NAPA organizes Graduation Ceremony and Awarding of Doctoral and Master’s Degrees in 2024

On July 10, 2024, at the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam, Ha Noi, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) organized the Graduation Ceremony and awarded Doctoral and Master’s degrees to 17 new PhDs and 266 new Masters in five majors namely Public Administration, Public Policy, Economic Management, Constitutional Law – Administrative Law, and Finance – Banking.

Attending the ceremony, on the side of invited guests were Mrs. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director General of the Higher Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council of the Central Committee.

On the side of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) were Assoc Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong, Vice Minister of Home Affairs; Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuan, Director General of the Organization and Personnel Department; Mr. Nguyen Tien Dao, Executive Deputy Secretary of the Ministerial Party Committee; Mr. Vu Dang Minh, Chief of the Office of the Ministry; Mr. Le Anh Tuan, Director General of the Institute for State Organizational Sciences; Mr. Tran Nghi, Editor-in-Chief of the State Organization Research Journal; Mr. Nguyen Duc Toan, Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU), Secretary of the MoHA Youth Union.

On the side of NAPA were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President; NAPA Vice Presidents including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Thanh Cuong, Dr. Nguyen Dang Que, Dr. Lai Duc Vuong, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Suu; former NAPA Presidents and Vice Presidents; members of the NAPA Party Committee; leaders of NAPA units; representatives of the Trade Union, HCYU, Former Lecturer Association, and Veterans Association; lecturers and academics who directly taught and supervised PhD candidates and master’s students; the new PhDs and Masters of NAPA, and their friends, colleagues, and families.

In his congratulatory speech at the Graduation Ceremony, on behalf of MoHA, Vice Minister Trieu Van Cuong extended the warmest congratulations to the distinguished guests, lecturers, and especially the 17 new PhDs and 266 new Masters being awarded degrees at the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam.

He emphasized that the development of high-quality human resources is identified as one of the three strategic breakthroughs by the 13th National Party Congress. The Party of Viet Nam always pays close attention to cadre work, which includes human resource factors. Education and training are always considered top national policies and priorities in development investment. Doctoral and master’s degree training are significant levels of education to build the intellectual team, academics, experts, and managers, serving as the foundation for developing high-quality human resources. The goal of education and training is to improve public intellectual standards, train human resources, and nurture talents.

NAPA has a proud history of development. NAPA is not only a national center for training cadres, civil servants, and public employees for the political system but has truly become a major training center for the country in fields such as Public Administration, Public Policy, Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, and Economic Management. From this cradle, generations of PhDs and Masters have graduated, many of whom hold key positions in the political system, and many have become leading academics, senior experts, and reputable figures in their respective fields and society.

On behalf of MoHA leaders, Vice Minister Trieu Van Cuong highly appreciated the achievements of NAPA in fulfilling its postgraduate training mission for nearly 30 years.

NAPA students and researchers are not only those aspiring to become academics but also include many cadres, civil servants, and public employees who seek to enhance their in-depth knowledge to perform their duties with higher quality, deepening their expertise in advisory work, and in leadership and management roles. Therefore, NAPA postgraduate training could improve the quality of human resources for public service and the political system in the long term. Due to this special nature, Vice Minister Trieu Van Cuong suggested that NAPA should be more aware and fully understand its role and responsibility in training work, specifically:

(1) NAPA needs to enhance the quality of its faculty for postgraduate training. The faculty should continuously enrich their practical knowledge so that each lecture is not only deep in theory but also rich in practical application, combining knowledge with action, with the goal of learning coupled with practice.

(2) There needs to be innovation in the postgraduate training programs. NAPA should think comprehensively about the training programs. Training should be based on practical requirements, from the current needs of the public service. The program’s output standards need to be more specifically defined, clearly outlining the competency map of the learners after training, and thoroughly explaining how each module contributes to completing this competency map.

(3) The postgraduate teaching methods need to continue to innovate, maximizing the learners’ self-awareness, self-study, and self-research spirit. Postgraduate training should not only be a process of enhancing knowledge but also a process of further developing the ability to self-study and self-research, making learning and research a lifelong endeavor.

