University-Enterprise cooperation in training high-quality human resources

In the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution, human resources constitute a fundamental element to maintain the competitiveness and performance of each enterprise, training institutions and the economy. Having the cooperation relationship with more than 3,000 domestic and foreign enterprises, Hanoi University of Industry has taken firm steps and flexible solutions to strengthen the connection between the University and enterprises, enhancing the training quality.

Article on The Education and Times Newspaper: University-Enterprise cooperation in training high-quality human resources

At the seminar "University-Enterprise cooperation", Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc - Vice Rector of the University and Ms. Dang Thanh Huyen - Human Resources Director of Nissan Automotive Technology Vietnam Co., Ltd. had in-depth discussions with reporters of The Education & Times Newspaper, proposing some solutions to promote the relationship between University-Enterprise cooperation in training high-quality human resources, meeting the needs of businesses and society.

Reporter: As a multi-disciplinary higher education institution, how has the connection between schools and businesses been made in recent years?

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc: University-Enterprise cooperation (U-E cooperation) in the design and implement of training programs is a significant factor to enhance the quality of training as well as the brand and position of higher education institutions. Recognizing the importance of U-E cooperation, under the support of the Project for Human Resources Development in Engineering sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), from 2012 Hanoi University of Industry has established the Business Relations Department - a unit in charge of managing, supporting and developing U-E cooperation. Since then, the U-E cooperation has become an important professional activity like other professional activities of the University.

The seminar "University-Enterprise cooperation" at Hanoi University of Industry

Up to now, the University has cooperated with more than 3,000 domestic and foreign enterprises in terms of various aspects, including 5 groups:

- Designing and developing training programs: Right from the time of designing and developing training programs, enterprises have provided ideas, set training objectives, set output requirements and assessment criteria to evaluate students' abilities after graduation.

- Organizing and implementing training programs: The University and enterprises have had cooperation in organizing and implementing training programs; for example, organizing field trips and internship programs; having experts teach specialized subjects and guide the graduation project, etc.

- Sponsoring equipment: Enterprises sponsor equipment for practice and experiment to meet the requirements of training; provide scholarships, offer paid internships for students, etc.

- Organizing training programs according to business needs: In addition to the main training program offered by the University, students receive additional training in foreign languages ​​and soft skills.…according to the requirements of enterprises so that they are qualified to work at the enterprises upon graduation. Students participating in these training programs will be provided with scholarships, tuition assistance and have the opportunity to be directly employed and work for the enterprises immediately after graduation.

- Enterprises order the University to foster and provide advanced training for their personnel; participate in assessing professional qualifications and skills for employees at the enterprises.

Reporter: Cooperating with Hanoi University of Industry since 2014, what has Nissan Automotive Technology Vietnam done to improve the quality of training and provide maximum support for its students?

Ms. Dang Thanh Huyen: Cooperation with higher education institutions and specifically with Hanoi University of Industry has always been one of the important goals of the Company in its strategy of finding and recruiting high-quality human resources. Currently, more than 700 students of Hanoi University of Industry are working at very good positions at Nissan. Every year, Nissan has cooperated with the University to regularly organize seminars on job opportunities, internships, field trips at enterprises, so that students can have access to modern equipment as well as a professional working environment of the Company. In addition, the Company also has plans to train students in critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, teamwork skills, working style and especially creating an environment and opportunities to students improve their foreign languages (Japanese and English).
Nissan always has special programs for senior students of Hanoi University of Industry, with the goal of training them to be more professional so that right after graduation, they qualified to work at the Nissan with a basic salary of at least VND 10 million.

Ms. Dang Thanh Huyen - Human Resources Director of Nissan Automotive Technology Vietnam Co., Ltd. shared about the cooperation between the University and businesses.

Reporter: For technical sectors such as Engineering Technology (mechanical engineering, mechatronics, automobiles, automation control...) or Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, what are the differences between connecting with businesses in these fields compared to the others?

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc: Basically, the U-E cooperation in the fields of Engineering Technology (mechanical, mechatronics, automobiles, automation control...) has no big difference compared to that of other groups. There is only the difference in scale and nature due to the specific characteristics of the industry group. In the field of Engineering Technology, along with the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the continuous development of foreign corporations, the demand for high-quality human resources is increasing. Therefore, along with their production and business development strategies, large corporations actively cooperate with the University from the beginning, to solve the human resource problem at a longer range, with more depth and scale.

For example, Nissan Automotive Technology Vietnam has implemented an intensive training program for engineers and bachelors; Foxconn Technology Group invested USD 5 million on Hanoi University of Industry to jointly establish HaUI - Foxconn technical training center on mechanical processing, Mitsubishi Corporation invested in PLC and inverter practice equipment; Toyota invested in training equipment on paint, chassis and car shell; Siemens sponsored training equipment for Smart Factory; Samsung sponsored MTB, etc. That bringing students closer to businesses through field trips, internships and corporate sponsorship of equipment and facilities for practice/experiments for the University step by step helps students have good knowledge and skills, from which they can immediately meet the requirements of recruiting enterprises after graduation.

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc - Vice Rector of the University shared at the Seminar

Reporter: For the tourism and services sector, one of the sectors that was most affected in the recent Covid-19 pandemic, what orientation and solutions does the University have in the coming time, so that together with businesses create momentum for the development of this sector?

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc: In fact, human resources of the tourism industry are seriously lacking in both quantity and quality after the pandemic has subsided, thus to prepare for a new period, Hanoi University of Industry had a breakthrough solution to meet real needs: Opening the new major “Catering and restaurant management”, which are highly appreciated and have long-term development potential; Encouraging and assisting students to be able to graduate in 3-3.5 years.

