On 20 December 2022, the Central Military Commission issued Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW on "Innovating the education and training to meet the requirements of building the Military in the new situation"; in which it is determined that "The quality of the schools’ education and training decides the level of combat readiness of the units...". Implementing that spirit, the Party Committee and Board of Directors of the Air Defence - Air Force Academy have been leading and directing the implementation of the Resolution with drastic, synchronous and practical solutions.

The Air Defence - Air Force Academy (formerly the Anti-Aircraft Officer School) was established on 16 July 1964 on the basis of merging the Air Defence Academy and the Air Force Academy, with the functions and tasks including educating Officers majoring in Air Force - Air Defence Technical Command and Staff, Electronic Warfare, and Aviation Engineers for the Air Defence - Air Force Service as well as the Military;  doing scientific researches, international cooperation in education and training and other assigned tasks. Over 60 years of development, generations of cadres, lecturers, students, staff and soldiers of the Academy have strived to overcome difficulties and hardships to educate thousands of cadres for the Air Defence - Air Force and the Military; cooperating in educating over 3,000 cadres for the Lao People's Army, the Royal Cambodian Army and the Royal Thai Army. During the resistance war against the US, the Academy directly participated in 129 battles, together with the Military and people, shot down and damaged 91 enemy aircraft, building the tradition of: "Solidarity, bravery, self-reliance, proactive creativity, overcoming difficulties, teaching well, studying hard, determined to complete all tasks". In recognition of these achievements, the Academy and its 36 individuals have been awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the State, along with many other noble awards.

Leader of the Academy checks training on the field

At present and in the coming years, in response to the requirements and tasks of building an elite, strong, and modern Military, developing the Air Defence - Air Force straight forwards to modernity, firmly managing and protecting the sky of the Fatherland, the Academy needs to continue to promote the achieved results, perform well the role of an education and training institution to provide high-quality human resources, contributing to building Air Defence - Air Force officers who are "both red and expert", with strong political will, good moral qualities, comprehensive knowledge and professionalism. Thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW of the Central Military Commission, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Academy have focused on leading and carrying out the synchronous and comprehensive innovation of education and training work towards standardisation and modernisation, with a long-term vision, scientific, systematic and appropriate roadmap, along with practical contents and measures.

Strengthening the leadership and direction of Party committees and commanders at all levels during the innovation, and improving the quality of education and training is a fundamental and top priority solution in order to ensure that the innovation follows the right direction and principles. Therefore, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Academy focus on leading and directing Party committees, Party organisations, agencies, faculties and units to improve the quality and effectiveness of research work, thoroughly grasp and implement resolutions, directives and projects of the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defence, the Service and the Academy on education and training. Immediately, it is the Resolution No. 811-NQ/DU, dated 5 April 2023 of the Academy’s Party Committee on continuing to innovate education and training to meet the requirements and tasks of building the Academy in the new situation; creating strong changes in awareness and responsibility of cadres, Party members, especially the presiding ones during this implementation. Party committees, Party organisations, and leaders at all levels consider educational and training innovation as a key political task and a decisive factor in making the output standards of the Academy. On that basis, the Academy establishes the contents, targets, and implementation measures in resolutions, regular leadership conclusions, develops action plans and programmes; regularly draws lessons, takes measures to overcome weaknesses of each agency, faculty, and unit. During the implementation process, the Academy focuses on effectively implementing Party work and political work in all tasks, especially those in education and training. In addition, it closely combines the building up of clean and strong Party organiations with the building of all-strong "exemplary and typical" agencies, faculties, and units; builds up Party committees and leaders with comprehensive leadership capacity and fighting strength. The Academy regularly fosters and improves political qualities and revolutionary ethics, associated with promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and style; building and promoting the qualities of "Uncle Ho's soldiers" - "Excellent Air Defence - Air Force soldiers". Furthermore, it resolutely encourages lecturers, education managers and students to fight against individualism, to overcome the fear of difficulties, hardships and the lack of positivity and self-awareness in doing scientific research, study, training.

