resources for implementing quality assurance and training quality improvement; implementing training quality assurance processes; digital transformation in quality assurance and accreditation; measurement, evaluation, forecasting and improvement.

At the meeting, the leaders of the schools agreed on the cooperation plan in the field of accreditation and quality assurance. Prof. Dr. Tran Thanh Hai said that the goal of the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology was to catch up with the general activities of the G7 group in quality assurance and international accreditation. At the same time, he wanted to get the advice and support of G7 universities for the accreditation activities of the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology.   Prof. Dr. Trinh Minh Thu - Rector of Thuy Loi University shared that the accreditation work of the school was still very limited. The principal suggested that the G7 group need to have a more specific plan of activities, the units of the schools need to have a roadmap, the content plan has more profound and comprehensive thematic activities so that the G7 cooperation can achieve the desired results.   Assoc. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Long - Rector of the University of Transport and Communications cared about the responsibility of commitment and implementation in the cooperation process. After signing the previous cooperation, the school has rebuilt the training program and participated in communication activities in enrollment counseling. The Rector of the University of Transport and Communications expressed his desire to receive the support and cooperation among members of the G7 group in sharing experience in accrediting international training programs. At the same time, the Rector also offered options for this cooperation to be effective, such as: needing specific plans, having support departments, finding an accreditation organization for joint inspection, etc.   Assoc. Prof. Dr. Doan Quang Vinh - University of Science and Technology – The University of Da Nang said that the school was currently facing difficulties in implementing accreditation, especially in improving English proficiency for students. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Doan Quang Vinh proposed to promote joint activities on the basis of the signed agreement and the smooth companionship among schools in the G7 group as well as providing a roadmap, implementation works of the schools, specific action plans, performance evaluation twice a year.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Duy Hoa - Rector of Hanoi University of Civil Engineering assessed that although members of the G7 group were technical universities, there were certain differences. In which, 3 Polytechnic Universities are considered as "leading" universities in many fields. Therefore, it is necessary to have an exchange with member schools as well as to conduct signed activities in a methodical way to connect and share. The principal suggested that functional departments of schools need to be more proactive in working together in expertise for better cooperation results. The members who succeed the principal in the future need to actively participate in the activities of the G7 group to maintain and develop the group in the future.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Phong Dien - Vice Rector of Hanoi University of Science and Technology shared that the school was currently reviewing recommendations from organizations having carried out the assessment, and then Hanoi University of Science and Technology would share with the group about experiences to shorten the accreditation process, as well as preparation work. The Vice Rector also said that schools without digital transformation would find it very difficult to measure and verify because there were hundreds of different (internal) processes. In the issue of digital transformation, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has its own application and is ready to share it with the G7 group in the process of university management. In 2023, Hanoi University of Science and Technology will implement a new version of the thinking exam, and deploy a new Mooc platform with the G7 group (including digital learning materials - electronic lectures and group sharing).

Speaking at the ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy - Director General of Higher Education Department emphasized that the G7 group was a group of typical universities; therefore, it was necessary to spread the values ​​which G7 was aiming for and to share experiences in accreditation to bring resonant value. The Director General also shared that Ministry of Education and Training was always committed to accompanying and sharing with schools, and schools should make timely suggestions for the Ministry to support in terms of mechanisms and policies to help schools develop together. Currently, Ministry of Education and Training has a source of about 430 billion to invest in shared courses. The Ministry also assigned tasks to a number of schools to lead in each field. Regarding science and technology - mechanical engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology was assigned to chair. The schools will enjoy the results and the schools have the responsibility to jointly support and share with Hanoi University of Science and Technology to put into operation this shared platform.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mai Thanh Phong - Rector of Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, representing the universities, summed up and said that the G7 group positively evaluated the group's activities in the past 2 years and the group had created a foundation and trust when working together. Therefore, the group needs to prepare for a new phase in the next cooperation process such as: developing a plan framework, structure, operating mechanism... The Rector suggested that there should be a permanent secretariat to support leaders of schools and the group need to have a specific annual plan of action and assign tasks to schools to implement this plan specifically.

Internationalization of higher education is an inevitable trend, especially in the current context of deep integration. With this process, the Vietnamese education industry cannot stand aside because participating in accreditation brings a lot of benefits to both parents, students and universities. The cooperation and sharing of resources on international accreditation and quality assurance to meet the requirements of training international quality human resources for technical schools will contribute to the training of generations of global citizens, and at the same time improving Vietnam's ranking in the world in the field of education. This is the fifth time seven universities including: Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology – The University of Da Nang, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, University of Transport and Communications, Thuy Loi University, and Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, have signed the cooperation agreement. Previously, the schools have signed cooperation agreements on developing training programs and on enrollment, training, technology transfer, innovation and communication.

Communication & Admissions Department