Benchmarking Vietnam’s IT/Engineering Program for Curriculum Design

1. Benchmarking Vietnam’s IT/EngineeringProgram for Curriculum Design Nhut Tan Ho, Ph.D.U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam (Spring 2008)Associate Professor of Mechanical EngineeringCalifornia State University, Northridge SEOMEO RETRAC International Conference on Branding in Higher Education, August 10-13, 2009, Nha Trang University, Vietnam

2. Introduction • Vietnam’s transition to knowledge-based economy, • Galvanized by high GPD growth • Demand on higher education accelerates • Higher Education Initiatives • MOET: credit-based system by 2010 transition • World bank loan: Upgrade educational infrastructure and improve training quality • Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) 2007 studies: Observation on undergraduate education (EE, Physics, CS, and Agriculture)

3. Understanding of Stakeholders’ Needs • Additional assessment component that adds substantial value to existing initiatives • Understanding the needs of industry and other relevant stakeholders • Benchmarking how well the curricula of Vietnamese universities are meeting the needs of stakeholders • Re-aligning the learning outcomes with the desired skills, knowledge, and attitudes. • Research sponsored by Fulbright Scholar Program in Spring 2008

4. Research Method • A mixed qualitative and quantitative research methodology involves • Identifying and customizing the full set of skills, knowledge, and attitudes (SKA) for IT and engineering students • Defining level of proficiency for each set of SKA • Identifying gaps between current and desired proficiency level • Recommendations for using the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate (CDIO)* systematic approach as a guiding framework to close the identified gaps *CDIO is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers.

5. Identifying and Customizing SKAs • The CDIO “Syllabus”—a requirements document for undergraduate engineering education—was used as reference point • Syllabus was adapted and customized to fit Vietnam conditions with input from a group of reviewers • Two curriculum design experts, two Vietnamese engineering professors, four senior engineering managers, and two change agents

6. The CDIO Syllabus (Condensed) 1.0 Technical Knowledge & Reasoning: • Knowledge of underlying sciences • Core engineering fundamental knowledge • Advanced engineering fundamental knowledge 2.0 Personal and Professional Skills & Attributes • Engineering reasoning and problem solving • Experimentation and knowledge discovery • System thinking • Personal skills and attributes • Professional skills and attributes 3.0 Interpersonal Skills: Teamwork & Communication • Multi-disciplinary teamwork • Communications • Communication in a foreign language 4.0 Conceiving, Designing, Implementing & Operating Systems in the Enterprise & Societal Context • External and societal context • Enterprise and business context • Conceiving and engineering systems • Designing • Implementing • Operating

7. CDIO SYLLABUS • Syllabus at 3rd level of detail • One or two more levels are detailed • Rational • Comprehensive • Peer reviewed • Basis for design and assessment

8. Reviewers’ Qualitative Feedback • Syllabus is complete but needs to make explicit foreign language skill, especially English, a requirement • New graduates lack depth and breadth in technical skills, and practical work experience. • Average re-training time is 2 years. More internship and connections with industry are very necessary. • Change agents’ comments • Make critical and creative thinking a central theme in the education process. • Personal and interpersonal skills (e.g., leadership, teamwork, perseverance, and flexibility) are sorely missing and should be integrated with the teaching of technical knowledge.

9. Proficiency Level for SKA • Respondents were surveyed for proficiency level with a five-point rating scale: 1.To have experienced or been exposed to 2.To be able to participate in and contribute to 3.To be able to understand and explain 4.To be skilled in the practice or implementation of 5.To be able to lead or innovate in and asked to allocate resources for teaching SKAs • Respondents included • 54 Vietnamese professors, • 30 alumni from five largest universities, and • 32 managers/engineers

10. Current Level of Proficiency of New Graduates

11. Desired Level of Proficiency Expected of New Graduates

12. Mapping between Rating Scale and Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Learning Outcome Examples

13. Resource Dedicated to Teaching SKAs

14. Revision and Integration of New Learning Outcomes into Curriculum • Consensus among stakeholders: gaps exist between current levels (1-2) and desired levels (3-4) • CDIO model: systematic approach to close gaps, can be considered in context of scenarios for change (e.g., VEF)

15. CDIO Standards

16. Concluding Remarks • Results reported are among first efforts to rigorously benchmark Vietnam’s engineering/IT programs • Universities are encouraged to build on the results by customizing the CDIO Syllabus and performing benchmarking in their specific disciplines • This is an indispensable task for transition to credit-based system and will be immensely valuable in shaping the future of engineering education in Vietnam.