Associate Professor Nguyen Thien Tong: Paving the way for Aviation Engineering at Van Lang University.
(VLU, 01/6/2023) - Van Lang University has just announced the enrollment of the Aviation Engineering program (major code: 7520120), marking a new milestone in the goal of improving the quality of engineering and technology education, aiming for the long-term vision of the aerospace engineering industry worldwide and Vietnam's integration potential. On this significant occasion, the Van Lang University website conducted an interview with Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thien Tong is a leading expert in Aviation Engineering in Vietnam and the initiator of the Aviation Engineering program at Van Lang University.
 Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thien Tong received the Colombo Plan scholarship from the Australian government to study abroad in Australia in 1965. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Aviation Engineering in 1970 from the University of Sydney and received a scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. degree. He returned to Vietnam in the middle of 1974 right after completing his Ph.D. degree. |
From a passionate engineering student to laying the foundation for the Aviation Engineering program in Vietnam
Interviewer: Dear Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thien Tong, from the 60s of the last century, you embarked on a journey to study Aviation Engineering in Australia, laying the foundation for the development of this field in Vietnam until today. How did fate lead you to this momentous turning point?
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thien Tong: Actually, I chose to study Aviation Engineering because I had an interest in understanding the technical science of aircraft. At the age of 18, I hadn't thought about what I would do in the future; I simply desired to learn about the scientific and technical aspects to contribute to the country's development later on. This fortunate opportunity may have been influenced by fate and my own aspirations. I wanted to learn, and fate facilitated that.
How did the Aviation Engineering field emerge in Vietnam, dear Professor? And could you highlight some important milestones in this particular field?
In reality, I studied Aviation Engineering with the intention of participating in teaching activities upon returning to Vietnam. I taught Mechanical Design at the University of Engineering (predecessor of the current Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology) starting from the first semester of the academic year 1974-1975 and in the second semester, I proposed offering an elective course on Aerodynamics for Engineering students at that time. In 1978, I developed the Aviation Engineering program based on the requirements of Prof. Tran Hong Quan, the Rector of the University of Technology at that time, and suggested gradually introducing more elective courses on Aviation Engineering for Engineering students. Unfortunately, the university system in our country at that time followed a fixed curriculum and couldn't implement it.
At the end of 1995, the Science Council of the University of Technology assigned me to develop a proposal for establishing the Aviation Engineering program. In April 1996, the Aviation Engineering Department was established with me as the only staff member. With the support of the University's Administration, the first course was opened with a quota of 30 students in 1996-1997.
Also in 1996, Hanoi University of Science and Technology opened the Aviation Engineering program at the same time. By 1999, in addition to the Vietnamese language program, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology introduced a French-Vietnamese program with a five-year curriculum. Since then, after nearly 30 years of training, this field has made significant contributions to the aviation industry in our country.
After nearly 30 years of developing the Aviation Engineering industry in Vietnam, what is your assessment of the potential, opportunities, and characteristics of the aviation industry in Vietnam today?
Until now, the country has had about 3,000 graduates in Aviation Engineering. They are the main force in the civil aviation industry, participating in maintenance and technical operations for airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Bamboo, and even international collaborations with Japan Airlines, Pacific, etc. The results of the first 10 courses that I worked as Head of Department were very good, of which about 100 graduates were recommended by me to study Master's and Doctoral degrees with scholarships in France, Singapore, the United States, South Korea, Japan, UK, Australia, Indonesia. Until now, there are a few courses where over 50% of the students have a PhD.
With these results, I have great confidence in what has been built: a very good training program, great teaching staff, and students who are dedicated to studying, reading English materials, and with a high quality level, when studying abroad, many students have excelled in Master's and Ph.D. programs abroad. Therefore, I find the contribution of these Masters and Doctorates in science to be very significant, many of them return home to work as teaching and research staff, some continue to research and teach at foreign universities. That is the human resource that can be mobilized to contribute greatly to the training of Aviation Engineering at Van Lang University.
The mission of seeking talented students to follow the "aviation path" and the fate with Van Lang University
Sir, with the recently announced Aviation Engineering program at Van Lang University (VLU), what notable features will distinguish it from similar programs in the past?
The Aviation Engineering program at VLU has a higher volume of study and teaching in Aviation Engineering compared to other universities. This is a standout feature of VLU.
