Graduation ceremony of UEH Executive Master in Public Management

On the afternoon of February 29, 2024, at the Administrative Hall of the People's Committee of District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, the Graduation Ceremony of the Executive Master's program in Public Management for District 7 took place. This was a training program organized by the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) for leaders and managers of departments and branches of District 7 from 2021 to improve officials’ capacity to serve the socio-economic development goals of District 7 in particular and Ho Chi Minh City in general.

Attending the Graduation Ceremony, on behalf of District 7 People's Committee, there was the presence of Mr. Vo Khac Thai - Secretary of District 7 Party Committee; Mr. Hoang Minh Tuan Anh - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of District 7 People's Committee; along with leaders of District 7 Departments and Divisions. On the side of UEH, there was the participation of Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dong Phong - Chairman of the University Council; Prof. Dr. Su Dinh Thanh - University Director; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Quang Hung - Deputy Director of the University; Prof.Dr. Nguyen Khac Quoc Bao - Deputy Director of the University; Dr. Dinh Cong Khai - Deputy Director of the University; Assoc. Prof. D. Ho Viet Tien - Director of the Graduate School, with leaders of the affiliated units.

Overview of the Graduation Ceremony

The Public Management program at UEH was established in 2014. This is the culmination of more than 20 years of cooperation between UEH and Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University through the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program. Throughout its development, the program has been regularly reviewed and updated with new theories and emerging issues in the public sector from public management programs of leading schools in the world: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Hatfiled School of Government, Portland State University, and with consultation and adjustment to suit the characteristics of Vietnam

UEH's Executive Master in Public Management (EMPM) is designed for civil servants who are currently leaders and managers in public organizations. The aim of the program is to equip students with knowledge of economics, law, and modern leadership and management along with the necessary skills to take on leadership positions and manage organizations effectively. With the goal of training human resources in the public sector with a sense of responsibility and professional capacity, learners are trained in terms of analysis, planning, and monitoring skills through situations in lectures, helping them identify local problems and raise their awareness of serving the community. In particular, in the context of innovation and international integration, many subjects in the program aim to train the learners in terms of their negotiation skills, multi-dimensional information processing skills, and timely decision-making skills.

In December 2021, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City launched the Executive Master’s Program in Public Management (EMPM) for leaders and managers of departments and divisions of District 7, HCMC. During 2 years of learning and researching at UEH, the learners have made many efforts, harmonizing their work and studies to complete the program with local orientations. 38 graduation theses were all closely related to practical local issues. Many of the learners’ recommendations on solutions for the socio-economic development of District 7 in particular and Ho Chi Minh City in general have become valuable references and have been highly appreciated by the Council.

Congratulating and recognizing these results, Prof.Dr. Su Dinh Thanh - Director of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City - shared: " In the 4.0 Industrial Revolution and international integration era that is developing strongly with profound impacts on the economy and society, scientific knowledge is developing very rapidly, requiring improved technology application and encouragement of innovation to professions. Therefore, new masters need to continue to improve their knowledge and foreign languages, and absorb new technology for their work, contributing their efforts and intelligence to make Ho Chi Minh City in general and District 7 in particular increasingly rich and beautiful. From the knowledge equipped from the school, with the ability to self-study and research from practice, UEH believes that new masters will become good experts, leaders, and managers."

Prof.Dr. Su Dinh Thanh delivering a congratulatory speech

Appreciating UEH's program, Mr. Vo Khac Thai - Secretary of the District 7 Party Committee - stated: "The Master Program in Public Management is the first graduate program under the coordination between District 7 and University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City for key district officials. Its funding is mostly from the budget. In particular, the scientifically designed program closely follows the requirements, tasks, and goals of District 7, helping students immediately apply knowledge into practice in their tasks of management, administration, and implementation at agencies and units, thereby, contributing to concretizing the district Party Committee's action program on continuing to improve the quality of human resources in the period 2020-2025".

Mr. Vo Khac Thai

Representing the students to share their feelings throughout the study at UEH, Mr. Chau Xuan Dai Thang - Head of the Organizing Committee of District 7 Party Committee - shared: "On behalf of the students of the Executive Master's Program in Public Management and District 7, I would like to send my sincere thanks to the University Council, Board of Directors and Lecturers of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City for their dication in recent times to provide lectures about state management in all fields. In the future, with the knowledge we have learned during the past 2 years and our personal experiences, we will constantly strive to study with the Party organization units in each field to better advise district leaders and the political system to implement the targets of the Resolution of the 11th Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, 2020 - 2025".

Mr. Chau Xuan Dai Thang, representing the students, expressing his gratitude

At the Graduation Ceremony of the Executive Master's Program in Public Management for District 7, UEH officially awarded Master's degrees to 38 students who excellently completed the program.

Developing practice shows that high-quality human resources in the public sector are decisively important for implementing strategies according to the policies of the Party and Government, thereby determining the quality of socio-economic development. Ho Chi Minh City, in the 2020 - 2030 period and with a vision to 2045, strives to become a comprehensive, globally competitive center and a driving force leading the national economy to develop rapidly. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City has 5 major challenges in developing high-quality human resources in the public sector including (1) high-quality human resources for policy making, consulting and policy criticism; (2) human resources capable of planning and implementing strategies in the public sector, managing and operating public organizations; (3) high-quality human resources with the capacity to plan and manage smart and innovative city development; (4) high-quality human resources in environmental governance and climate change; (5) high-quality human resources promoting digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and creativity.

As a key university in Vietnam with nearly 50 years of establishment and development, UEH has strived to contribute its efforts to the development of Ho Chi Minh City over the past time through developing and implementing programs in the public area with strong fields listed as Executive Master in Public Policy, Executive Master in Public Management, Master in Innovative and Smart City Management, Master in Environmental Management Economics, Master in Technology and Innovation, etc. In addition, with its capacity, UEH also builds short-term training courses to update knowledge for servants, leaders and managers of the city as well as localities and regions: the program focusing on improving the capacity to build strategies for sustainable development; improving capacity to implement cooperative governance and mobilize social resources; Leadership capacity to promote socio-economic innovation in the digital era; or in-depth knowledge of international law to support the operating activities of senior ministries in the public sector in the context of increasingly deep international integration.

Additional photos regarding the Graduation Ceremony: