On the morning of August 26th in Hanoi, DEOCA Group and Hanoi Architectural University (HAU) signed an agreement on training, scientific research, technology transfer, and human resource development cooperation.
According to the agreement, DEOCA Group and Hanoi Architectural University will coordinate in training, scientific research, technology transfer, and human resource development. The partnership will also include observation sessions, internships, and enterprise-based semesters, creating opportunities for students to access the working environment at offices, projects, construction sites, member units, and partners of DEOCA Group. DEOCA Group will also assign experienced experts, staff, and engineers to participate in teaching, guiding practices, and sharing practical experiences. Meanwhile, lecturers and experts from HAU can participate in research, consulting, and design for projects of DEOCA Group and member units.
Signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between DEOCA Group and Hanoi Architectural University on education and training, scientific research, technology transfer, and human resource development.
Both sides will strengthen cooperation in transportation, landscape architecture, urban environmental infrastructure, and research on developing majors and specializations that are suitable for the needs of enterprises and society. DEOCA Group also has policies to support, grant and sponsor annual scholarships for final-year students in majors related to transportation infrastructure who have good academic records, development potential, and suitable qualities.
DEOCA Semester: Practical learning, practicing, and practical execution
Speaking at the ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh stated that as Vietnam accelerates infrastructure development, urbanization and the transition towards a green, smart and sustainable growth model, human resources also need to be prepared in accordance with new development requirements. In addition to professional knowledge, engineers and architects need the ability to work in practical environments, apply technology, collaborate across disciplines, and adapt to market requirements.
“We determine that the relationship between the university and the enterprise does not merely stop at the enterprise receiving interns or recruiting students after graduation. That relationship needs to be developed deeper by jointly identifying human resource needs, participating in building training programs, training, researching, transferring technology, and developing products that serve society”, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh emphasized.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, Vice Rector of Hanoi Architectural University, speaking at the ceremony.
According to the university leader, the fact that students can observe, intern, participate in enterprise-based semesters, and directly approach work at projects and construction sites of DEOCA Group will contribute to linking knowledge with practice, thereby gradually shifting from “learning to know” to “learning to do”.
Current infrastructure projects simultaneously demand requirements regarding progress, quality, cost, safety, architecture, landscape, environment, and cultural values.
Representing DEOCA Group, Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, the Chairman of the Board of Directors emphasized: “Today's transportation engineers and architects cannot stand apart, as both forces need to coordinate to create structures that meet today's usage needs and create values for tomorrow. This is also the orientation DEOCA Group aims for in cooperation with HAU so that architecture and engineering can meet in the structures of the future”.
Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DEOCA Group.
Also at the event, the Chairman of DEOCA Group shared about the connection of three components: the government, universities, and enterprises. In this model, the government provides strategic direction and an enabling framework; universities deliver the academic foundation; and enterprises bring practical challenges, construction sites and expert teams into the training process. “DEOCA Semester” is oriented as a specific way to connect the three components, where students participating in practice will have instructors, be assigned tasks, create products, and have their results evaluated. This connection works in both directions, bringing challenges from construction sites into the classroom and applying academic knowledge to solve practical issues, with the aim of “Practical learning, Practicing, and Practical execution”.
Mr. Ho Minh Hoang affirmed: “DEOCA Group comes to Hanoi Architectural University today not only for recruitment. We want to collaborate with the university to train people, conduct joint research, and solve practical problems of future project structures together”.
Seminar Connecting Knowledge, Shaping the Future
As part of the program, a seminar titled “Connecting Knowledge, Shaping the Future” took place among the enterprise, the university, and a large number of attending students. The discussion focused on human resource needs, the enterprise's development orientation, requirements for human resources in the infrastructure sector, and opportunities for students to access a practical working environment.
Seminar “Connecting Knowledge, Shaping the Future”.
Mr. Le Thai Son, a student in Class 23GT majoring in Transportation Construction Engineering, asked about the factors that help a newly graduated student build trust and receive opportunities from enterprises. The Chairman of DEOCA Group emphasized that the group's personnel requirements include physical strength, mental strength, and intellectual strength. Among these, mental strength involves a serious attitude, a spirit of commitment, determination, and perseverance in pursuing work, which is highly valued by the enterprise to grant development opportunities. Through observation sessions, internships, and result reports, the enterprise can evaluate the potential as well as the suitability of students for the working environment.