Practising on Radar equiptment

Being aware of the important and decisive role of the staff and lecturers in improving the quality of education and training, the Academy has focused on building and developing teachers and educational managers with sufficient quantity, good quality, reasonable arrangements and high standards as required. Thoroughly grasping and implementing the Project of "Building a team of teachers and educational managers in the Military to meet the requirements of fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training in the period of 2021 - 2030", the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Academy have led and directed Party committees and organisations at all levels to proactively review, develop plans for training and nurturing teachers and educational managers. The Academy has also developed a framework of teaching capacity, educational management capacity, school administration according to standardised criteria. In particular, special attention has been paid to fostering capacity in developing training programmes, scientific research, foreign language proficiency, information technology, digital transformation, practical knowledge, psychology, etc. Besides, it has made effort to improve the quality and effectiveness of activities such as model teaching by faculty groups, pedagogical methodology competitions, competitions for excellent lecturers, excellent leaders, good managers, etc. At the same time, it has promoted the role and responsibility of qualified and experienced lecturers and staff in methodology training activities; encouraged, motivated and created favourable conditions for teachers and educational managers to accumulate experiences, improve their qualifications to meet the requirements for the titles of professor, associate professor, senior lecturer and leading scientific staff. It has actively recruited and arranged competent and experienced staff, and those with scientific titles to work at the Academy. By the end of 2025, the Academy’s target is that 75% of its lecturers and educational managers are standardised, over 25% of lecturers are doctors, over 50% of lecturers would have taken commanding and/or managerial positions.

In recent times, the Academy has made positive achievements in innovating training contents and programmes, but some of those have not met development requirements; the quality of building output standards for some programmes is still limited, nondetailed, and unpractical. To overcome these limitations, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Academy continue to lead and direct the synchronous innovation and implementation of training content, programmes. Accordingly, the Academy thoroughly grasps and strictly implements the Project of "Innovation of training processes and programmes for military cadres at all levels to meet requirements and tasks in the new situation" and output standards of training programmes according to Circular No. 17/2021/TT-BGDDT, dated 22 June 2021 of the Ministry of Education and Training. The Academy directs agencies, faculties and teachers to actively review, proactively renew, supplement, adjust and improve training processes, programmes and contents in order to ensure the comprehensiveness and systematisation among majors, the interconnectivity between levels and grades, the educational qualifications corresponding to the positions. It also focuses on developing, amending and supplementing output standards of programmes, modules (subjects), lessons; focusing on researching, updating and supplementing new content and knowledge on military arts, new weapons and equipment; foreign languages, information technology, physical fitness, state management, socio-economics, law, etc. The academy seriously implements the Government's Project to incorporate human rights, e-Government development and digital transformation into training programmes. It also regularly conducts the survey of the quality of graduates, promptly proposing adjustments and supplements to the training programmes, the regulations on internships, drills which are close to the reality and combat readiness requirements. To keep up with the social development, the Academy requires agencies, departments and teachers to proactively approach scientific and technological achievements, actively apply information technology, simulation technology, digital technology in building training programmes.

Along with that, the Academy promotes innovation in the forms and methods of teaching, testing, and evaluating education and training. Adhering to the motto: "Basic, systematic, unified, in-depth", agencies, departments and teachers focus on innovating the forms and methods of teaching in a modern direction, changing the assessment of teaching and learning activities from content-based to competency-based; ideology is linked to reality, theory goes hand in hand with practice in which practice is the dominance; combining learning new things with reviewing experiences; foster knowledge, thinking ability with training of bravery, commanding style and practical ability; focus on imparting combat experiences and traditions to learners. Regularly promote military democracy, encourage self-awareness, positivity, creativity, passion of learners. Promote innovation in forms, methods of examinations, testings, and teaching assessments to ensure real quality, resolutely fight against  deceptive achievements and negativity in education and training. The every-year targets are as follow : the rate of successful graduation is 99.8% passed, in which over 75% is good and excellent, contributing to further improving the quality of education and training, building up the Air Defence - Air Force Academy to be "revolutionary, regular, standardised and modern", worthy of the tradition of the Heroic Unit in the new era.

Major General BUI DUC THANH, Political Commissar of the Academy