On April 24, 2018, the Scientific and Academic Council of Vietnam Japan University (VJU) held the third meeting during its 3-year tenure from 2016 to 2018. It was presided over by Prof. Kyosuke Nagata, President of the University of Tsukuba, Vice Chairman of the Council.
The meeting was conducted via teleconference between Hanoi (Vietnam), Tokyo and Ibaraki (Japan) with the participation of members of the Council and other stakeholders. It revolved around the proposal of Prof. Furuta Motoo, VJU Rector, and discussed about: (1) A draft Development Strategy for VJU until 2025, Vision towards 2035; (2) Plan to open undergraduate programs in 2019-2020; (3) Drafted proposal for opening Master Program of Global Leadership in VJU and other academic issues.
At the beginning of the event, Prof. Dr. Furuta Motoo, VJU Rector, presented the draft development strategy for VJU until 2025 with a vision to 2035. Specifically, globalization, Industry 4.0, scientific and socio-economic issues, as well as lack of high-quality human resources have posed radical challenges to Vietnam’s education system in general and VJU in particular. Aware of such challenges and its unique position in the relationship between Vietnam and Japan, VJU sets out its mission:
a) To nurture high-quality human resources to be the next generation of leaders, managers and experts in Vietnam, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the world.
b) To do research in the fields of advanced technology, engineering and interdisciplinary sciences for sustainable development; To promote knowledge transfer between Vietnam and Japan for the sake of society.
c) To contribute to accomplishing missions of VNU and fostering the development of the higher education system in Vietnam; To shoulder social responsibility, through adherence to such principles as Sustainability, Globality, Cooperation, Transparency and Diversity.
d) To promote cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.
VJU sets its vision on becoming Asia’s leading research university by 2035.
One of the key tasks of VJU is to offer undergraduate courses. The University plans to start running an interdisciplinary social science undergraduate program in 2019 and other undergraduate programs in science, engineering and technology by 2020. The programs are to be designed on the philosophy of liberal arts education and sustainable development. For the first few cohorts, VJU aims to offer courses in small scale, with a focus on quality. Language of instruction is English with a number of modules in Japanese and Vietnamese.
The Master’s program in Global Leadership, which has a duration of 2 years, is planned to begin its first intakes in 2018 with English as the language of instruction. It was based on the curriculum of Waseda University, a leading university for Leadership in Japan, whose notable alumni include 7 Prime Ministers and many founders, CEOs of well-known corporations in Japan and the world.
At the meeting, members of the Council also analyzed other academic issues. Prof. Kyosuke Nagata concluded the meeting, expressing his support to the Rector’s proposals and requested the Rector to elaborate details for implementation as well as plan for the 4th Council Meeting scheduled for July 2018.
