2012 – 2024: An impressive start

Vietnam Women’s Academy is a public higher education institution established under Decision No. 1558/QD-TTg dated October 18, 2012 of the Prime Minister on the basis of the Central Women Cadre Training School. The Academy has its headquarters in Hanoi and a campus in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the development journey, Vietnam Women’s Academy (VWA) is determined to successfully build the following Core Values: Unity – Devotion – Creativity – Quality and to realize Educational Philosophy: Comprehensiveness, Quality, and Equality. By 2030, the Academy aims to become an application-oriented university, ranked among the top in the Vietnamese Government’s ranking framework, and a prestigious center for training female cadres in general and Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) cadres in particular in the political system.

To achieve that goal, it requires the crystallization of continuous efforts of all the of civil servants, workers, students and trainees.

Affirming the important role in training VWU cadres and female cadres in general

As a unit under VWU, assigned the task of training the cadres as well as participating in international training, VWA has proactively proposed and advised the Central VWU to submit to the Prime Minister for approval two important projects: Project 1981 (2012) and Project 1893 (2018) on training VWU staff at all levels and women’s union leaders.

The scale of cadre training at VWA has grown strongly and attracted an increasing number of trainees.

Each year, the Academy organizes training for 2,500 to more than 4,000 cadres of the Vietnam Women’s Union at all levels on professional work of the Union, as well as on social work, gender equality and leadership & management capacity. In particular, the number of female cadres trained in leadership and management, and capacity for candidates for People’s Councils at all levels is increasing.

Over the past 12 years, the total number of VWU officials and female officials trained at VWA has reached 47,793 people, which is an impressive number.

VWA also expands its international influence under the direction of the Central Committee. On average, every two years, the Academy organizes training for Lao Women’s Union officials and for many years, it has organized training for Cambodian Women’s Union officials regarding Peace & Development, contributing to strengthening international relations in many fields. In total, nearly 300 female officials from both countries have studied at the Academy.

To meet social needs and keep up with the trend of technological integration, VWA constantly innovates the content of training programs. In addition, the Academy has also pioneered in developing nearly 100 electronic lectures (E-learning) and applied online training methods for the past 10 years, which has helped shorten direct learning time and at the same time improve students’ technology application skills.

In particular, in the past 5 years, VWA has provided free online training courses on gender equality, entrepreneurship, business development and financial management to more than 30,000 women.

Strongly improving the quality of input and output, as well as the scale of university and postgraduate training

VWA has continuously expanded its training scale, making a strong impression with the development of both quantity and quality of its majors. Currently, the Academy offers 12 Undergraduate, 4 Master and 2 Doctor training programs, meeting the diverse needs of learners.

In particular, the Academy organizes two specific training programs associated with the functions of VWU at all levels, namely Gender & Development and Social Work, integrating gender equality and entrepreneurship training in most training programs, contributing increasingly to raising awareness, promoting gender equality and social security.

By the end of 2024, the training scale of VWA will have reached about 6,000 students. The annual enrollment rate always meets the target, and the university entrance score has increased sharply for many consecutive years. Notably, in 2024, 8/11 majors have an admission score of 24 or higher, affirming the growing attraction of the Academy.

Not only stopping at scale, the quality of training organization has also been improved in a professional, methodical direction, strictly following the PDCA process. Anticipating the digital technology trend, VWA has harmoniously combined in-person and online classes since the beginning of 2020. Online classes are automatically initiated after the semester schedule is set, ensuring that 100% of lecturers participate in content development and operate according to the Academy’s increasingly high standards.

Thanks to its tireless efforts, VWA has completed external evaluation of educational institutions since 2020, successfully accredited 3 training programs in 2023 and is preparing to evaluate 3 more programs by the end of 2024. The most notable achievement is the 58th position in the ranking of nearly 200 Vietnamese universities in 2023.

Pioneering in scientific research on gender equality and women

In the past 3 years, VWA has maintained remarkable research achievements each year with an average of 20 grassroots-level projects, 5 ministerial-level projects, and 3 projects funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology (NAFOSTED). The Academy’s research focuses on areas related to gender equality, the role and participation of women in various fields. Many proposals for policy and law development and review as well as implementation of community intervention activities have been submitted by VWA to VWU leaders, making valuable contributions to the Union’s work and promoting gender equality and social justice.

