Deeply imbued with the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh: “No matter the difficulties, we must continue to emulate good teaching and efficient learning”, in recent years, the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Air Defence - Air Force Academy (AD-AF Academy) have focused on leading and directing the promotion of the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning, creating comprehensive and substantial changes in education, training, and scientific research. This contributes to the training of “moral and well-qualified” personnel to meet the requirements of building the AD-AF straight towards modernity.

Over the past years, the AD-AF has been one of the forces prioritised by the Party and the State for investment straight towards modernity. Accordingly, along with the modernisation of weapons and technical equipment, the critical issue is to build a cadre of officers with strong political bravery, good moral qualities, and comprehensive knowledge and skills to meet the requirements and tasks. Being fully aware of this, as the educational and training centre for officers of the AD-AF and the Army, the AD-AF Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have attached importance to fostering a spirit of unity, initiative, and creativity, overcoming difficulties, and emphasising the role and responsibility of officers, lecturers, and cadets in emulating good teaching and efficient learning. As a result, the quality of education and training of the Academy is continuously improved. In the academic year 2022 – 2023, 100% of the results of graduation exams, thesis defences, and graduation projects met the required standards of which 88.74% were good and excellent (an increase of 2.09% compared to the academic year 2021 - 2022). Moreover, participation in national, army-wide, and service-level competitions and sports events has been successful, receiving recognition and high appraisal from the AD-AF Service, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the Ministry of National Defence.

Currently, the AD-AF Academy is intensifying the implementation of Resolution No. 1657 - NQ/QUTW dated 20 December 2022, by the Central Military Commission and Resolution No. 878-NQ/ĐU, dated 9 March 2022, by the AD-AF’s Party Committee regarding the reform of education and training to meet the requirements and tasks in the new situation, setting forth higher and new demands. However, the trainees at the Academy are diverse in demographic while the cadre of lecturers and management officers is under the standardisation process with uneven quality. Besides, the facilities for education and training face numerous challenges, with technical equipment not yet standardised and lacking various types of new weapons and equipment for teaching and learning. To successfully fulfil the assigned tasks, the Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have focused on leading and directing the synchronised implementation of various contents and measures. Among these, promoting the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning in accordance with Uncle Ho’s teachings is of paramount importance, creating a driving force to encourage its officers, lecturers, and cadets to successfully implement breakthroughs in improving the quality of training and education, befitting the status of a key educational institution of the Army.

Maj. Gen. Thanh discuss with cadets about the content of the lesson

Deeply imbued with Uncle Ho’s teaching: “Correct ideology leads to right actions and the fulfilment of revolutionary duties”, the Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have led and directed the enhancement of political education, ideological orientation, and building the right determination and motivation for the officers, lecturers, and cadets to emulate good teaching and efficient learning. This is a crucial practical organisational measure, creating momentum and awakening initiative and self-motivation to overcome difficulties among organisations and forces, competing to successfully fulfil the tasks of education, training, and scientific research. To achieve effectiveness, the Academy promotes propaganda and education to raise awareness about the purpose, significance, content, and requirements of the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning among officers, lecturers, and cadets, especially the leaders and heads of departments, faculties, and units. Concurrently, strengthening education so that individuals can deeply understand the Party’s viewpoints, the State’s policies and laws, directives, resolutions, regulations, and rules regarding the innovation and improvement of the quality of education and training. In the implementation process, the Academy directs its departments, faculties, and units to proactively innovate the content and form of propaganda and education, focusing on integrating propaganda and education into the activities of organisations, in teaching subjects on military science, social science, and humanities through the internal radio system, posters, slogans, cultural institutions, and Academy’s website. Besides, leaders and commanders at all levels strengthen their grasp, management, and orientation of thought, timely criticising and correcting wrong and deviant perceptions, and formalism in implementing the emulation movement. Therefore, creating a strong shift in awareness, responsibility, and consensus and building determination and correct emulation motives for the officers, lecturers, and cadets to successfully achieve the set goals and targets.

Adhering to the instructions of President Ho Chi Minh: “To hit the target, to shoot down aircraft with the first salvo, you must practise meticulously. If you train hard enough, you can do it” and consistently following the motto “The training quality of schools is the combat readiness capacity of units”, the Academy’s Party Committee and Board of Directors direct the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning towards innovating and comprehensively improving the processes, content, training programmes, teaching and learning methods, and the evaluation of educational quality. During the implementation process, the Academy directs its departments, faculties, and units to adhere to the project named “Innovating the processes and training programmes for training officers at all levels in the Army to meet the requirements and tasks in the new situation” as well as the new output standards of training programmes to determine emulation contents and objectives that align with their functions, tasks, and capabilities. Besides, they should also focus on emulating breakthroughs to make significant changes to weak aspects of education and training.

