On 24 November 2023, the Party Central Committee (13^th tenure) issued Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW on “Continuously building and bringing into play the roles of the intellectual to meet the demands for fast and sustainable national development in the new period”. This is an important direction which requires all ministries, departments and areas, etc. in general, the Political Academy, Ministry of National Defence, in particular to attentively make a thorough grasp and implementation with synchronous solutions, meeting the task requirements of education, training and scientific research in the new situation.

Being imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s thought that “The intellectual are precious assets of the country” and “We need more intellectuals to build the country”, in recent years, the Political Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have grasped and seriously implemented directions, resolutions and projects by the Party, the Central Military Commission (CMC), the Ministry of National Defence (MND) on building the contingent of cadres and intellectuals with many synchronous and effective guidelines and solutions. Accordingly, the Academy has developed a large contingent of intellectuals who are knowledgeable, highly responsible and attached to the Army and the Academy. Presently, 100% of the lecturers, researchers and educational managers of the Academy have tertiary degrees, 89% of them have postgraduate degrees (including 7.14% of associate professors, 36.79% of doctors, 52,50% of masters), which are the decisive forces for the innovation and improvement of the quality of education, training and scientific research, together with the intellectuals in the whole army becoming the core factors to build the revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled and gradually modernised army.

The newly-promoted associate professors of the Academy in 2023

However, that result has yet to reflect all its potentials; there have not had many leading specialists; the number of intellectuals holding high scientific and academic titles has been reduced (due to their age), the young intellectuals, despite being basically educated, keen and creative, are still inexperienced. Hence, in order to meet the higher task requirements of education, training and scientific research, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have grasped and seriously implemented Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW by the Party Central Committee (13^th tenure) with several main solutions as follows:

Firstly, strongly renovating the thought, unifying the awareness and improving the responsibility of organisations and forces for the building of the intellectuals. On grasping the Party’s guidelines on “improving and unifying the awareness in the party committees, party organisations, the political system and the whole society of the position, roles and importance of building the intellectuals”, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board direct all-level party committees and commands to enhance the education, thoroughly grasp the resolutions, directions and conclusions by the Party, the CMC, the MND on building the intellectuals in the new period with the main focuses on the viewpoints, targets, tasks and solutions for building the intellectuals to 2030 and a vision to 2045, which have been defined in Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW; Project No. 1853/ĐA-TM by the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army on “Building the contingent of lecturers and educational managers in the Army in the 2023-2030 period and the following years”; Resolution by the Academy’s Party Committee on “Building the contingent of cadres in the 2019-2030 period”; “Building the contingent of lecturers and educational managers in the Political Academy in the 2023-2030 period and the following years”, etc. In the implementation, the Academy asks its offices, faculties and units to promote the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle connected with the building of the pure, strong and typical party organisations, whereby to basically renovate the thought in leading, directing and making people and forces involving in the development of the intellectual aware of their position and roles, and the importance of building the intellectuals generally and the ones in the Academy particularly in the cause of renovating, building and safeguarding the Fatherland.

Secondly, strengthening the leadership and direction of the party committees and commands on the building of the intellectuals. This is a decisive solution, and also the leading content, requirement and principle in building the contingent of intellectuals; the good execution of this solution is seen as the basis, foundation and orientation to direct the awareness and actions in building the intellectuals in the Academy. Therefore, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board require the party committees and commands in offices, faculties and units to strengthen their leadership and direction with many synchronous and practical solutions. On thoroughly grasping the viewpoints, targets, visions, tasks and solutions for building the intellectuals defined by the Party Central Committee in Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW, the Academy builds execution programmes and plans with the orientations, targets, tasks, solutions and breakthroughs which are detailed and suitable with the reality and requirements of renovating and improving the quality of education, training and scientific research. In the implementation, the Academy requires its functional offices to strictly follow the seniors’ direction, closely coordinate with offices and units in the whole army to timely add and make the sources of intellectuals for the Academy, at the same time, enhance the inspection and supervision, timely repairs and struggle against the wrong awareness and activities of building the contingent of intellectuals for the Academy at the present.

