Building the system of smart and modern Military schools is a great policy and a basic content in the Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW, dated 20/12/2022 by the Central Military Commission in educating a high-quality staff resource to meet the demand for building the revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled and modernised Military. This is also an important task that the Army Academy has been intensely implementing with many synchronous and suitable solutions.

Deeply grasping the Party’s resolutions on basically and comprehensively renovating the education and training, developing the science and technology, building the e-government and national digital transformation, on 20 December 2022, the Central Military Commission issued Resolution No. 1657-NQ/TW on “Renovating the education and training to meet the task requirement of Military building in the new situation”, including the guideline of “building the system of smart and modern military schools which have appropriately developed and effective systems of support and quality accreditation to meet the task requirement of creating the high-quality human resource, and building the revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled and modernised Military from 2030 onwards”. This is a major, sound and timely policy, and also an important target and task orienting the activities for Military schools.

Seriously grasping and implementing the above Resolution by the Central Military Commission, and bringing into play the roles of an academy which has been selected to set example of building a smart and modern school, the Army Academy’s Party Committee has made a specialised resolution, the Director Board has issued Directions and Projects to lead, direct and implement the target of “building the Army Academy to be one of the leading smart and modern schools in the country; and a centre for educating military cadres, masters and doctors, scientific research and developing the high-quality human resource to meet the task requirement of building the revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled and modernised Military, making contribution to securely safeguarding the Vietnam Socialist Fatherland in all situations”.

The Academy's Directorate research and approve the Project "Building the Army Academy smart and modern by 2030, with a vision to 2045"

Basing on the comprehension of the advantages, difficulties and other factors affecting the process of building the smart and modern schools, the Academy has specified the main contents, selected suitable patterns and steps in the motto of building the cadres and lecturers as the key; and the digital transformation as the foundation; taking the investments in the infrastructure, modern and synchronous facilities and equipment as the conditions for the successful accomplishment of the central political task. Insisting on building the comprehensively smart and modern schools to create the breakthroughs in the quality of education, training and scientific research; concurrently assure the selected inheritance and the stable transition among generations, the Academy’s Party Committee has paid attention to its comprehensive and synchronous leadership, bringing into play the overall power of offices, faculties, cadet managing units, cadres, lecturers, cadets, workers and soldiers to overcome all difficulties and be active and creative in doing their tasks.

However, building the smart and modern schools is a continuous and long process with many difficulties, requiring adjustment and supplementations based on the real development. Meanwhile, there remain some limitations, including its human resource quality, its facilities, and the application of information technology which fall below expectation and standard. Therefore, in order to implement the goal of building the smart and modern academy by 2030, with a vision to 2045, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board persist in the following solutions:

Firstly, strengthening the leadership and direction over the task of building the smart and modern academy. This is a key and decisive factor because building the smart and modern schools is a new issue with much complex work, requiring the strict, drastic, regular and comprehensive leadership and direction from the party committees and commands at all levels. Accordingly, the Academy’s Party Committee exercise the direct leadership, the Director Board carry out the consistent operation and functional offices implement their functions, bringing into play the overall power of all organisations and forces. The all-level party committees and commands should intensely lead, direct and deeply grasp the seniors’ resolutions, directions, projects and guidelines on the education, training, scientific research, digital transformation, etc., especially Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW by the Central Military Commission, and concretise into their resolutions and plans suitably with the features and functions of offices, faculties and learner managing units; promote the propaganda and education to raise the awareness and responsibility, create the motivation and bring into play the spirit of “7 dares” for cadres, lecturers, cadets, workers and soldiers towards the task of building the smart and modern academy. Together, it enhances the inspection and examination, strictly punishes any cases of violations; makes regular summaries and learns from experience; timely praises, awards, encourages and widens new models, good methods and typical models; completely solves any limitations and shortcomings, practises saving and prevents any corruptions and wastes in the implementation.

Secondly, building the contingent of cadres and lecturers meeting the task requirements. Due to the position and role of cadres and lecturers to the process of building the smart and modern academy, the Academy has further implemented the Project of “Building the contingent of lecturers and educational administrators in the Military in the 2023 – 2030 period and the following years”; built the contingent of cadres and lecturers in sufficient quantity and high quality with suitable structure and meeting the standards; intensely reformed and improved the training quality and effectiveness; taken the basic and regular training as the key, actively sent cadres to by-position and postgraduate trainings; held further training in technological application, modern management and teaching methods for cadres and lecturers (the skills of IT, foreign languages, digital transformation in particular) so that they are able to work in the international environment. At the same time, the Academy has paid attention to training, cultivating and improving the quantity of leading, professional and highly-qualified scientists, experienced lecturers who are in doctoral degree, reaching the title standards of professors, associate professors, People’s teachers, meritorious teachers and excellent teachers; built and perfected the remuneration policies to encourage cadres and lecturers to commit, readily devote and determine to overcome difficulties to successfully accomplish the assigned tasks.

Thirdly, continuing to renovate comprehensively and synchronously the processes, programmes and contents of education, training and scientific research. The quality and products of education, training and scientific research are the focuses reflecting the evaluation measures, standards and criteria of a smart and modern school. Grasping and executing the viewpoint i.e. “The training quality of schools is the combat readiness capacity of units”, the Academy has continued to research, build, adjust, supplement, reform and standardise the training contents and programmes, making them revolutionary, scientific, continuous, inheritable, modern and developing in the “basic - systematic - consistent - professional” motto; shortened the training time while increasing the time for practice, internship, self-study and real experiences; assured the logicality and connection in each subject, semester, year and course to improve the effectiveness of the training programmes; built the input and output standards, making them basic, comprehensive, synchronous, professional, practical and modern; actively renovated the forms and methods of studying and teaching in the active, smart and modern way, at the same time, strictly and scientifically organised the management, operation, evaluation of the quality of education and training in the motto of “3 reals, 3 breakthroughs, 3 nos” towards the target of making the best education and training products, meeting the requirements for Military modernisation.

Fourthly, mobilising all forces to build the synchronous and modern systems of infrastructure, materials and equipment. This is a main solution for making basic changes and stable foundation in building the smart and modern academy. Hence, the Academy has intensely mobilised and effectively exploited all forces to correctly follow all steps of the approved projects; gradually invested in the basic configuration of the model of a smart and modern school, making them suitable with the task requirements of the Academy and the Government architectural framework in the Ministry of National Defence; given investment priorities to the main parts of the systems including the improvement of the modern IT infrastructure with wide bandwidth, the purchase of equipment and software in order to maintain the synchronicity, advance, modernity, quality, effectiveness and information security; paid attention to applying the advances of the 4^th Industrial Revolution, focusing on some basic work such as the operation system, educational management, the simulation centres of training, new weapons and technical equipment, the systems of lecture halls, specialised classrooms, training grounds, electronic sand tables; digital libraries; the building of smart and modern automation systems in controlling and managing, etc. in order to meet the task requirements of education and training, scientific research, management and commanding of soldiers.

Building the smart and modern Army Academy is an essential development, and also the strategic policy from the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence. Clearly understanding the honour, responsibility, and bringing into play the tradition of 78 years of the Heroic unit, the Academy’s Party Committee, Director Board, cadres, lecturers, workers and soldiers have been raising their spirit and determination to make renovation and creativity to complete the defined targets, deserving to be the leading centre of education and training in the Military.

Major General TRAN DANH KHAI, Political Commissar of the Academy