On grasping and realising resolutions and directives of the Party and Central Military Commission (CMC) on comprehensive and fundamental reform of education and training, contributing to the building of modern, intensive, adept, compact, strong military schools, the Military Academy of Logistics has been implementing many relevant, scientific, and synchronous solutions to renew and promote education and training quality to meet new requirements.

Over the past few years, together with other military academies and schools, the Military Academy of Logistics has seriously perceived and realised resolutions, directives, conclusions, etc., of the Party, CMC, and Ministry of National Defence (MND) on building the People’s Army, focusing on improving education and training quality in the new situation and reaping encouraging results. The Academy has actively and proactively developed, supplemented, adjusted, and standardised many training contents and programmes in association with setting the required level of competence for graduates, ensuring closeness, scientificness, and suitability for each type of learners in order to create drivers of developing thinking skills, training, command, and control ability. The contents and programmes have aligned position-based training with academic standard-based training at some educational levels; shifted from knowledge development to comprehensive development, including dignity and professional competence; ensured inheritance and continuity. More importantly, the Academy has actively invited leaders and commanders of financial, logistical units in the entire military to deliver their lessons and experience; formulated and signed coordination programmes with many military units according to the motto: “Military schools’ training quality is units’ combat readiness”. Thus, the training quality always meets and exceeds targets, satisfying practical demands.

Nevertheless, training contents and programmes for some types of learners have shown certain limitations, imbalance between theory and practice, and failure to track combat readiness of some units. Some logistical graduates are unable to meet practical requirements. To overcome the limitations and improve education, training quality to satisfy new demands require the Academy to lead and direct implementation of the following fundamental contents and solutions:

First, further renew education and training contents, programmes, processes, and methods in close connection with inspection and correct evaluation of teaching and learning activities. On closely following the CMC’s resolutions and directives on education and training, especially orientations of the MND’s draft Project on “Adjusting cadre training process and programmes in military training institutions to meet requirements of the new situations”, the Academy concentrates on developing and updating its training programmes in a basic, systematic, unified, intensive, streamlined, modern, realistic direction. Accordingly, the Academy is committed to renewing its training contents, programmes, and processes, ensuring scientificness, synchronicity, and interconnection; aligning reviewing, adjusting, and supplementing programmes with developing and promulgating graduation requirements for all majors; shortening theory training time while lengthening practice time; and constructing close-to-combat scenarios in units. As for reform of education, training forms and methods, the Academy steps up applying modern teaching and learning aids and advanced teaching and learning methodologies in association with traditional methodologies, ensuring suitability for each content and learner. Attention is paid to application of appropriate methods which enable creative application of information technology, simulation technology, and digital transformation in teaching and learning. To obtain high effectiveness requires the Academy to carry out synchronous solutions, most notably organisation of workshops on training contents and programmes with the participation of multiple relevant actors, especially unit commanders and leading scientists; timely develop, supplement, and adjust contents and programmes to practical demands of training high-quality human resources in the military.

Rector of the academy delivers speech at the opening of new school year

In addition, the Academy focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of educational testing, inspection, examination, and re-examination to pursue substantive study and evaluation. Accordingly, the Academy strengthen this work in all phases of education, training processes. Breakthroughs are to made in renewing contents and methods to test and assess learners’ achievements. It also seriously instructs development of a system of topics and exam questions in the direction of improving practice skills and application of comprehensive knowledge, which requires learners to demonstrate their analytical ability, creation, and self-development of knowledge, professional ethics, and ability to perform missions. The Academy seeks to effectively apply software in managing the question bank, randomly selecting exam questions and quizzes; continues to conduct concentrated examination and marking, ensuring complete objectiveness and substantive evaluation.

Second, focus on maintaining adequate staffing and promote training to enhance quality of the corps of lecturers and education management cadres. The Academy Party Committee has taken initiative in issuing the Resolution No. 1013-NQ/DU, dated 26 July 2018, on “Leading increased quality of the corps of lecturers and education management cadres in the new period”, which specifies that the training, cultivation, and use of cadres and lecturers must ensure adequate staffing, synchronicity in terms of structure, age, and specialty, and quality standardisation. Accordingly, the Academy continues to cultivate a sufficient corps of cadres and lecturers who not only possess dignity, comprehensive knowledge, experience, good command of foreign languages and information technology but also hold master’s degrees, doctorates, the titles of associate professor and professor. In the short term, it will select cadres and lecturers with fine dignity, enthusiasm for their work, professional skills, and high levels of competence in foreign languages and information technology for postgraduate courses. Besides, the Academy seeks to expand its links to training institutions both at home and abroad, nurture young talent, and attract talent to its education and scientific research. Periodically, the Academy works closely with the General Department of Logistics, Department of Finance, logistical and financial bodies in military regions, army corps, services, and arms to draw lessons learned from education, training work; actively invites cadres from departments and units with a lot of experience and best practices in command and control of logistical, financial work to exchange experience with its lecturers and education management cadres. It also continues to improve regulations and signs cooperation programmes with some units in the entire military to implement the motto: “Military schools’ training quality is units’ combat readiness,” making concrete contribution to increased quality of training military logistical, financial cadres in the new period.

Third, enhance the effectiveness of scientific research; associate scientific research with education and training. On grasping the CMC’s viewpoint of rapidly and effectively applying scientific achievements to renewal of education and training and aligning scientific research with education, training, and development of high quality human resources to meet requirements of building a modern military and safeguarding the Fatherland, the Academy focuses on conducting research projects with the aim to not only promote the quality of military logistical, financial work to meet new requirements, but also improve its quality of education and training. To achieve this goal, the Academy will set up leading research groups in application of basic science, development of logistical theory, application of digital transformation and biotechnology to logistical work, and automated logistical command. It also attaches importance to development of leading scientists in each group; requests the Institute for Military Logistic Science Studies to speed up research, application and technology transfer; promotes cooperation with both civilian and military training institutions, research centres, units, and businesses; well carries out policies to encourage lecturers, education management cadres, and cadets to actively participate in researching and reforming management of scientific research.

Fourth, promote investment in building, effective management and use of material facilities and training equipment in a synchronous, modern direction. The Academy actively mobilises resources to invest in building and upgrading halls, specialised classrooms, firing range, and training grounds; buying training aids, equipment, and materials; attaches importance to development of information technology infrastructure, acquisition of synchronous, modern equipment, and application of information technology to all phases and forms of teaching and learning activities to build itself into a smart school. In the short term, the Academy focuses on improving and modernising the Centre for Training Management, simulation classrooms, classrooms for specific purposes, multi-role classrooms, laboratories, digital library, digital library. It takes initiative in reviewing and improving regulations to create an environment conducive to application of information technology to teaching and learning activities as well as scientific research; pays attention to establishment of an ecosystem on the intranet and Internet that facilitates its teaching and learning process; establishes an environment suitable for the e-government development and digital transformation. There needs to improve the quality of operating the intranet, which is integrated with the training control system via the computer network; effectively exploit the military data transmission network and the Academy’s Data Centre. By 2025, 100 per cent of classrooms will be equipped with modern teaching and learning aids; all faculties and departments will have synchronous, advanced laboratories and classrooms for specific purposes. All the facilities will be linked and operated smoothly to ensure that every cadre, lecturer, and cadet can access and exploit effectively, making concrete contribution to increased education and training quality to meet the requirement of building a modern military according to the viewpoint of the Party, CMC, and MND.

Lieutenant General, Professor, Doctor PHAM DUC DUNG, Rector of the Academy