Student scientific research activities are equally vibrant with nearly 50 scientific tasks at the Academy and faculty levels each year, creating a solid foundation for the young generation to develop their thinking and creativity.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, the team of lecturers and researchers has made great strides, successfully completing scientific tasks with 350 scientific products published, including 10 international publications. VWA’s Journal of Science has only been established and operated for 6 years but has been recognized by The State Council For Professorship regarding Economics disciplinary and Philosophy – Political Science – Sociology interdisciplinary from 0.5 to 0.75 points. These results are convincing evidence of VWA’s integration and reputation both domestically and internationally.

Diverse international cooperation programs also help the Academy expand relations with over 50 international educational, research and organization institutions, creating favorable conditions for staff, lecturers and students to access advanced knowledge and international practices, improving the quality of education.

Returning to the roots through practical activities has always been the red thread running through the history of the Academy’s construction and development. These meaningful trips not only help build a strong historical awareness but also inspire generations of VWA cadres and employees to continue to preserve, protect and develop the good values ​​of the nation.

Along with that, VWA also affirms its image with heart and responsibility towards the community.

With a proactive and flexible spirit, the Academy’s lecturers, cadres and students actively participate in community programs. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 1,500 students and 150 lecturers accompanied women in the border areas, traveling to remote areas, areas heavily affected by natural disasters and floods to provide practical support, with a total donation and support value of more than 500 million VND.

Strong human resource development, organizational efficiency, and pioneer in digital transformation

As of October 2024, VWA has made significant changes in its organization and personnel compared to the initial stage of its establishment. With a total of nearly 250 officials and employees, VWA currently has more than 180 permanent lecturers, including 8 Associate Professors and more than 60 PhDs.

The Academy has strongly promoted digital transformation, applying synchronous and interconnected information technology in all areas of operation. Lecturers and learners can easily access services, information and study, work remotely, improving the efficiency of teaching and management activities.

With all-round efforts over the past 10 years, VWA has been honored to receive many noble awards from the Party and the State: Third-class Labor Medal (2021); 04 Emulation Flags of the Government and 04 Emulation Flags of Vietnam Women’s Union; 01 Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister and many other noble titles.

Development Goals to 2030, Vision to 2045: Reaching New Heights

Improving the quality of training

VWA is committed to constantly striving to improve the quality of teaching to best meet the requirements and plans for training cadres of the Women’s Unions at all levels, and is highly evaluated and ranked among cadre training institutions.

Enhancing online training and services

Determined to participate more in training and fostering female cadres and educating about gender equality in the political system, the Academy will also continue to invest in free online training services for women and female workers, contributing to promoting gender equality in economics, politics and building happy and sustainable families.

Setting goals of higher education

Regarding higher education, by 2030, VWA strives to become an application-oriented, multidisciplinary higher education institution with a scale of about 10,000 students at all levels, providing 20 undergraduate training programs, 10 master’s training programs and 5 doctoral training programs. With a vision to 2045, the Academy strives to improve its ranking in Vietnam, with at least 30% of its majors in the top 30 nationwide and included in the rankings of prestigious international organizations.

Strengthening facilities and quality of teaching staff

VWA aims to complete phase 1 of the project to expand the training facility in Gia Lam, Hanoi and recognize the Campus in Ho Chi Minh City by the end of 2025. To do this, the Academy will focus on improving the capacity of the teaching staff, with at least 50% of the lecturers having a doctorate degree and 15% of them having the title of associate professor or professor.

Increasing university autonomy and digital transformation

From 2025, VWA will be fully financially autonomous in regular expenditures, fully exercising university autonomy rights according to the law. By the end of 2027, the Academy is expected to complete phase 2 of the digital transformation process, ensuring that the information technology infrastructure and software systems at both the headquarters and the Ho Chi Minh City Campus operate stably and synchronously.

Starting from the solid foundation of the Central Women Cadre Training School with more than 50 years of tradition, VWA has written an impressive new chapter over the past decade.

This journey will continue to grow strongly, affirming the commitment to a quality education, leaving no one behind on the path to the future.