(4) It is necessary to ensure the training process is compliant with regulations, methodological, rigorous, and ethical. Based on legal regulations on admissions and training, NAPA should specifically define the training process and have mechanisms for strict supervision and monitoring. This is also an important basis for ensuring the quality of postgraduate training and helps doctoral and master’s students see the professionalism and standards of NAPA in training management.

(5) Strengthening the connection, transfer, sharing, and application between academic research and postgraduate training is essential so that doctoral and master’s degree training becomes one of the strongest drivers for academic research at NAPA.

(6) NAPA needs to soon develop a specific plan and roadmap towards an innovative and creative higher education system following global higher education trends. To do this, NAPA must identify key training disciplines that are truly advantageous and have the potential for breakthrough development in the future so that appropriate investment can be placed.

Finally, Vice Minister Trieu Van Cuong hopes that the new PhDs and Masters, in whatever positions they hold, will always strive, be creative, and contribute more to Viet Nam – this is also a practical action to build the image, reputation, and foster the tradition of sustainable development of NAPA.

On behalf of the Graduate Training Management Department, Dr. Le Nhu Phong reported on the training process, achievements, and academic results of the new PhDs and Masters in 2024 at NAPA. Accordingly, in 2024, the NAPA President conferred doctoral degrees in Public Management to 17 doctoral candidates who successfully defended their dissertations and master’s degrees to 266 graduate students in Public Management, Public Policy, Economic Management, Finance – Banking, and Constitutional Law – Administrative Law.

In his closing remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, warmly welcomed and thanked the distinguished guests for attending the ceremony and congratulated the new PhDs and Masters on their academic and research achievements.

Having been responsible for master’s degree training since 1996 and doctoral degree training since 2002, NAPA is the first institution in Viet Nam to train PhDs in Public Management and Masters in Public Administration Management. With nearly one-third of a century in master’s degree training and almost a quarter-century in doctoral degree training, NAPA has established a reputable brand in training PhDs in Public Management, Masters in Public Management, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and other master’s degree programs. NAPA master’s and doctoral training programs continue to expand to meet the high-quality human resource requirements for the country’s development and the establishment of a modern and efficient national governance system.

In recent years, NAPA has undergone significant organizational and operational changes, bringing higher expectations and demands from the Government, MoHA, and society in terms of training and development. Keeping pace with these substantial changes, NAPA has achieved important milestones in postgraduate training. NAPA’s principles for doctoral and master’s degree training focus on developing learner capabilities, aiming for training quality, using the faculty as motivation, innovating the curriculum as the foundation, and maintaining standards in management as the consistent direction.

He emphasized that in the postgraduate training mission, NAPA always appreciates the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and central and local agencies for their support, especially the close attention of the Minister of Home Affairs to NAPA. The persistent contributions, dedication, and passion for the profession of NAPA academics and lecturers who have supervised and evaluated the dissertations and theses of doctoral candidates and master’s students have led to this glorious achievement.

To the new PhDs and Masters, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien hopes they will strive to make specific contributions to the country’s development, aiming to build a professional, responsible, dynamic, and capable public service. They should contribute to the academic field of their specialization with innovative and creative thinking and a methodological working style. They are expected to be role models for future generations of students, master’s students, and doctoral candidates, exemplifying lifelong learning and research, continually striving and contributing to the sustainable development of the country. He hopes that the masters graduating and receiving their degrees today will soon become doctoral candidates at NAPA to further enhance their academic qualifications.

In her speech, Dr. Mai Thị Kim Oanh, representing the 17 new PhDs and 266 new Masters, expressed her joy and emotion upon receiving the PhD degree after a period of diligent study and research. She expressed her profound gratitude to NAPA leaders and lecturers for their enthusiastic teaching, guidance, and support, enabling the candidates to complete their academic and academic research programs successfully. She also extended special thanks to her family, friends, and colleagues for their understanding, sharing, and encouragement during the study and research period. Dr. Mai Thi Kim Oanh also hopes that the achievements of today’s new PhDs will inspire a passion for academic research and motivate the new Masters to enroll in the doctoral programs at NAPA to achieve a PhD in the future.

Some photos at the ceremony: