DEAN LE VU ANH’S RETIREMENT SPEECH
I stood here, right in this position 17 years and 10 months ago to say hello in the first meeting to this university as a member of the leadership board – deputy dean. Some people sitting here now witnessed my first meeting. Today, right here, I am content and proud to say good-bye to you in the position of leader of the school – the Dean. My term of office as Deputy Dean lasted just over 2 years, but those of the Dean lasted 15 years, I guess probably many university’s principal in our medical sector has not had such continuously extended term of office! I need that much time (I’m sitting here, and not sit here anymore) to develop this school to its current status: the first and independent (medical school) in Vietnam on the basis of the school for (medical) managers.
Imaging and sharing a development process is long for life but life is too short for a university. I think it will be a good lesson not only for us who has been working here but also for people who have not been worked here jet but want to know what happened in that process because of their different reasons.
Today is not the time for me to say about that detail because it is not enough time and I myself have not collected enough material to write clearly and honestly. However today it is enough for me to give a summary of basic and main points to share with you, and I think I need to do this now. I guessed that many people sitting here remember their position when they first had contact with me at this school with their own education, experience, success, failures, English proficiency, economic status…etc. In general, they are the most fundamental things, even dream (I understand that life should always need dream, and if there were no dream at that time, you would not come to see and share with me). At that time, I still remember clearly that everyone shared their dream more easily, frankly and straightforwardly, so it was easier for both proposer and the one who received proposition. And probably it helped dream to be achieved easier and there is the fact that many people have achieved them too naturally!
I thank you for that, because from the day that I vaguely understand that to get a truly unique work culture, (at that time I know that it is different point between other training institutions (and ours)), the qualifications, manner, behavior of each member at work must be achieved in a basic and relatively equal foundation in diverse basic criteria. For me, it was a beautiful time because it allowed everyone to get their own confidence and trust each other, and it has really become a foundation of working environment that majority of us are proud of today.
Everyman’s dream gradually achieved is a basic foundation to make plan for the dream of an institution (this case is our university). Our university is not the same as medical universities that Vietnam has ever had. Our university must prove its establishment and have to get their own position in the context that the acceptance of a new means sharing resources in a market-oriented economy in an institution known as “bureaucracy, ask and give, administrative subsidies”. It is much more difficult compared with a developed market-oriented economy. (I) said that to remind all of us that we by our talent and knowledge have passed a tough certification exam in an economy that begins to change. That certificate is called Hanoi School of Public Health – our official university’s name. The transformation from a (medical) manager training school into a specialized university that any developed country should have demonstrated the objective reality that our health sector and country has gradually integrated with the regional and world development; Howler, in short term, it proved who are observing us that the establishment and development of our university are beneficial for the health of Vietnam community, now and in the future we are a key element for the development, which will mark a new stage of development.
However, if saying that becoming an independent university in a new field is a certification assessment, it is only superficial (it likes the certificate of any education level). It is not what we want. What we want is much more than that. You can list them and until this day we really have achieved them. It is an environment that has a relatively typical workplace culture. It gave our university (though never be among the HOTTEST university on entrance exam score) become one of universities whose student has the highest confidence level (unfortunately, there is no review on this!) but even the teachers in this university complained about it! I'm not saying this is an achievement but when seeing the majority of students are passive, lack of confidence, then the fact that their behavior has changed into self-confidence is a good sign. However, it needs changing because excess of everything is not good at all. We have formed a team of relatively comprehensive teacher in both international qualification and behavior in new kind of academic environment. We have built domestic and international relationships with equality, respect and support. We have together committed and practically built a fairly clean environment, explaining that wherever we go, we all get respect from our students, alumni, and partners. Well, I think the content contained in the form of a university is our “Hanoi School of Public Health”
To be a university like ours, it has undergone a long and difficult process. However, we have implicitly understood very clearly that a new university like ours will also have a special environment which is highly visible and user-friendly by strictly applying the practice-related learning method. This has become the training philosophy of the university, and we committed to thoroughly follow that direction. And our faithfulness to the direction helped us to have a specific style which is closer to the community, better understand their needs and be more practical in the development of short or long term training programs. When contacting with students, we have recognized that we should help them more and better so that they can work in extremely difficult conditions that even qualified and trained people in high position do not deeply aware of their role in the sector they have chosen. Love, so that, can become higher at the beginning and grows to become the culture of our school, which is a culture of transparency, and more deeply it is a culture that did not make us regret the opportunity of increasing our income from each of our students, but makes us proud. Be clear and transparent in both providing the service and receiving deserved compensation, no more and no less! Evaluating this point, other universities and the master of professional conscience agree that it is a phenomenon. For me, it is the faithfulness - and I was so afraid it has just been lost recently.
People often mention the pride when doing some things helpful to community that they have a strong attachment to (pride associated with a 3rd basic human attribute is the desire to do for the community they are living in. It may be village, office, locality, country and humanity. Top two basic attributes are race preservation and survival). I suppose that striving to build a university with current environment is a useful job and I'm so proud to say that I stand here to say goodbye to all of you in the position of top leader of the university in the past 15 years. I'm sure that other members of this university, from teaching and teaching assistant staff to logistics staff are proud of themselves for their contributions during this period. That pride is completely legitimate because our work, whatever work is in this period was organized in a way to create a clean, student-friendly environment, which is a different and unique environment as I has mentioned above.
I also say that I am satisfied because I have finished what I have committed to those who are currently alive and those who have lost, and their desire. (They are) to build a Hanoi School of Public Health for this country and it has been operated properly. (When I) see you work with international experts today compared to what I saw just about 17 years ago, I am really satisfied.
I am luckier than you because I get more access to the student that before, during and after our university. I'm also luckier than you because I get more access to friends from both in and outside the country who has ever known and help us build this environment. I did not know that they still remember exactly both the advantages and the disadvantages when they approached activities in the university. It is to say that everyone was watching us and sharing with us both happiness and sadness. Just going through a stressful and competitive process, today we have chosen a new leader. If there were no real consensus of opinion of the majority in our group, I think that the university could not be such perspicacious. The role of the leader is extremely important. Integrity, dignity, confidence and decision will create prestige. The commitment to strong development of the university will create consensus and determination. I find these qualities in the new leader of our university. I congratulate Assoc. Dr. Bui Thu Ha in her new position. I strongly feel that our university will develop very fast to offer high quality education, meeting the needs of our health sector in current period.
Thank you sincerely once again!