In the training process at traditional universities, the teacher has always played a central role. But now that role has been transferred to the learner and the school has become an open, modern, spirit-oriented educational ecosystem, aimed at liberal education. Therefore, to be successful, students need to actively participate in many activities to experience their life, develop and improve their capacity in knowledge and professional skills, logical thinking, systematical thinking, critical thinking, creative thinking, breakthrough thinking, self-study skills – learning observation, analysis, and conclusion, communication skills, and independent solving-problem skills as well as nurturing aspiration, passion, creativity, empathy, connecting and spreading love.
Over the past years, Tra Vinh University (TVU) has focused on expanding the types of Co-op training associated with the business community to help students expand their learning and skills training beyond the classroom. The study both helps students cultivate more practical experience and career skills at enterprises and also helps businesses reduce training costs and re-training time after recruitment.
At the same time, TVU brings courses on essential skills and essential non-specialized skills into the curriculum with practical activities for students to experience for the community such as “Blood drop – A life to stay”, “TVU – say no to plastic waste”, “Dental care for high school students”, “Free medical examination and treatment, free medicine for people”, “TVU for Health”, “TVU Green Campus, for a sustainable green university”, “Scholarship to nurture green knowledge for high school students”, “Journey of kindness, spreading the love”, “Volunteer Green Sunday”, “ Towards the loving Central region”, “The mock court of students in the Mekong Delta”, “Potential interns at enterprises”, “International student exchange”. In addition, TVU regularly organizes many competitions on entrepreneurship, applied scientific research, literary and aesthetic contests such as “Beauty of knowledge”, “Rhetoric contest”, “TVU League football tournament”, writing contests, taking photos, composing poetry, music about TVU and many extra-curricular activities from student clubs for the community to help students improve themselves, confidently integrate into the labor market quickly at home, abroad or start their own business.
In addition, TVU focuses on activities “Incubating student startup ideas”, strongly develops “Invention space among students and lecturers”, “Student cooperatives”, “Farmers’ Associations are university students”, develops research student groups – IEEE Student Chapter at Tra Vinh University, develops Lab – an invention space for students. Regularly TVU organizes programs for students to meet and exchange with experts, speakers from successful businesses to blow the fire of passion, inspire, motivate students to boldly pursue their dreams, and encourage students to actively participate and contribute to the school’s activities and the community by practical and positive actions.
Tra Vinh University Alumni, Mr. Tram Minh Thuan is one of 56 outstanding young farmers honored to receive the 15th Luong Dinh Cua Award in 2020, have successfully started a business from the cooperative – construction model, producing the Tra Vinh specialty “Hat Ngoc Rong” rice brand, confided: “When I was studying at Tra Vinh University, I had the desire to start my own business. With the desire to develop the local economy and promote the start-up movement, helping farmers improve the quality of agricultural products. After much consideration, I decided to choose the cooperative model to start a business and realize my dream in the classroom for a long time”.
TVU expands to develop start-up funds, scientific research funds from businesses, university partners and various types of scholarships to encourage learning from individuals and units at home and abroad to help students and lecturers boldly develop ideas, research and create valuable products to serve the community such as successfully raising disease-free black tiger shrimp, culturing waxy coconut embryos, and culturing cordyceps drafting, creating drought-resistant rice varieties, manufacturing automatic body temperature gauges, three-axis CNC milling machines, electric motorcycles, robots, 3D printers, compiling and publishing Vietnamese – Khmer, Khmer – Vietnamese dictionaries with 84,000 words and carried out many national and ministerial-level research projects. Many unique “Green Start-up” ideas from students create friendly and safe products such as producing shells of shrimp and crabs into bio-plastics, using seafood waste products such as crab shells, shrimp shells, crabs, etc. produced into environmentally friendly items; making insecticides with the seeds of the bowl; probiotics containing nano zinc to prevent fungal diseases and bacteria on fruit trees, or Lam Yen ORGANIC bottled herbal tea products, caviar leaf tea products, etc. IoT technology application with the system smart sensors and applications running on smartphone platforms, to improve water use efficiency in rice farming in the Mekong Delta; the automatic control and monitoring system for industrial shrimp pond fans creates safety for users even in rainy, windy, hot, or dark weather conditions.
Nguyen Phuong Khanh (team leader) is a 4th-year student, majoring in chemical engineering technology, Tra Vinh University, shared: “Our group received advice and help from teachers who boldly recycled the recycled materials aquatic waste “thrown away”, polluting the environment such as shells of shrimp, and crabs… produces bio-plastic products to make everyday utensils such as cups, plates, spoons, chopsticks, straws, nylon bags and etc… can be both commercialized and educated for the awareness of environmental protection and we are continuing to target the product lines of products children and medical equipment with this bio-plastic product”.
TVU continues to pursue new educational methods, creating a favorable environment for learning, research, and community service work towards an open educational ecosystem – liberalization, and lifelong learning.
Tra Vinh University is ranked in the Top 100 universities with positive influence and contributions to society, according to the ranking of WURI Ranking, the ranking system of world universities with real impacts. For years, TVU has reached the Top 200 sustainable and friendly green universities according to UI GreenMetric Rankings. The university has soon applied an effective quality management system, meeting the ISO 9001-2000 standards very early in 2006, and up to now, undergoing versions ISO 9001-2008, ISO 9001-2015. Many programs have passed FIBAA, AUN-QA, and have continued to expand the AUN international education accreditation to health sciences, agriculture, Khmer language and ABET accreditation for engineering and technology industries.
TD
