[AY 23-24] Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The College of Arts and Sciences is the first home for all students enrolled at VinUniversity as they embark on a nuanced journey of self-discovery in a state-of-the-art tertiary education designed in collaboration with leading universities in the world, top minds in Vietnam and passionate stakeholders. In this sense, General Education at VinUniversity is essentially a “gateway” between past and future, theory and practice, and local and global. This is where students, faculty and staff collectively take the first step towards realizing VinUniversity’s mission of contributing to the betterment of Vietnam and the world.

Our College of Arts and Sciences takes inspiration from the three principles of education reform, namely “dan toc” [nation], “khoa hoc” [science] and “dai chung” [people] put forth by Vietnam’s longest-serving Minister of Education, the late Professor Nguyen Van Huyen, who strived to develop an education system to build a modern nation for all Vietnamese citizens in the trying times of post-independence Vietnam.

For the betterment of Vietnam as a nation and to contribute to the world as members of the global community, General Education at VinUniversity begins with developing in each individual a conscientious and critical understanding of the self, Vietnam and the world. To develop a reflexive understanding of the self, we encourage students to step out of their comfort zone, self-cultivate an open mind, and most importantly, dare to dream! Yet, to be able to do so means developing a grounded and critical understanding of the past and present of Vietnam, how we understand ourselves and how others try to understand us, and finally, how we could together look to the future. To find our place in the world and to have a voice in how our future could be, General Education at VinUniversity is thoroughly infused with a global-local approach in the design of class-based courses and co-curricular programs. We approach the global with a view that “digital is the new global” and ask, “What are the possibilities we may uncover in the age of globalization underlined by digital infusion?”.

To fully explore possibilities of how the digital could change the world and help us fulfill the primary mission of VinUniversity, the College of Arts and Sciences at VinUni aspires to become a model bona-fide interdisciplinary core curriculum in Vietnam. Taking onboard experiences in multi-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary research and teaching from across the world and different intellectual traditions, we adopt a grounded but innovative approach in the design of courses in collaboration with faculty, students, and relevant stakeholders in state and society. Serving as the core curriculum for all VinUniversity students, each course in the College of Arts and Sciences is designed to plant the seeds that will help students ask “big questions” about the past and present, develop the capacity to learn new skills and bridge the gap between theory and practice. Our co-curricular programs, planned in collaboration with a wide of range external stakeholders, extend beyond the initial year to take students out of the classrooms to fully reap the benefits of experiential learning.

To competently serve society with heart and mind, the College of Arts and Sciences seeks to begin cultivating in each student six identified attributes, namely: Character, Competence, Critical Thinking, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and National Pride-Global Awareness. Right from the beginning, we encourage students to ask the questions, “what could you do for society” and “how would you go about actualizing your goals?” To enable students to be a part of VinUniversity’s founding mission, we seek to develop future leaders who take pride in their national heritage, are global-minded, have character, and possess an entrepreneurial spirit. The College of Arts and Sciences is where this journey begins.

The College of Arts and Sciences at VinUniversity is recruiting passionate and innovative faculty members at all ranks, in all major fields including:

1. Vietnamese History and Culture

Candidates are welcome to apply from suitable backgrounds including, but not limited to, History, Anthropology, Southeast Asian Studies, Sociology, Economics and Political Science. The selected candidate will be required to teach the University’s General Education course in Vietnamese History and Culture that all first-year undergraduate students take.

Suitable candidates will have knowledge and preferably experience teaching and research in the following topics as they relate to Vietnam: Southeast Asia, East Asia, International History, Climate Change, Migration, Religion, Vietnamese Arts and Literature, War, Colonialism/Imperialism, Communism, Cold War and Đổi Mới.

2. Global Political Economy

Candidates are welcome to apply from suitable backgrounds including, but not limited to, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, Political Economy, Sociology, etc. The selected candidate will be required to teach the University’s General Education course in Global Political Economy that all first-year undergraduate students take. The course aims to develop a theoretically informed and critical appreciation of the world through the lenses of political economy, cultivate and practice the ability to apply academic arguments/concepts to the real world, and foster an informed and critical appreciation of Vietnam’s position in the ASEAN region and global political economy.

Suitable candidates will have knowledge and preferably experience teaching and research in the following topics: theory of global political economy, globalization and development, history of political economic change in Vietnam, Vietnam and the global economy, ASEAN, political economy of East and Southeast Asia, global digital economy.

3. Politics and Social Change

Candidates are welcome to apply from suitable backgrounds including, but not limited to, Economics, International Relations, Political Science, Political Economy, Sociology, History, Asian Studies, etc. The selected candidate will be required to teach the University’s General Education course in Politics and Social Change that all first-year undergraduate students take.

Suitable candidates will have knowledge and preferably experience teaching and research in the following topics: effect of politics on social and economic change, Marx and Lenin political ideology, development in pre- and post- Đổi Mới, politics and social change in East and Southeast Asia, the impact of science and technology on politics and social change.

Regarding the responsibilities of all major fields above, in addition to teaching, the role requires advising undergraduate students, assisting with the development of new university courses, participating in relevant administrative responsibilities – and for Assistant Professors – maintaining an impactful research profile.

4. Critical Thinking

• Faculty rank: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer

Candidates are welcome to apply from suitable backgrounds including, but not limited to, Critical Thinking, Logic, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Business and Management. The selected candidate will be responsible for spearheading the VinUniversity’s critical and creative thinking initiative ensuring that all students develop the ability to analyze and evaluate claims and arguments as well as think in original and innovative ways to solve problems they might face during their education and beyond.

The main responsibilities of the candidate include:

• Teaching the course “Critical and Creative Thinking” to students as part of the VinUniversity General Education Program.
• Creating and participating in a co-design workshop for the course Critical and Creative Thinking as part of its development and accreditation.
• Employing active learning and student-focused pedagogies in teaching and learning.
• Mentoring the VinUniversity student debating society.
• Organizing an international debating competition to be held over two days in summer 2023.
• Engaging with outreach projects in the public such as high schools holding critical thinking/debating workshops or hackathons.
• Potentially teaching on other courses offered by the College of Arts and Science including “Philosophy, Science and Society” and “Asian Philosophy” and other suitable electives.
• Contributing to standard academic administrative and service tasks.

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES 

Full-time faculty members of College of Arts and Sciences will have three major responsibilities: teaching, research, and service. The workload allocation will depend on the faculty ranking and faculty track in alignment with generally accepted international standards and practices at universities.

COMPENSATIONS

The salary benefits are internationally competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience.

KEY SELECTION CRITERIA 

• Have a doctorate degree in related fields from prestigious universities.
• Have a minimum of three years of relevant full-time teaching experience.
• Have a strong knowledge of the subject area combined with a broad subject background enabling contributions to teaching programs.
• Have good experience in experiential learning methods such as TBL (Team-based Learning), PBL (Project-based Learning), ABL (Action-based Learning) and can successfully employ them in all courses.
• Demonstrate a strong record of research accomplishments or potential for future accomplishments (research track).
• Have a high spirit and strong passion for education; demonstrate distinction and/or strong potential in research; agile to embrace changes and take on new challenges; willing to adopt and actively employ new teaching methods; open-minded to new and different environments; team-player willing to contribute to organizational goals and initiatives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.