The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) organizes the opening ceremony for the 2024–2025 academic year

In an atmosphere of excitement and enthusiasm for the new academic year, on October 22, 2024, at the National Convention Center, NAPA held the opening ceremony for the 2024–2025 academic year.

H.E. Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chair of the Central Party Commission for Organization, Secretary of the CPV Designated Representation, and Minister of Home Affairs, attended and delivered a keynote speech to direct the implementation of the new academic year.

From the Ministry of Home Affairs were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong, Member of the CPV Designated Representation, Vice Minister in charge of NAPA; Mr. Truong Hai Long, Deputy Secretary of the CPV Designated Representation, Vice Minister; and leaders of various departments under the Ministry.

Guest delegates included Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Hien, former Vice Minister of Home Affairs and former NAPA President; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Dieu, former Vice Minister of Home Affairs and former NAPA President; Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dang Thanh, former Vice Minister of Home Affairs and former NAPA President; Dr. Tran Anh Tuan, President of the Viet Nam Administrative Sciences Associations, Member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, and former Vice Minister of Home Affairs in charge of NAPA; Dr. Nguyen Huu Khien, President of NAPA Association of Former Teachers and former NAPA Executive Vice President; and Dr. Dang Xuan Hoan, former Secretary-General of the National Education Council and former NAPA President.

From NAPA, attendees included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, Member of the Standing Bureau of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Secretary of the NAPA Party Committee, and NAPA President; NAPA Vice Presidents: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Thanh Cuong, Dr. Nguyen Dang Que, and Dr. Lai Duc Vuong; former NAPA Vice Presidents over the years; and former Principals and Vice Principals of the Hanoi University of Home Affairs.

On the guest side, there were delegates representing the leadership of the Central Party Office, the Office of the President, the Government Office, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Education, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Central Emulation and Commendation Committee, the Department of Internal Political Security of the Ministry of Public Security, and the Vietnam Association of Former Teachers. There were also members of the CPV Designated Representation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Executive Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs, and members of the Scientific and Training Council of NAPA.

From the diplomatic organizations, representatives included officials from the embassies of Canada, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Cuba, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of France, and the Republic of the Philippines. The event also featured the participation of H.E. Lutfor Rahman, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Viet Nam.

The ceremony was also attended by delegates from the Executive Committee of the Party, the Trade Union, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Veterans Association, the Women’s Union, and all lecturers, staff, and employees from departments and units of NAPA in Ha Noi, along with representatives from campuses in Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Nam province, and Dak Lak province. Also in attendance were former NAPA lecturers over the years, alumni and current students participating both in person and online, and over 3,300 new students, along with new graduate students and doctoral candidates, present at the National Convention Center in Ha Noi.

Welcoming more than 3,300 new undergraduate students and 132 new graduate and doctoral students admitted in 2024 to the opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 academic year, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, stated that the 2023-2024 academic year was a significant milestone for NAPA, marking its 65th year of establishment and development. The attention and support of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Home Affairs for NAPA has been reaffirmed with the issuance of Decision No. 06/2024/QD-TTg on April 5, 2024. This decision, which amended and supplemented Decision No. 27/2022/QD-TTg, lays the groundwork for the formation of the most comprehensive training and fostering ecosystem in NAPA’s entire system. NAPA had a successful full-time undergraduate admissions cycle in 14 majors and 13 specializations, with the admission score based on the high school graduation exam results in 2024 increasing significantly from 1.15 to 4.5 points compared to 2023. The highest admission score was 27.9, placing NAPA among the training institutions with the highest admission scores nationwide, a clear demonstration of NAPA’s growing prestige and brand. The training of cadres, civil servants, and public employees has expanded in scale and quality, aligning with civil service training towards modern and effective national and local governance. Scientific research has gradually focused more on review of practices, policy research, and forecasting research. NAPA’s international cooperation activities are transforming with more focus on cooperation in training and fostering on the issues of the contemporary growth trends, opening up numerous opportunities for cadres, civil servants, and public employees to access valuable information and knowledge from prestigious regional and global training centers.

The 2024-2025 academic year is the year of new beginnings as NAPA implements the Development Strategy for 2030, with a vision to 2045, the last year of the implementation of the targets set out in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, as well as the Resolution of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Resolution of NAPA’s Party Committee. NAPA’s Development Strategy for 2030, with a vision to 2045, is not only NAPA’s aspirations but also the expectations of the Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and various agencies, organizations, and society. It positions NAPA as a prestigious national center for training and development. This strategy emphasizes the philosophy of knowledge creation, innovation, and national responsibility, with core values centered on intelligence, quality, and modernity. It serves as a call to action and an inspiration for all NAPA staff, learners, and students.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien affirmed that NAPA can only become a prestigious center for training, creativity, and knowledge transfer if each faculty member actively cultivates their own knowledge and is open to self-renewal. Every lecture at  NAPA should embody vibrant scientific knowledge, serving as a solid foundation in a landscape filled with overwhelming information and data. Lecturers are not merely conduits of information; they also guide, connect, suggest, nurture, and support students’ innovative and creative ideas. Among the many training and development institutions across the country, NAPA aims to establish a distinct identity as a leading national center for training and fostering.

In his sharing with NAPA new students, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien sent them his thanks for choosing the National Academy of Public Administration as their place of study and a foundation for pursuing their dreams and aspirations. He hopes they will strive to understand, work collaboratively, love, share, and live responsibly; carry within a desire for great and beautiful things; create a serious study plan with a high level of concentration. All of these should promote their growth in consciousness, knowledge, and mentality. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien believes that with their courage and intelligence, they can truly become students of the new era, capable of continuing the traditions of the ancestors. Together with their generation, they will have the capability and wisdom to contribute to making Viet Nam strong and prosperous.

