Applying the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics’ Philosophy of Training and Fostering to the Development of Training and Fostering Programs in New Context

1. The philosophy of training and fostering of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in the current period

The philosophy of training and fostering of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has become guiding principles and inspiration for generations of cadres, lecturers, staff, and students in the training and fostering process at the Academy, contributing to affirming the position, identity, and brand of the highest-level training institution of the Party.

The philosophy of training and fostering, like an all-encompassing "red thread", is a guiding direction for the training and fostering process of the academy over the past 70 years. In the context of new conditions with rapid changes in the domestic and international situation, it is essential to recognize and clearly define the philosophy of training and fostering of the Academy throughout the development process as well as in the future to establish a solid foundation for the academy's training and fostering activities, contributing to the good performance of the functions and tasks of the academy as the national center for training and fostering key cadres, and leading theoretical research of the Party and the State.

Some of the contents of the academy's philosophy of training and fostering developed over more than 70 years can be summarized as follows:

Firstly, it is the profound guiding ideology of President Ho Chi Minh, as written in the Golden Book of the Academy in 1949:

"Learn to work,

To become a better person,

To become a cadre.

Learn to serve the collective,

To serve the class and the people,

To serve the Fatherland and humankind.

To this end, it is imperative to:

Be diligent, thrifty, honest, and upright,

And work selflessly”.⁽¹⁾

In his guidance, there are the most essential elements of the philosophy of training and fostering at the Academy: to train a core group of Party cadres who are diligent, thrifty, honest, and upright, who work selflessly, and who whole-heartedly serve the working class (as its vanguard), the people, the Fatherland, and humankind. To this end, the training and fostering programs must encompass content on the revolutionary path, the ideological foundation of the Party, the political and social situation in the world and in the country, the trends of the times, and the development of the trainees' revolutionary ethics and ideals. The programs must also include contents on leadership and management skills, dialectical thinking, and strategic thinking.

Secondly, the philosophy of training and fostering is also reflected in the core values of the Academy that have been accumulated throughout its development, including:

- "Steadfastness and loyalty to the communist ideals," "Loyalty to the country, the Party, and gratitude to the people": these are the essence and the unique characteristics of the Party school, the training ground for the core cadres and Party members of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the vanguard of the working class, laborers, and the entire nation.

- "Renovation" and "Creativity": these are the leading spirits of the socialist construction in our country in the current period (since 1986) when the nation is embarking on a comprehensive renovation process. Therefore, the cadres and trainees of the Academy must always uphold the spirit of innovation and creativity to develop new models of development.

- "Democracy": it is understood briefly as "people are the masters and people are in charge". The Academy trains a pool of cadres who are dedicated to the country and the people that is, always promoting the spirit of people's right to mastery. The spirit of democracy is thoroughly understood and promoted in the training program, in the training organization process, and in the teaching work.

- "Discipline": Democracy needs to be associated with discipline. This is also an important core value of the academy in the training process to create a pool of future cadres with high discipline.

- "Science": This is also a core value that forms the Academy's philosophy of training and fostering. To have a contingent of well-trained cadres with good expertise, talented leadership, it is necessary to have a scientific spirit, scientific knowledge, and scientific methods. The Academy's training program, therefore, needs to have a high scientific nature, which is the result of the theoretical research process, practical summarization, and regular updating of human scientific achievements.

- "Professionalism/Standardization": Professionalism is a value that is highly treasured in the core value system of the academy. This is also expected by cadres and civil servants after training and fostering. Thanks to the knowledge, skills, and qualities formed and accumulated during the training and fostering process, learners become more professional in their approach to solving professional work, and can become experts in their field of expertise. Hence, it is imperative that the Academy's training program and organizational processes are geared towards achieving this value.

- "Modernization": Since the 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (1996) when our Party promoted the cause of industrialization and modernization, accelerating the process of modernization in all fields of the country has been increasingly valued. This value is increasingly emphasized in the training process, the Academy's training program, demonstrated in updating modern scientific knowledge, modern training organization methods, applying scientific, modern teaching methods in the training and fostering process, and demonstrated in modern technological equipment applied in teaching in the context of the vigorous Fourth Industrial Revolution.

- "Unity": This is the value that creates the strong community of our nation and our Party. Uncle Ho once taught: "We must preserve unity as we preserve the pupil of our eye" (Testament). Therefore, this value is always emphasized and aimed for in the training program and training process of the Academy.

- "Development": This is an extremely important value that anyone or any organization in any field should strive for. In the process of building training programs and organizing training processes, it is necessary to raise the question: Will this lead to development? Can the learners develop further after training and fostering? Can they unleash their development potential in the present and in the future after training? Development is also the common law of the world, therefore, pursuing development is in accordance with objective laws.

Thus, the above values ​​demonstrate the inheritance and crystallization throughout the development process of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and also reflect the new trend of the future.