During DEOCA Semester, students will be assigned tasks suitable to their majors and capacities, with a team of guiding officials and engineers alongside output results for evaluation. The tasks are associated with reality on the construction site and range from occupational safety requirements to drawings, designs, and professional work.
The seminar attracted considerable interest from students across various faculties, who exchanged views on career development and learned more about the “DEOCA Semester”.
On the university's side, Dr. Architect Ngo Thi Kim Dung stated that the enterprise-based semester has been incorporated by the university as part of the official training program, which is included in the students' study plans to create conditions for them to experience the practical professional environment at the enterprise.
Responding to a question from Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa, a student in Class 23ME, about the support and values received during the internship period, Mr. Ho Dac Dang Khoa, Deputy Director of DEOCA Group's Human Resources Department, said that at the project construction site, DEOCA Group's leadership arranges accommodation, transportation, living conditions, and physical training for participating students while providing equipment and a practical environment for them to focus on learning. More importantly, they can engage in practical work, which transforms knowledge from the lecture hall into specific products.
“Each internship and observation journey at DEOCA Group represents the first bricks that lay the foundation for your future careers. If you make good use of the three to four months of the enterprise-based semester at DEOCA Group, you will save a lot of time. When entering the labor market, you will be a solid engineer, a true engineer, and someone who can work immediately”, Mr. Ho Dac Dang Khoa shared.
According to the representative of DEOCA Group's Human Resources Department, once students have a practical foundation and can work immediately after graduation, the enterprise will continue to train and develop them, while young people have an additional foundation to improve their professional capacity and opportunities to increase their income.
Addressing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually replacing humans in some basic technical jobs, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, Vice Chairman and General Director, emphasized that regarding transportation infrastructure, technology is no longer knowledge that engineers “should know” but has become a requirement in the working process.
“The viewpoint of DEOCA Group is that technology cannot replace humans but only replaces personnel who are lazy to use, learn, and control technology. Therefore, you need to master technology and not depend on it, which leads to losing your own thinking”, Mr. Huy emphasized.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, Vice Chairman and General Director of DEOCA Group, shared at the seminar.
At DEOCA Group, young engineers have the opportunity to access modern technologies and digital technology in management, consulting, design, and work implementation, thereby improving product efficiency and quality. Besides, from now on, students need to proactively equip themselves with knowledge about AI to assist in processing work faster.
Sharing about the technological skills that need to be prepared in preparation for the development of BIM and AI, Mr. Mai Manh Hong, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of A2Z Construction Consulting JSC (a partner consulting unit of DEOCA Group) stated that digital technology and BIM are being applied from surveying and designing to construction, project management, and structural operation. He recommended that students proactively learn and use specialized software to establish a technological foundation that makes it more favorable when entering the practical working environment.
Answering a question about the attraction of the infrastructure construction industry and the factors that help young people choose and stick with the profession in the long term, Chairman Ho Minh Hoang shared about the preparation to pursue the career. According to him, young people first need to have faith in their chosen profession, nurture aspirations to have the motivation to rise, maintain steadfastness in pursuing their goals, and live with gratitude towards those who have trusted, supported, and accompanied them. Besides professional knowledge, an engineer needs practical capacity and a sense of responsibility for their work.
At the end of the discussion session, Mr. Duong Hoang Phong, a student from Class 23D1 in the Urban faculty, asked whether young people should wait until they are good enough to accept a job or learn while working. Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy emphasized that students should not wait until they are completely excellent to start, but can accept jobs based on their accumulated knowledge foundation and continue to improve themselves during the working process with the guidance of an experienced team.
The signing ceremony and the exchanges at the seminar opened a specific connection between DEOCA Group and Hanoi Architectural University, which brings knowledge from the lecture hall closer to practical problems at the construction site. Through DEOCA Semester along with training, research, and technology transfer activities, both sides aim to build human resources that are strong in expertise, master technology, possess practical capacity, and are ready to work to meet the development requirements of the infrastructure sector in the new period.
News: Mai Huong - Photo: Tuan Linh
