HCM City (VNS/VNA) - International accreditation and quality improvement for promotion of Vietnamese higher education to keep up with the latest trends were discussed at a recent international conference in Ho Chi Minh City.

The “Pathways to International Accreditation and Sustainability” conference attracted participation from the Department of Quality Management under the Ministry of Education and Training, quality assurance experts, and leaders from nearly 50 Vietnamese higher education institutions.

Tran Bich Hue, head of Education Quality Accreditation Management under the Ministry of Education and Training, said education quality accreditation is given top priority by the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnamese higher education institutions with the goal meeting the requirements of innovation in education and training and the ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework.

As of February, a total of 209 higher education institutions achieved quality accreditations, including 12 higher education institutions achieving accreditations according to international standards and 197 higher education institutions achieving accreditations according to domestic standards.

There are 644 accredited programmes meeting international standards, she said.

Su Dinh Thanh, president of the University of Economics HCM City (UEH), said the development of higher education has been transforming and focusing on three main factors: international accreditation, digital education, and sustainable development.

These are essential requirements to guarantee that higher education institutions improve the quality of training and research, expand access to knowledge, personalise learning experiences, enhance global competitiveness and cooperation, and commit to bringing sustainable values to learners and the community, he said.

As a major national university, UEH has focused on efforts toward implementing a comprehensive university digital transformation strategy and a sustainable university strategy, he said.

UEH has chosen the FIBAA International Accreditation Organisation from Germany as a partner for the 2020 – 2025 period.

To date, it has 19 training programmes recognised as meeting FIBAA European standards and seven training programmes recognised as meeting AUN (ASEAN University Network) standards.

FIBAA has recognised many bright spots in digital education in Vietnam through surveys and assessments.

Digital education is becoming one of the prominent trends in higher education in Vietnam. With the development of technology and the need for flexible learning, universities are increasingly interested in implementing digital teaching methods.

Michael Stephan, head of FIBAA Certification Department, said that an effective digital education strategy should focus on factors such as minimising barriers against learning through digital technology, equipping students with digital skills to adapt to the modern working environment, using viꦑrtual reality technology to simulate real-life learning situations, digitising learning and administrative processes to improve operational efficiency, and developing teaching methods that meet the expectations of the modern student./.