Supporting infrastructure construction in new places
According to the master plan of Hanoi Capital with a 100-year vision that is being widely consulted among the people, in the central urban area, no new higher education institutions will be built; keep university institutions that have been synchronously invested (facility 1), capable of being converted into high-level training centers, research and technology transfer centers, and startup centers. In the area where facility 2 is located, organize university training, arrange internship and student accommodation areas.
Relocate universities and colleges with small areas and facilities that do not meet the requirements out of the central urban area.
For higher education institutions and vocational education institutions with land and facilities that do not meet the requirements according to regulations and must be completely relocated, the city supports infrastructure construction in the new place and uses old facilities in the inner city for general education and public purposes.
For higher education institutions and vocational education institutions not subject to full relocation, the city supports infrastructure construction at the new institution; the old institution will be used for the purposes of: Scientific research, technology transfer and innovation, postgraduate training, high-quality vocational training, general education, public space.
Maintain a part of the base in the inner city
Dr. Pham Hiep - Director of the Institute for Educational Research and Knowledge Transfer, Thanh Do University - said that the plan to move universities out of the inner city has been around for decades. This is a content implemented nationwide, not just in Hanoi. However, for many reasons, this plan is being implemented slowly.
Currently, the proportion of young people attending university is about more than 30%, but according to him, this number may increase to 40-50%, even 60-70% in the future. From there, Mr. Hiep predicted that even when the population ages, the total size of students nationwide will not stop at nearly 2 million as it is now but may increase to about 3-4 million.
When the facilities in the inner city cannot meet the demand, it is necessary to move universities out of the inner city. "University urban areas" must be formed on a large scale, equivalent to a ward or commune. In which the entire space and surrounding infrastructure serve the school's training and research activities" - Dr. Pham Hiep assessed.
He emphasized that universities need to be located near high-tech parks, industrial parks and business production facilities to form a linked value chain, thereby directly contributing to socio-economic development, instead of existing as independent "islands".
Relocation should not separate schools into isolated areas, but should be arranged in new development spaces, associated with a common ecosystem. This model can be seen in Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, a connection between training, research and production.
Dr. Hiep emphasized that universities still need to maintain a part of their facilities in the inner city. According to him, keeping these facilities is necessary because university activities are not only associated with industrial parks or high-tech parks. For example, economic and financial sectors need to have close connections with large corporations and businesses - which still have headquarters in the central area. Similarly, policy and socio-economic fields also need to approach central agencies to serve consulting and research activities.
From the reality of operation, he cited many universities, especially the non-public sector, still maintaining campuses in the inner city. For example, FPT University, although having its main campus in Hoa Lac, still retains some campuses in the central area to serve training and connection activities.
The transformation of the education system
Dr. Dam Quang Minh - Rector of Phu Xuan University (EQuest Education Group) - said that relocating universities out of the inner city, if viewed fully, will create two-sided impacts that are both a great opportunity and a significant challenge for both students and lecturers.
First of all, in a positive way, this is an opportunity to fundamentally improve learning and research conditions.Modern higher education is not only lecture halls but also laboratories, creative spaces, practice areas and especially connections with businesses.Without sufficient space, it is very difficult to deploy training models associated with practice such as project-based training or situation-based training that the world is widely applying.
However, on the contrary, the negative impact in the short term is very clear. For students, the biggest problem is living standards. When moving away from the center, travel costs may increase, job opportunities are limited, and access to urban amenities such as jobs, culture, and services decreases.
For lecturers, the challenges are even deeper. Moving further, changing the living environment, especially for those who have settled down in the inner city, can directly affect working motivation. In the context that a high-quality teaching staff is already lacking, if there is no appropriate policy, the risk of "brain drain" is entirely possible.
In order for the relocation of universities not to become a "large-scale house move" but truly a transformation of the education system, in my opinion, it is necessary to converge a number of key fundamental conditions" - Mr. Minh said.
According to Mr. Minh, relocation is not simply to relieve urban pressure, but to answer the question: "How do we want to build a university system in the next 20-30 years?" Without this orientation, it is very easy to fall into a situation of "picking and grinding in the middle of the road", each place doing it in a different way and ultimately not creating different values.
Second, relocation must be linked to university system restructuring. This is the most important condition. Many schools today are small in scale, positioning is unclear, and the quality of training is not truly competitive. If only relocating positions without restructuring the model (research or application, vocational training or academia), then old inadequacies will continue to be maintained in a new space. Conversely, this is an opportunity to rearrange the network, form university clusters with sufficient scale, stratification and clear identity.
Third, infrastructure must go one step ahead. Without a convenient transportation system, without housing and services, we cannot talk about sustainable development. International experience shows that successful "university cities" are all places where students and lecturers can live, study and work in a complete ecosystem, not just a separate lecture hall.
Fourth, it is necessary to create an academic and innovation ecosystem. A university cannot develop if it stands alone. There needs to be the presence of businesses, research institutes, and innovation centers accompanying it. Then, learning activities will be closely linked to practice, research will have output, and students will clearly see their career path. This is also a trend that many advanced education models are pursuing, linking training with the actual working environment.
It can be said that relocating universities is not simply a planning decision, but a test for the capacity to design the education system. If done well, we will not only have new campuses, but can create a new generation of universities - more modern, more connected to life and with higher competitiveness" - Dr. Minh assessed.
