“Quality culture” refers to a system of values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, and behaviours that are formed, maintained, and disseminated within an organisation in which all staff members share responsibility, contributing actively, and continuously striving to enhance quality and effectiveness across all areas of operation.

The Centre was honoured with a certificate of merit by Minister of National Defence in 2024

In national defence and security education, developing “quality culture” not only creates a strong internal motivation for all administrators, lecturers, employees, and students to uphold a sense of responsibility in teaching and learning, but also contributes to building a standardised, disciplined, and orderly learning and training environment, thereby gradually improving the effectiveness of education and training. In order to realise the Development Strategy of the Centre for National Defence and Security Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU), towards 2025 with a vision towards 2035, as one of the country’s leading centres in national defence and security education, the Centre has been taking synchronised measures to promote “quality culture”, regarding it as a consistent task and a cornerstone for its sustainable development.

To that end, the Centre focuses on building and refining a synchronised and effective quality management system, considering it a core foundation for fostering “quality culture”. In alignment with regulations and guidelines on national defence and security education, before each training course, the Centre actively coordinates with partner institutions to grasp the number and quality of incoming students. Based on this, the Centre develops plans and guidelines that are scientific and closely aligned with practical requirements. This includes clearly defining objectives and quality indicators across all aspects, from leadership, governance, management, and teaching practices to the preparation of facilities, models, materials, and lesson plans. Besides, the Centre introduces these plans to all administrators, lecturers, employees, and students, clearly assigning responsibilities to each department and individual, conducting management work through a closed-loop cycle (planning - implementation - inspection - improvement), with the aim of tightly controlling and continuously improving its task performance.

In the process, alongside application of information technology in management, administration, and evaluation, the Centre concentrates on decentralised management, promoting autonomy in parallel with accountability among organisations and individuals in the use of resources, thereby raising the effectiveness of training, scientific research, and support activities. To ensure its quality control, the Centre conducts regular surveys, inspections, and evaluations after each training course, focusing on key aspects, such as management effectiveness, teaching quality, relevance of curricula, teaching materials, teaching - learning methods, adequacy of facilities, and learner satisfaction, among others. Notably, the Centre regularly collects feedback from its learners, partner institutions, and administrative staff for each course, promptly adjusting plans, updating content, methods, and training processes for subsequent courses. All survey and evaluation data are digitalised and systematically stored for analysis and forecasting, thus facilitating evidence-based management decisions. In addition, the Centre issues various mechanisms and policies to encourage lecturers and employees to bring into play their competency and forte, proactively propose solutions, and improve their task performance. As a result, the overall quality of operations and national defence and security education at the Centre has been significantly improved.

Recognising that cadres and lecturers are central factors and play a decisive role in fostering “quality culture”, the Centre consistently prioritises the development of a well-structured, professionally competent, and dedicated team, with adequate numbers and balanced composition. Based on the Development Strategy towards 2025 with a vision towards 2035, the Centre promulgates a plan to “standardise” its workforce, including a detailed set of criteria for each position, ensuring transparency, feasibility, and accountability. This provides the basis for effective planning, recruitment, training, professional development, and assignment of personnel based on their capabilities, expertise, and job requirements. At the same time, the Centre emphasises the building of a democratic, disciplined, friendly working environment, implementing effective incentive policies, creating a favourable condition for its staff members to study, develop professionally, and affirm their individual value.

A military contest held for students of the Centre

To continuously enhance the qualifications, expertise, and experience of its cadres and lecturers, the Centre adopts various training and development methods, combining in-depth professional training with on-site workshops and coaching. Each year, the Centre selects lecturers and cadres with strong ethical qualities, high responsibility, and development potential to pursue postgraduate education and participate in training courses held by the Department of National Defence and Security Education (Ministry of Education and Training), Hanoi Capital Command, and Infantry Officer College No.1, in order to update new knowledge and methodology.

Moreover, the Centre regularly organises professional development activities, such as peer observations, teaching rehearsals, feedback sessions, and teaching contests, to objectively assess teaching capacity and create an environment for professional exchange, experience sharing, and pedagogical improvement. In particular, the Centre places emphasis on developing digital competencies among its staff members by collaborating with member institutions of VNU, Hanoi, to provide training in information technology, foreign languages, and modern technological platforms. Recently, the Centre has coordinated with specialised institutes to train all of its cadres and lecturers in learning management systems as well as in accessing and utilising digital technology and artificial intelligence, thereby contributing to modernising its operations and meeting the requirements of digital transformation. Thanks to practical and effective solutions, the Centre has built a dedicated and responsible contingent of lecturers and cadres; 80% of its cadres hold postgraduate degrees; nearly 90% of its lecturers possess postgraduate qualifications. This constitutes a strong driving force for the Centre to develop “quality culture” in a sustainable way.