Accordingly, departments and faculties are to concentrate on collaborating, reviewing, developing, supplementing, and adjusting processes, content, and training programmes to ensure comprehensiveness and systematic approach according to the specialisations, the integration across various levels and grades of education, and the interconnection of training codes with academies and schools both within and outside the Army, achieving academic standards corresponding to ranks and positions. Focus is directed towards emulating the formulation of output standards for training programmes and modules (or subjects) that are closely aligned with practical combat readiness, linking the Academy with units. Additionally, the departments and agencies should enhance research, regularly update, and apply new knowledge about military art, weapons, equipment, improvements, information technology, foreign languages, physical strength, state management, socio-economy, law, etc. into teaching. They should proactively adjust and timely supplement the procedures of organising drills and live-fire exercises so that they closely match the real combat conditions as well as the requirements and tasks of combat readiness. Besides, they should actively approach scientific and technological advancements and apply information technology, simulation technology, and digital technology in developing training programmes. Along with that, the AD-AF Academy has promoted innovation in forms and methods of teaching and learning towards modernity, shifted the evaluation focus of teaching and learning activities from content-based to competency-based, and elevated military democracy, encouraging learners’ self-discipline, positivity, initiative, and creativity while preventing imposition and mechanical replication. The Academy has effectively organised demonstration teaching activities by groups of faculties, trial lectures, specialised information dissemination, and the use of model teams in practical training of specialised subjects. The Academy adheres to the mottos, viewpoints, principles, and relationships in training and education, links theory with practice, increases time for practical training and night training, and combines new learning with revision, ideological education with movement and mannerism training.

Regarding cadet management units, it is imperative to effectively harness the responsibility of education management officers, who are also known as “the second teachers”. They should regularly grasp the thoughts and aspirations as well as the quality of cadets to stimulate their motivation and responsibility so that they are self-driven and actively emulate “efficient learning and strict training”, upholding the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and elite AD-AF soldiers. The Academy requires departments and units to prioritise the innovation of forms and methods for testing, examining, and evaluating results according to the output standards of subjects and training programmes. It also emphasises the effectiveness of the committees for combating negative practices and credit maniacs in education within faculties and cadet management units. The Academy implements qualified teaching, efficient learning, and precise evaluation of teaching and learning results to resolutely combat credit maniacs and negative practices in education and training.  In the academic year 2023 - 2024, the Academy strives that at least 98% of examination and regular test results meet the required standards with over 75% rated as good and excellent, at least 97% of end-of-module (end-of-subject) results meet the required standard with over 70% rated as good and excellent. Besides, 100% of the results of graduation exams, thesis defences, and graduation projects meet the required standards with over 75% rated as good and excellent.

To foster a continuous emulation movement, both in breadth and depth, achieving practical effectiveness and creating high consensus among organisations and forces in the emulation of good teaching and efficient learning, the Academy directs closely combining the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning with the Determination to Win Emulation Movement and movements and campaigns at various levels and sectors. The focus of the emulation is on enhancing the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality, and style; the Campaign entitled “Promoting traditions, dedicating talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era; Resolution No. 847-NQ/QUTW, dated 28 December 2021, of the Central Military Commission on leveraging the qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” and resolutely combatting individualism in the new context; and the struggle against signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation” internally. The AD-AF Academy promotes the emulation movement in scientific research, innovations, and technical improvements, encouraging lecturers and education management officers to conduct scientific research, striving for numerous scientific topics and publications, which can be applied in training and combat readiness at the Academy and units within the AD-AF. Furthermore, it sustains and promotes the effectiveness of science clubs of cadets (aviation model, cadets conducting scientific research, foreign languages, etc.), participating in national and army-wide Olympic competitions. In addition, it maintains and effectively promotes innovative models and approaches such as “Innovation, creativity, and application of science and technology in teaching and training”, “Learning for integration”, “Wholehearted dedication to scientific research”, “Young lecturers’ active teaching methods club”, “Every comrade is a teacher”, “One initiative every day”, etc. Through these efforts, the synergy is harnessed, creating motivation to drive collectives and individuals to successfully fulfil all assigned tasks, thus making the emulation movement of good teaching and efficient learning deeper, more effective, and substantial.

Looking forward towards the 60th anniversary of the Traditional Day (16/7/1964 - 16/7/2024) of the Heroic AD-AF Academy, the Party Committee and Board of Directors demand that leaders and commanders at all levels continue to intensify the emulation movement to study and follow Uncle Ho’s teachings by implementing new models as well as innovative, effective, and practical approaches in teaching and learning. This is to create motivation for enhancing the quality of education and training, as well as scientific research at AD-AF Academy, contributing to building a clean, robust, and exemplary Party Committee and a “revolutionary, regular, standardised and modern” Academy.

Major General BUI DUC THANH, Political Commissar of AD-AF Academy