How VinUniversity Students Learn Ho Chi Minh Thought?
President Ho Chi Minh, often endearingly referred to as Uncle Ho by Vietnamese, is an extraordinary national hero, leader and symbol of peace, amity, national solidarity and international cooperation.
For VinUniversity, it is not about teaching but rather the learning process – how students learn, understand and interpret history in order to form independent thinking and explantions for historical events, particularly the great leader’s path. They learn in order to be proud of the country, the nation and themselves.
Thus, lecturers of the “Ho Chi Minh Thought” course employ an innovative approach:
- Students do not learn by rote but through constructive debate. They have to answer the following questions: “Why did Uncle Ho make such a decision?”, “Were there other alternatives?”, “How would such a decision benefit the country?”
- Students are put into groups to research historical data, build relationship diagrams between characters and historical events, and validate the legitimacy of information. Students have to work in teams and put forth their own opinions, while also practicing their debating skills.
- Each lecture starts with a 5-minute video about the historical context, including footages of the First World War, the Second World War, the Opposition Movement to US involvement in Vietnam, the Cold War,… Additionally, students are asked to explore preliminary reading and documentaries before class.
- Students are tasked with creative communications, from producing documentaries and short films to writing music, poems and plays…, in order to spread concise and meaningful messages, just like Uncle Ho did throughout his lifetime.
*Information and images were taken during the Spring Semester, January at VinUni by Le Trung Kien, Student of the College of Business and Management