A scientific council of the Academy

Thirdly, continuing to reform the education, retraining, using, behaving and respecting the intellectuals. On grasping and implementing the target of “developing the contingent of intellectuals in both quality and quantity” in the spirit of Resolution No. 45-NQ/TW, the Academy regularly directs the party committees, commands, offices, faculties and units to proactively renovate and improve the quality of selecting, planning, training and cultivating the intellectual. The selection is made serious to ensure that all selected students and working applicants to the Academy can meet the standards. The training contents and programmes are made strictly close to the instructions from the Ministry of Education and Training, the directions from the CMC, MND, and applied creatively and suitably with the characteristics of each major to assure the scientificness, comprehensiveness and systematicness, focusing on improving the quality of specialised subjects. It is necessary to attentively build the contingent of lecturers having good knowledge, ability and pedagogical methods, and being good examples of political quality, morality, lifestyle and scientific working style; actively renews the teaching-learning methods, scientise the training process towards in-depth direction, applying the scientific and technological advances into learning and teaching; enhances the training and improvement of the all-round knowledge for the intellectual; timely encourages and stimulates the passion for doing scientific research, learning and training to improve the knowledge of each field; regularly retrains and cultivates the existing intellectuals to meet the demands for education, training, scientific research and building the Academy in the new period, at the same time, well implements the policies on improving the physical and spiritual life, especially the working conditions and supporting policies on scientific research, completes the standards of scientific titles for the intellectual; timely awards and respects the intellectuals who gain excellent achievements in teaching, learning and scientific research; timely encourages parts of intellectuals who have high scientific and academic titles to lengthen their service ages in accordance with the regulations so that they can continue to serve and contribute their intelligence and experience to their teaching and scientific research.

Fourthly, creating favourable environment and conditions for the intellectual to prove their roles and make contribution. The Academy attentively widens the coordination of education, training and scientific research between the intellectuals of the Academy and the ones of other educational and research institutions within and outside the Army so that they can approach and engage in the education, training and scientific research, improve their knowledge, ability and experience of teaching and scientific research; at the same time, continually invests into building the infrastructure and modern facilities to meet the intellectuals’ specific activities; builds the really democratic environment, respects and protects the intellectuals’ creative working conditions; regularly consuls, listens, grasps and solves their problems, and satisfies their legal and legitimate demands; respect and bring into play the democracy in the intellectuals’ scientific research and creativities in accordance with the law and the Army.

Fifthly, bringing into play the intellectuals’ roles and responsibility in renovating and improving the quality of education, training and scientific research. This is the solution to create the direct force to improve the quality of the contingent of intellectuals. Hence, the Academy directs its offices, faculties and units to regularly grasp and raise the awareness for the intellectual, the good scientists and leading specialists in particular, of their positions, roles and missions to the country generally and the development of the Academy particularly; raise the responsibility and determination to proactively research, learn, continuously accumulate knowledge, improve the professional ability, foreign languages, information technology, etc. The Academy pays attention to solutions for managing the self-improvement of morality, lifestyle and personality of military cadres in the new situation; actively trains the scientific skills, enhances the discoveries, combines the research with practical activities, proactively discovers and proposes the research of new problems arising from the development of the social science and humanities, military science and the real task of building and safeguarding the Fatherland, etc.

Finally, the Academy uphold the individual activeness in proactively building and carrying out the plans, contents and methods of scientific and suitable self-studying and training; strengthens the responsibility of the party committees and commands at all levels in their management, inspection and supervision,  ensuring the effectiveness and practicality; through which, to build the contingent of intellectuals who could meet the task requirements of education, training and scientific research, contributing to building the regular, advanced, exemplary and typical Academy, which deserves to be the leading centre of training and educating political cadres and the ones of military social science and humanities in the Army and the country.

Lt. Gen., Assoc Prof., Dr. NGUYEN VAN BAO

Director of the Political Academy, Ministry of National Defence