Phát triển tiềm năng của các giảng viên trẻ trong bối cảnh CMCN 4 0

Young University Staff Development in Context of Industrial Revolution 4.0.
Phát triển tiềm năng của các giảng viên trẻ trong bối cảnh CMCN 4.0
TS. Nguyễn Hoàng Tiến
ĐH Thủ Dầu Một
Dr Nguyen Hoang Tien
Thu Dau Mot University
Tóm tắt: Bài viết này trình bày thực trạng chất lượng đội ngũ giảng viên của các
trường đại học Việt Nam, từ đó tìm kiếm các giải pháp phát triển đội ngũ GIẢNG
VIÊN TRẺ nhằm đáp ứng yêu cầu cấp bách về đổi mới toàn diện nền giáo dục để xử
lý những thách thức và khai thác những cơ hội tiềm ẩn do cuộc cách mạng cơng
nghiệp 4.0 mang tới.
Từ khóa: cách mạng cơng nghiệp 4.0, giảng viên trẻ, cải cách giáo dục
Abstract: This article aims at presentation the current state of quality of faculty
members in Vietnamese universities and proposes several solutions to develop young
lecturers’ staff facing urgent needs to reform totally the country’s education system
in order to cope with challenges ahead and to explore potential opportunities brought
about by the 4th industrial revolution.
Key words: industrial revolution 4.0, young lecturer, educational reform.

1. Introduction
In education the most important factor deciding about quality is not material
infrastructure, but experience and competency of academic teachers’ staff. Tertiary
education treated normally as a bridge linking graduating students with labor market
which is increasingly integrated worldwide. Due to that, the role of young academic
staff becomes more and more vital and the enhancement of the quality of staff,
especially young staff is a critical issue that should be put on top of the agenda in
strategy and policy for national education development.


2. Comparative analysis of the domestic and international staff of academic
teachers

In most Vietnamese universities most of lecturers are holding master degree as
the input requirement for a new academic staff member is just only master degree
with “very good” or “good” classification. After that, they have to commit to strive
for PhD promotion. However it is not always possible for every one and it can be
justified by many various familiar reasons. That’s why, in many key universities
countrywide, the proportion of lectures holding master degree is predominant. In
local universities even none of academic lecturer is holding PhD degree. The next
problem of Vietnamese universities is the process of promotion from PhD to
Associate Professor/Professor. In order to do that candidate must carry out many
researches and publish internationally. As we know Vietnam is known for its least
and the number of PhD holders, compared to the world and region. Thus it is very
hard to be promoted to such academic titles. Those who earned their PhD degree
overseas are in advantageous situation in terms of working in professional scientific
environment, contacts with highest in ranking professors and that help them push
forward their international publication and recognition.
In highly developed countries, the requirements that academic lectures should
meet are very high in terms of academic degree and title, incomparable to the business
environment outside where pressure and priority are put on business experience and
working performance. First class professors have already an affirmed position and
renown in society and in scientific world. Their most important role is to help students
and the next generations to develop to their full potential. Young lecturer must meet
the minimum input requirements which are the PhD degree and post-doc studies to
sign a 5 to 7 year labor contract with the university. Within this time, their most
important focus is to carry out scientific research and publication in order to fulfill
required conditions to become professor or full professor later on. Otherwise they
should leave the university environment for find other suitable job. If a university
cannot sign long term labor contract with tens of professors it is will not be allowed
to open a concrete major and anrol students because PhD holders are not qualified as
key faculty staff members.

The above mention analyses show us the difference in terms of quality and
professionalism between domestic and international academic teaching staff. This
difference stem predominantly from average people intellectual level, socioeconomic development, science-technology background, environment, culture and
traditions of each nation. Before presenting solutions aiming at developing potential
and competencies of young staff of academic teacher in Vietnam we should analyse
and investigate more about the need as well as the urgence of total education reform
in context and under pressure of the 4th industrial revolution.
3. The 4th industrial revolution – challenges and opportunities
The term “industrial revolution 4.0” or “the 4th industrial revolution” has been
mentioned for the first time in 2011 at the Hannover fair presenting industrial
program 4.0 to boost Germany’s traditional branch of automation and mechanics. A
group of expert on industry 4.0 has presented series of recommendations on industrial
modernization and implementation for German government. They are considered as
fathers and driving forces behind the so called Industrie 4.01 [4]. “Industrie 4.0”
connect embedded system and smart production bases to create a digital convergence
of industries, businesses, their functions and internal processes [4].
The first three world industrial revolutions have been presented in table 1.
Currently the 4th industrial revolution stems from the 3th industrial revolution,
connecting all techologies together, deleting the boundary between physical world,
virtual world and biological living world. According to Klaus Schwab, the speed of
change of the 4th industrial revolution is unprecedented. Compering to previous
revolutions, the 4th revolution develops with not linear but exponential speed. On top
of that, due to interdisciplinary character and with ICT as a background, it currently
destroys all structures of industrial branches in all countries. It premonish the
transformation, both extensively and intensively, of the production, business ans
management systems worldwide.
Tabel 1. World industrial revolutions

1

IR Time period

Technological content

1.0 1820-1870

Transport and communication.

“Industrie” is industry in German language


Steam engine.
2.0 1870-1913

Traditional industries (agriculture, heavy industries,
mechanics, metallurgy, chemistry) in developed countries.
Electrical engine.

3.0 1913-1950

New technologies such as: Energy, space and aviation
technology, biotechnology, military technology, information
and communication technology.
Informatization and automatization.

