With the decision by the President of VNU in March 2018, the School of Interdisciplinary Studies (SIS) is the first unit in Vietnam to conduct the pilot master program in urban development management.

The demand for human resources in urban management

Urbanization is an indispensable process in the development of modern societies. It has been studied by scientists  and research & training institutions as a unified entity of space and organization of economic and social activities, resource allocation, living environment ... with many potentials that need to be opened, become the basic motivation to promote the economic and social development.

In estimation, Vietnam has a rapid urbanization rate, with over 800 large and small cities nationwide. However, in the context of incomplete industrialization and modernization, the development of urban areas will lead to the challenges of resource use, population, environment, economic issues, social security, culture, etc. This requires a comprehensive and systematic approach in urban management.

The urban management in Vietnam is being generally understood as the infrastructure planning and management implemented by specific ministries. This approach in these specific areas has made the process of urban management more visible only at individual angles. This leads to difficulties in unifying the organization and allocation of resources, policy formulation and urban development strategies.

This leads to the urgent need for human resources with systematic thinking, new methods and integrated tools in urban management. That would help change the way we think and work in urban management.

The program satisfies the demand of the society

The demand for human resources in urban development management in Vietnam is very high. However, the training programs related to urban development management in some universities still have limitations and  do not meet the demand in both quantity and quality. This is one of the practical bases for VNU through SIS as the focal point to develop interdisciplinary master programs.

With the contribution of many experts from different fields, the desire to provide a high quality human resources in urban development management, an interdisciplinary approach and systematic thinking, this master program in urban development management meets the needs of the society while promoting the strength of multidisciplinary and multi-field of VNU.

As the focal point for building the program, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Hong Minh  - Dean of SIS shared that SIS has created an equal and interdisciplinary academic environment that develops the advantage of each scientist in his/her field in the context of the issue of mutual interests.

Student enrollment  for the course 1

Dean of SIS, Nguyen Thi Hong Minh, said that the curriculum is structured in the form of modules that cover all the aspects of the urban areas such as policy, social, economic and environmental aspects, urban enivironment, and architectural planning.

The program targets learners from a variety of disciplines and fields to provide learners with the ability to identify the issues related to urban areas as well as the ability to propose solutions, use supporting tools and participate in solving practical problems in urban areas.

Participating in building and teaching the program are the leading experts with many years of experience, from Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Hanoi University of Technology, University of Architecture, many research institutes, departments related to urban ...

The program is built in the orientation of application, with the involvement of organizations, local departments and governement agencies in the training process,   which creates conditions for learners to approach and solve practical problems in urban areas under the supervision of the lecturers and leading experts.

In the years to come, SIS will expand the scope of its training to the growing cities. After two years of training, the program will be summarized as the basis for the proposal to be included in the official training list of Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training.

The program will be opened for the first pilot course in September, with the target of 40 learners.

Huy Thuong