Organisers of the Digital Change Expert project present certificates to lecturers from Thủ Đức College of Technology, who completed a multi-year digital transformation training course at the Vietnamese-German University in HCM City on September 16. — Photos Courtesy of the organisers

HCM CITY — A four-year educational project aimed at advancing digital skills and management capabilities at vocational training institutes in southern Việt Nam concluded on September 16 in HCM City, with certificates awarded to 70 teachers and managers.

The closing ceremony of “Digital Change Expert (DCE)”  took place at the Vietnamese-German University following the successful completion of a joint initiative between the VGU, World University Service (WUS) Germany, and the Hessen State Institute for Advanced Technology Training (HLFT).

The DCE project had been funded by Hessen State.

The ceremony brought together officials from WUS, HLFT, VGU, and managers and trainees from more than 20 vocational education institutions in HCM City.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Hà Thúc Viên, vice president of VGU, said the project successfully trained real experts equipped with practical capabilities to handle real-world demands.

“The initiative reflects a long-term commitment to elevating the quality of vocational education in Việt Nam.”

The project initially encountered some major hurdles, including initial hesitation by some vocational schools, language barriers, time zone differences, and geographic distances under a hybrid learning model combining online and face-to-face instruction.

Despite these, VGU persisted in fulfilling its commitments to the city to enhance digital transformation capacities among vocational educators, before expanding the initiative across the wider south-eastern region.

The project, supported by a total budget of EUR 300,000 across two phases, delivered tangible outcomes.

In Phase 1 (2023-24), 12 digital transformation guidebooks were developed, and in Phase 2 (2024-26), these guidebooks were directly integrated into institutional administration and teaching.

The project also funded a modern digital teaching room at VGU and provided around VNĐ800 million (US$32,500) worth of equipment to participating schools.

Delegates, experts, and vocational educators attend the closing ceremony of the Digital Change Expert project at the Vietnamese-German University in HCM City on September 16.

 A key highlight was the long-term, in-depth consultancy provided by HLFT experts, enabling trainees to apply digital tools and artificial intelligence to lesson design, content personalisation, and management optimisation.

The training achieved a 100 per cent satisfaction rate, with 90 per cent of participants saying they have already applied their newly acquired knowledge to their daily work.

“To ensure sustainable scalability, digital competency standards should be integrated into formal quality accreditation systems for vocational education,” Viên said.

Dr Kambiz Ghawami, president of WUS, praised the project's contributions to Việt Nam’s broader digital transformation in education since 2023.

“Digital transformation begins with people,” he said and asked graduates to act as “ambassadors of digital transformation” within their respective institutions.

Through the rollout of the "Digital Classroom" model across 12 training institutions, the project successfully standardised five core pillars of digital transformation: organisational development, human resources, curriculum development, technical infrastructure, and partnerships. — VNS