With NAPA learners, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien hopes that they will fully recognize the importance of their studies and research at NAPA, aiming to develop their capacity, qualities, ethics, and reputation that align with their responsibilities. He encourages them to think innovatively, take action, assume responsibility, and identify and effectively address practical problems.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien sincerely thanks the Party Committee of the Ministry, the Minister, and the leadership of the Ministry of Home Affairs for their continuous guidance, timely leadership, and close attention to NAPA. He also expresses his gratitude for the support from the functional units of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training, as well as other central and local agencies, organizations, and units. Additionally, he extends his appreciation to the embassies and international organizations in Viet Nam, and to the dedicated efforts of the lecturers, staff, students, and learners across NAPA, whose commitment, creativity, and shared determination have brought promising new developments to NAPA.

In her speech at the opening ceremony, Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra acknowledged and commended the efforts, dedication, and achievements of the civil servants, public employees, lecturers, students, and learners of NAPA over the past year. After two years of restructuring, NAPA has undergone significant and very positive changes, creating a solid foundation and important prerequisites to enter a new phase of development – one that will see NAPA grow on both a regional and global scale. What is particularly commendable is that NAPA has built a united, cohesive team of staff and employees who all work together with a shared sense of purpose, sincerity, camaraderie, and mutual understanding. This collective spirit has fostered a new sense of motivation and aspiration for everyone – staff, employees, learners, and students – helping to create a democratic, friendly, and progressive working and learning environment. This environment inspires people to overcome difficulties together and continue driving NAPA’s ongoing innovation and development.

According to Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, NAPA is a special-class public-non business unit entrusted by the Party of Viet Nam, the State of Viet Nam, and the Ministry of Home Affairs with the highly important responsibilities of training human resources for the public sector and society; training cadres, civil servants, and public employees; and conducting in-depth research on national governance and public administration. These responsibilities are demanding and challenging, yet also immensely honorable. In the new context of the nation, with the need to successfully achieve the national development goals by 2030, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party, and realizing the vision for 2045 – the 100th anniversary of the country’s founding — which aims to transform Viet Nam into a developed, high-income country, laying a solid foundation for entering a new era of development. This is to build a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, strong, and civilized Viet Nam, steadily progressing toward socialism. Therefore, more than ever, NAPA must fully recognize its vital role and continue to strongly and comprehensively innovate in terms of its thinking, governance, management methods, and teaching of its staff and faculty, as well as the learning, training, and striving of its students and learners. NAPA should focus on the following key priorities:

Firstly, NAPA needs to promote great aspiration and a strong belief in future development.  In the development orientation for the next 5, 10, and 20 years, NAPA needs to clearly define its practical, tangible, and specific contributions to implementing the strategy for socio-economic development, in the field of education, training, science, and technology of the country, in the strategy for building and perfecting the socialist rule-of-law state of Viet Nam in the new phase, and in building a clean and strong political system and the overall development of the nation. The stature, position, and development of NAPA depend significantly on the quality and effectiveness of the tangible, dynamic values and training and research products that NAPA produces each day, month, and year, thereby accumulating and elevating the core values, philosophy, and the spreading brand of NAPA.

Secondly, with a deep awareness of its mission and responsibilities to the Party, the State, and society, NAPA must ensure the harmonious development of an ecosystem based on three pillars: training cadres, civil servants, and public employees; training high-quality human resources; and conducting research. NAPA must also fully consider creating a green and smart development space, with a synchronized, complete, and modern infrastructure system; strongly promote the digital transformation to comprehensively innovate management methods, training, creativity, and knowledge transfer methods, establishing the necessary foundation for forming a digital academy, a smart academy in the near future.

Thirdly, it is essential to focus on building and developing the NAPA’s team of public officials and lecturers. NAPA needs a roadmap and a plan to allocate necessary resources for the development of its faculty and public officials, creating a highly motivational environment to nurture talent, while also encouraging the faculty and public officials to independently strive to meet the NAPA’s demands. Additionally, NAPA must pay special attention to attracting, utilizing, and valuing talent, creating a strong transformation in innovation capacity.

Fourthly, preserving and promoting the beautiful cultural values at NAPA is crucial. NAPA needs to ignite pride in its long-standing tradition and build its identity with culture as the foundation. NAPA should promote a beautiful, meaningful way of living as a means to connect hearts, all aligned towards a better life and the development of NAPA. This identity should be spread and become a guiding value in the actions and work of every public official, lecturer, student, and learner at NAPA.

Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra hopes that NAPA students will be worthy of being the youth of the Ho Chi Minh generation, always living with ideals and ambitions, striving to excel in both studies and personal growth, continuously working hard to establish themselves and build their careers. Take advantage of the achievements of science and technology to learn and build the skills of tomorrow, enabling them to work in international environments and adapt to the increasingly diverse and multidimensional changes of today’s world. NAPA learners must make the most of their time studying at NAPA to truly improve their skills and expertise, share and exchange their work experiences, and become more agile and comprehensive in analyzing and identifying the practical issues that arise. This way, they can creatively and effectively advise on and resolve practical problems.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from various generations of faculty, staff, and students of NAPA shared their thoughts on their experiences of studying, teaching, and conducting research at NAPA.

NAPA also awarded five new students who achieved the highest scores in the 2024 university entrance exam for the full-time programs, 18 students who were recognized for outstanding academic performance, and 315 students for excellent performance in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Following the opening ceremony, there was an art performance program to welcome new students to NAPA in 2024.