Along with that, the University has also increased investment in facilities and equipment for training programs in the fields of tourism, restaurants, and hotels, so that teachers and students can actively teach practical courses and basic practice right in the University. As for the practical part, advanced practice will be connected and organized by the University in large enterprises in the tourism industry; Diversifying foreign languages ​​such as English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean in order to help students to work in a multicultural environment.

Hanoi University of Industry has been creating long-term and sustainable cooperation relationships with a number of large student recruitment agencies: Marriott, Fortuna, Sheraton, Melia, Daewoo, Metropole, FLC, Flamingo, Vingroup, Viettravel,… thereby opening up more job opportunities for students of the University.

Reporter: So, for the language training majors, what orientation will the University have to increase job opportunities for students?

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc: For language training majors, the University makes the most of the advantages of the credit system in training so that students can shorten their study time at the University and can spend from 6 months up to 1 year for internships at enterprises, especially foreign enterprises.
Regarding the content of training programs, the language majors are designed in the direction of science, technology, commerce and tourism. Therefore, upon graduation, thanks to their deep background knowledge, students can perform well the tasks of translating and interpreting in these fields meeting the demands of enterprises in science and technology, commerce, and tourism. For example, Foxconn Technology Group, when recruiting a Bachelor of Chinese, prefers students who have a background in science and technology. Meanwhile, this is an advantage for students graduating from the Chinese Language of Hanoi University of Industry.

The 2022 Job Fair attracted nearly 100 businesses, bringing more than 8,500 job opportunities for students

Reporter: The Industrial Revolution 4.0 affects the whole economy. To catch up with the trend, what specific solutions do the Company and the University have to further strengthen the relationship between the two sides, improve the training quality of human resource training?

Ms. Dang Thanh Huyen: Nissan has cooperated with Hanoi University of Industry for many years. Graduates from HaUI are always welcomed, appreciated and get the most favorable conditions and environment to devote, develop and build the future. In the coming time, the Board of Directors of the Company will carry out synchronous and extensive cooperation with the University, and will participate more deeply in the training process, together with the University to improve the quality of human resources; further strengthen training courses for high-level engineers so that students can become more professional, have the opportunity to receive the advanced training in Japan…

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc: In the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, developing a training model that connects the Univeristy with businesses has always been considered an important requirement. Cooperation with enterprises is considered as one of the effective solutions to improve the quality of training, thereby building the University's brand. This linkage is becoming a strategy to create competitive strengths in enrollment and training, ensuring high-qualified human resources for the labor market. At Hanoi University of Industry, there are many solutions to build a brand and strengthen the connection between the University and enterprises:

For the University: The University always considers enterprises as an important partner in the design and development of the training programs. The training programs should have an appropriate proportion of practice (35-40%) to increase students' practical knowledge and skills. In the training programs, some specialized subjects are designed with the participation of co-teaching partly by experts from enterprises;

Dr. Kieu Xuan Thuc - Vice Rector of the University visited the booths at the 2022 Job Fair

In addition to sending students to enterprises to practice, it is necessary to have lecturers visit enterprises to update production and business practices at enterprises; consider U-E cooperation to be as important as teaching and scientific research activities. Besides, it is vital to select suitable enterprises for cooperation ensuring the criteria such as goodwill of enterprises; understanding of education of the key personnel of the enterprises; the field of operation and business scale of the enterprises; core values ​​of the enterprises….

For Enterprises: It is also necessary to consider the cooperation with educational institutions as a social responsibility and also an essential right to help businesses recruit high-quality human resources, save costs and training time after recruitment because students after graduation can immediately meet the job requirements at the enterprises. Enterprises also need to be more active in learning about educational cooperation to build a culture of cooperation as well as goodwill when participating in cooperative activities; It is necessary to have a functional department to act as a focal point for cooperation, to appoint personnel suitable for each aspect and form of cooperation to improve the quality of cooperation; Having a long-term plan on human resources serving the strategy, production and business plan, from which outline plans to cooperate in training and recruitment with appropriate education and training institutions; Selective and committed when signing a cooperation agreement with institutions; Creating favorable conditions for cooperation terms to be effectively implemented.

For the State: The Law on Higher Education and the Law on State Education have general provisions on encouraging cooperation between enterprises and rural areas. However, the State needs to have specific policies for enterprises to be more active and proactive in cooperating with educational institutions, for example: preferential policies, tax support for enterprises when they invest in science and technology or invest in priority sectors and fields in education and training, etc.

Students received direct advice and support from enterprises at the 2022 Job Fair at Hanoi University of Industry

Information Box: Ms. Dang Thanh Huyen - Human Resources Director of Nissan Automotive Technology Vietnam Co., Ltd., said that the company has been associated with Hanoi University of Industry since 2014. Currently, the students understand the wishes of our Company, so they are no longer surprised when accepting jobs. Moreover, thanks to effective communications of the University, many students are oriented and interested in working at Nissan. Students already have information and understanding about the cooperation program, so the rate of commitment to the company is high. very high. The income of the students after 9 months of training and working at the Company along with other benefits also reaches from 10 million dong/ month depending on their foreign language ability. After 5-10 years, they can further develop their career. When entering Nissan, students who are really excellent and committed will be trained in Japan for 2-3 years. At that time, they will be both paid in Vietnam and trained in Japan. Students who finish training in Japan can buy an apartment of 2-3 billion dong after returning Vietnam.