Thirdly, the throughout philosophy of training and fostering of the Academy is also reflected through the system of principles guiding the training and fostering process, in particular, and the general activities of the Academy, including:

(1) "Taking Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as the ideological foundation": This is an all-encompassing guiding principle, also reflecting the essence of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Therefore, the training program of the Academy needs to equip learners with this foundational knowledge. Moreover, it is necessary to help learners (cadres, Party members) have the ability to protect the Party's ideological foundation, fight against wrong, hostile views that aim to undermine our Party's ideology.

(2) "Linking theory with practice": This is also an extremely important principle of the training and fostering process, as well as a necessary requirement to equip students with. It is important to have a strong understanding of theory and be able to connect it with practice, effectively applying theory to practice. Our team of leaders and managers need to have a logical mindset and the ability to apply theory to practice, in order to achieve high effectiveness in their work and elevate practical activities to a higher level.

(3) "Constant innovation and development": linked to the values of innovation and development, this principle demonstrates the concretization of pursuing the core values of the Academy. This is also a necessary condition for the existence and development of the Academy and of each student and lecturer.

(4) "Comprehensive education: Knowledge - Skills - Character": this is also a philosophy emphasized by the education system in general and the training and fostering work of the Academy in particular.

(5) "Training and fostering must be linked with scientific research": This is a principle that runs throughout the system of Academies, which serves as a center for research and training and also creates new theoretical knowledge, as well as trains a team of high-level party and state officials. The training program is thus a product of the research and practical teaching of many lecturers.

(6) "Putting the learners at the center": this is a principle emphasized in the process of our Party's comprehensive and fundamental training and fostering renewal. The training program and process need to be organized to best meet the needs of learners. This does not mean underestimating the position and role of the lecturers, as the lecturers at this time are the persons who guide and lead learners to achieve their learning goals and requirements set for themselves.

(7) "Open education": This is the philosophy of modern training and fostering. The application of this principle in training and organizing the training process requires expanding training to meet the demands of education that are not confined to the curriculum or training and can take place throughout the learners' lives. Therefore, training programs need to be designed to enhance learners' self-learning and research abilities, and provide opportunities for lifelong learning.

(8) "Development of independent, self-control, and creative thinking": This philosophy of training helps learners to have the ability to take control of their circumstances. With independent, autonomous, and creative thinking, learners will not be passive and rely on external forces, but will proactively create their own lives and communities.

(9) "Being systematic, inheritable, and continuous": These principles are fundamental requirements throughout the training and fostering process of the Academy. Ensuring the systematic feature is a high requirement for training programs, where the content must be logically connected in a system. Inheritance is also a basic requirement in the training process. Continuity means that the training process needs to provide learners with basic and in-depth knowledge, on which learners can continue their studies and research at higher levels.

These principles both inherit the tradition of over 70 years of construction and development of the Academy and embody the "breath" of modern education.

Fourthly, the philosophy of training and fostering of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics is also demonstrated through its development goals, which are: to become a leading national center for training and developing high-level leaders, and a center for political theory research of the Party. This has been the continuous goal throughout the history of the Academy. In the context of strong globalization and international integration today, the Academy strives to become a reputable training center in the region and the world.

In summary, for over 70 years of construction and development, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics has crystallized within itself a philosophy of training and fostering that is deeply rooted in the cultural identity of the Party school and the national culture, and is in harmony with the development trends of the times, becoming a training center for key officials and leaders of the Party to serve the country.

We need to continue to adhere to this philosophy in the training and fostering program of the Academy in the current period.

2. Adhering to the philosophy of training and fostering in building training and fostering programs at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in the new context - some proposals and recommendations

To continue to adhere to the philosophy of training and fostering of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in building training and fostering programs in the new context, we would like to make some proposals and recommendations as follows:

First, the training and fostering program needs to adhere to the principle of the Party spirit, loyalty to communist ideals, and take Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as the ideological foundation. This is the essence and characteristic of the training and fostering programs of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Second, it is necessary to combine professional knowledge and revolutionary ethical training in the training and fostering program. In particular, special attention should be paid to revolutionary ethical training, which is a continuous content in the equip philosophy of training and fostering of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Third, it is necessary to enhance the updating of knowledge and the modernization of the training and fostering program, as well as the curriculum of the training and fostering program.

Fourth, it is necessary to enhance the "openness" of the training and fostering program, creating conditions for learners to continue developing knowledge and lifelong learning.

Fifth, it is necessary to continuously innovate and create in the content of the training and fostering program and the curriculum.

Sixth, it is necessary to strengthen the unity between practical summarization and theoretical development in building the training and fostering program. The content of the training and fostering program needs to be built through rigorous scientific research processes.

Seventh, it is necessary to adhere to the principle of development in building the training and fostering program of the Academy. Determine the development trends of the world and the region as well as the specialized field of the Academy to build a training and fostering program that meets the development needs of the local areas, learners, and the Academy.

Eighth, integrate core value orientation and education in the process of building training and fostering programs.

Ninth, it is necessary to adhere to the philosophy of training and fostering in all stages of the process of building and innovating the training and fostering program.

With the above proposals, we hope to contribute to a thorough implementation of the equip philosophy of training and fostering in the formulation of the training program at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, in the new context./.

(1) Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (2019), 70 years of glorious tradition, Political Theory Publishing House, Hanoi, p. 44.