4.0 1950-hiện tại

Technology integration based on ICT platforms.
-Social Network

-Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning
-Internet of Things
-Big Data
-3D Printer
-Virtual Reality
-Cloud and Cognitive Computing
-Driveless cars, Drones
-Smart robot, factory and city
-E-Learning, telemedicine
Source: [6], [7]

Currently IR 4.0 is taking place in America, Europe and parts of Asia (Japan,
South Korea) first. Beside new opportunities IR 4.0 also puts forward many
challenges for humankind. Table 2 presents those opportunities and challenges
related with IR 4.0 for organizations, economy and society.
Table 2. Opportunities and challenges due to the 4th industrial revolution
Opportunities

Challenges

1 Many new professions, new jobs and new Instability, unequality, imbalanentepreneurship chances
ce in the labor market.
2 Enhanced working and production’s productivi- How to educate human resource
ty. Economic growth based on new business that converge proper skills and
models.
competencies.
3 High personalization, social connections done Traditional ways of production,
on many new modes.
distribution and consumption
has been totally changed

4 Proactive and innovative (creative) mind is an Developing countries will lose
advantage of individual and business
their advantages based on cheap
labor cost.
Source: Author’s synthesis


Facing the opportunities and challenges mentioned above what national
governments, businesses and entrepreneurs can do to success and gain sustainable
competitive advantages in context of upcoming IR 4.0? Next, what is the role of
universities and its (young) staff will be for the other entities in the economies. Of
course, all universities are standing in front of similar opportunities and challenges.
4. The role of young staff of academic leactures in education’s innovation and
reformation
Comparing to foreign countries, in general, Vietnamese academic staff looks
very young as if men reaching 60, women reaching 50 both of them, with some
exceptions, should retire. Meanwhile professor of foreign universities will work as
long as he or she can, without limit of age as this is a specific of tertiary education.
More importantly life expectancy in developed countries is exceptionally long. In
practice, all Vietnamese academic staff are young. So we should determine for our
own research that young faculty member in Vietnam is a person who is under 40
despite for some other professions this threshold of age is categorically not young
any more.
Older academic staff in Vietnamese universities are conservative, growing in
completely other epoch and as a consequence they are reluctant to changes in term of
radical educational reforms and not suitable to follow the achievements and well as
innovations brought about by the IR 4.0. So all the hopes are put on younger techgenerations to accept new things, to welcome and foster new ideas and to promote
innovative changes initiated by IR 4.0 and intergrative trends spilled over all around
the world.
In order for younger generations of teaching staff to carry out this serious

mission and to fulfill the expectations of the society they should be trained and
developed accordingly in order to gain suitable competencies include knowledge,
skills and attitudes. Given the current quite unfavorable conditions of Vietnamese
education system mentioned above. Young generation of teaching staff have many
barriers and to overcome to fit in a to-be totally reformed education system directed
towards opportunities and challenged offered by IR 4.0.


5. Solutions for development of young staff of academic lecturers in a response
to the need of total education reformation in relation with the 4th industrial
revolution
How to make tertiary education and its actors (young staff of academic lectures)
main driving force to propel socio-economic development in such limited and less
favorable condition of Vietnam ? Hereafter are several solutions proposed by author
to enhance young academic staff’s potentials and competencies for the universities to
fulfill their expectation, execute their mission and carry out their function standing in
front of urgent need to reform the whole education system in order to explore the
existing oppotunities and to deal with challenges of irreversible trend of education
integration and ocurring IR 4.0.
a) Policy and strategy for tertiary education development – as well known
Vietnamese government and party prioritizes investment in education and
are striving to do everything to improve education quality following step
of South Korea. Investment in education is a prioriry and precondition to
boost knowledge and technology based economy including IR 4.0. With
limited resources more investment should be there to boost young teaching
and researching talent. So it is best to use selective strategy im terms of
investment in some key universities, in some key majors, and in some age
group of lectures (preferable young generation).
b) International cooperation and staff exchange – With limited resources and
potentials Vietnamese universities can not be developed on its own.

Foreign cooperation and support is needed, in only in financial aspect.
Student and staff exchange is needed as well as internationalization of
teaching program, teaching staff to make young teaching staff reach the
international standard in a long term.
c) International joint publication and carrying out research – today in a world
of IR 4.0 nothing can be done alone, joint publication and co-research with
foreign partners (professors, professional practical researchers) is
precondition to enhance research potential of young lecturers, researchers
at the same time, with a mutual benefits.


d) Learning foreign experiences of professional education management –
Education is one of important industries in an economy, so it should be
managed professionally to be effective as well. Experiences in this field
should be transfered from overseas, where education has a much longer
history of development.
e) Integrating newest technology with educational processes – In current
context of the IR 4.0 without the help of technology nothing can be done.
Widest scope of integrated technologies should be applied to enhance and
to ease the educational processes, education management processes and
their effectiveness.
f) Enhancing and internationalizing cultural environment within university –
It is worth to creat strong cultural environment to support processes of
researching, teaching, learning, management and their effectiveness at
different levels of university. All cultural values and identities of the
university are developing over time and should be gradually transformed
due to integration and internationalization and under impact of quickly
evolving IR 4.0.
g) Balanced and sustainable development – In a world of lightning changes,
innovation, transformation, reformation in terms of both technology (IR

4.0) and sociology (however less intensive changes in different fields and
different levels and corners of the society) a balanced and sustainable
approach to development is recommended and needed to calm down the
radical changes in order to make up sociological and individual changes
with the latest and newest technological developments.

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