vietnamese students 'still a significant gap' in practical application

vietnamese students lag far behind peers in countries like japan in applying academic theory to real-world problems, stated professor chu duc trinh.

professor chu duc trinh, rector of the university of technology, vietnam national university, hanoi, made this observation on the sidelines of the 17th naprock international programming competition (naprock procon) awards ceremony on 9/3.

this year marked the first time the competition was held in vietnam, drawing 114 students from 36 teams. besides vietnam, delegations from japan, thailand, and mongolia also participated.

naprock procon is highly practical, featuring two categories: programming contest, which focuses on solving specific problems, and creative software, which involves flexibly applying advanced information processing technologies to address real-life issues.

vietnam entered 15 teams, with a team from the university of technology securing the third prize in the creative software category. the top awards in both categories were won by japanese teams.

while acknowledging the third prize as a relatively good achievement, professor trinh noted that this result partly reflects a significant gap for vietnamese students compared to leading nations like japan in applying academic theoretical knowledge to practical problems.

"academic knowledge is very important. students demonstrating strong knowledge through scores is also good. but more importantly, that knowledge must be linked to reality and future employment", professor trinh stated. "we need to bridge that gap in the coming time".

professor chu duc trinh speaking at the naprock procon awards ceremony on 9/3. photo: duong tam

professor chu duc trinh speaking at the naprock procon awards ceremony on 9/3. photo: duong tam

the rector of the university of technology believes that enhancing students' practical skills cannot be achieved by a single university or training program; rather, the entire education sector must build a system of programs with specific standards. the ministry of education and training is currently undertaking this to improve the quality of training in STEM fields.

bringing international competitions to vietnam, allowing more students to participate, is also a way to enhance quality. in the short term, he assessed that competitions like naprock procon provide students with exposure, showing them how their global peers apply solutions to real-world problems, enabling them to identify strengths and weaknesses for improvement and development.

in the long term, training institutions can grasp the requirements for curriculum and lecture design, helping students master knowledge and skills, understand application, and meet practical demands.