Due to students’ short learning duration, the Centre accelerates the innovation of teaching content and methods, with a focus on standardisation, modernisation, and learner-centred relevance. In alignment with Circular 05/2020/TT-BGDĐT dated 18 March 2020, by the Ministry of Education and Training, on the issuance of national defence and security education programs for pedagogical colleges, intermediate-level institutions, and higher education institutions, the Centre directs its departments to develop and compile a system of lectures, reference materials, and banks of exam and assessment questions that are scientifically structured, consistent, and closely aligned with real-world requirements. For the theoretical component, particular focus is placed on innovation towards brevity, clarity, memorability, and high practical applicability. The content is regularly updated to reflect new perspectives of the Party’s lines, the State’s laws and policies, and emerging issues on national defence and security, such as cyber security, non-traditional security, high-tech weaponry, and modern electronic warfare. As for the practical component, which primarily takes place on training fields and drill grounds, the Centre ensures model posture and movement training in infantry tactics and techniques for instructors and demonstration teams, while allocating significant time for students to practise and rehearse in teams, squads, and platoons. In terms of methodology, the Centre promotes a blended approach, integrating traditional teaching with active learning strategies that emphasise discussion, critical thinking, and learner engagement. Lecturers are encouraged to guide information exploration and utilise instructional software to design logically structured lectures rich in visual content, detailed infographics, and videos. This approach helps students acquire knowledge deeply and comprehensively, enabling lecturers to monitor learners’ attitudes, engagement, and comprehension levels for timely methodological adjustments. Survey results from 2024 training courses indicate that all students fully attended their training course and provided positive feedback on both teaching content and methods; lecturers demonstrated a strong command of educational technology, maintaining high levels of interactivity, discipline, and professionalism during class.

In parallel with these efforts, the Centre focuses on building a healthy military educational environment, fostering a “disciplined, orderly, and friendly” learning and training space that encourages positive attitudes, self-awareness, and holistic student development. Accordingly, training courses are organised into battalion-style units, companies, platoons, and sections, while the exemplary role of managers and lecturers is underlined in maintaining order, discipline, and military conduct in all activities. One of the Centre’s standout features is the seamless integration of academic instruction with physical training, curricular activities with extracurricular ones. Every activity is designed to build mutual respect and close-knit relationship between lecturers and students, and among students themselves, thereby fostering interaction, cooperation, and mutual support in both study and collective life. Notably, the Centre successfully adopts various innovative educational models, such as “5 aspects of training”, “3 proactive behaviours”, “4 punctualities”¹, and “Comprehensive Education Initiative”² in accordance with the framework approved by VNU, Hanoi. These initiatives help students develop good habits, strengthen discipline, enhance a sense of responsibility, and foster self-governance within the military environment. Furthermore, the Centre organises diverse cultural, sports, and extracurricular exchange activities that incorporate traditional education, national history, patriotism, and civic responsibility. These not only help alleviate academic pressure, but also provide opportunities for students to develop holistically in terms of character, life skills, and teamwork capability. By fostering a positive educational environment where discipline is harmonised with friendliness, democracy coexists with military rationality, and emotional intelligence complements intellectual rigour, the Centre is gradually shaping a distinct educational culture. This culture inspires self-awareness, sense of discipline, social responsibility, and serious academic attitudes among learners, laying a solid foundation for deepening the values of “quality culture” and continuously enhancing the quality of national defence and security education.

Although the outcomes and experiences achieved are just modest, they are of fundamental importance. They affirm the sound strategic direction and lay a foundation for the Centre for National Defence and Security Education at VNU, Hanoi to continue cultivating “quality culture” and deserving to be one of the country’s premier institutions in national defence and security education.

NGUYEN DUC DANG, PhD

Director of the Centre

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1 - 5 aspects of training: discipline awareness, military demeanour, physical fitness, life skills, and a sense of responsibility. 3 proactive behaviours: be proactive in learning, training, and daily routines. 4 punctualities: punctual in waking up, studying, eating, and resting.

2 - Comprehensive Education Initiative: physical fitness, mental strength, and proficiency in social skills.