Moreover, this program offers two academic degrees: Bachelor's and Engineer's degrees. When comparing this Engineer's program with the international Engineer's program, the amount of teaching in the aviation field at Van Lang is equivalent to renowned international universities such as the University of Michigan in the US and the University of Sydney in Australia, as we have compared. Currently, there is no program in Vietnam that offers such a comprehensive curriculum. With the Bachelor's program, which consists of 148 credits, the volume of aviation-related study and teaching is still higher than equivalent programs in the country. Therefore, I see this as the better advantage of the program. Additionally, with the nature of the transition program, if students excel in the compulsory courses of the Bachelor's program, they can be encouraged to transition to the Engineer's program which has 171 credits.
The Aviation Engineering program at VLU can be considered a high-quality program that focuses on scientific research, innovation, and aircraft design with the goal to achieve an internationally recognized level of competence. As for the Bachelor's program, it offers two career paths: scientific application of Aviation Engineering or a focus on aircraft maintenance. In the latter, the program includes 18 elective credits in aircraft maintenance, which is considered to be extensive.
The leadership of Van Lang University shares the goal of making Aviation Engineering one of the spearhead programs in the field of engineering and technology at VLU in the future. Could you please share more about how the university plans to develop the Aviation Engineering field at VLU? What kind of investments and roadmap are needed?
I perceive this as a high ambition and a very good idea from the leadership of VLU, not just opening the field for admissions. Because this is a very challenging field, we need to recruit students who have a passion for Aviation Engineering, an aptitude for science and a desire to study well. Therefore, myself and colleagues in the program development team have set a goal for the program to be of high quality, have a broad scientific and technical background, and be specialized in Aviation Engineering. The university leadership also supports this direction and does not impose restrictions on the number of credits. The Engineer's program consists of 171 credits, of which 21 credits are English, which helps improve students' language proficiency. We require aviation students to read English materials since in fact there are not many Vietnamese resources available. The remaining 150 credits are related to specialized knowledge in the aviation field, and our aim is to ensure the high quality of graduates, which is what Van Lang University is striving for.
To encourage excellent students, Van Lang University will provide scholarships for the first batch of students, with the goal of awarding scholarships to at least half of the incoming students. I believe the university will soon announce this policy to provide additional information for candidates and parents to consider.
In addition, Van Lang University has already purchased materials and English textbooks and is ready to invest in laboratories so that students have a good practice environment after completing the first and second years of study. In the program, I have proposed Aviation Engineering courses with 3 credits each, but the duration is 60 periods with 30 periods of theory, 30 periods of practical exercises. University students who lack regular practical exercises will not achieve high quality. Assigning practical exercises after studying theory with such a significant amount of time requires the responsibility of the lecturer to create and grade the exercises, and students who practice regularly can understand the content and apply the content of the subjects to of high quality.
What are the characteristics of students studying Aviation Engineering, if I may ask? The name of the field and the specific working areas often raise questions, so who should study this field?
Students of Aviation Engineering need to be passionate about understanding the science of Aviation Engineering and aircraft. Many students may not be excellent when they start, but their passion and enthusiasm for research will make them better. Similar to physical training in sports, someone who is initially weak but passionate about training will become incredibly strong. Personally, as an Aikido martial arts instructor at the University of Technology Dormitory, many new students coming to me are initially weak, but since they enjoy learning Aikido, they can become healthy and reach the black belt level in just 2 years. I see the same thing for the Aviation Engineering industry, with a group of passionate and hard-working students who practice and study under a 4-year - 4.5-year training program that focuses on teaching more Practical exercises, with modern references in English, and with the school's investment policy for the laboratory, I think Van Lang University will train a high-quality force of aviation science and technology.
Indeed, passion is needed for any field of study, but for high school students, the passion for choosing a major at the end of grade 12 may not be very certain. I want to encourage students to study Aviation Engineering so that they can see the positive aspects and find it worthy of their passion.
According to the information from the plan, the career path for students studying Aviation Engineering at Van Lang University will not be limited to just the aviation industry. Could you please explain why?
When people hear about aviation engineering, they often think of fixing airplanes, like if it's automotive engineering, they think of repairing cars. However, it's not quite like that. This is a field that heavily focuses on scientific principles, and maintenance needs are only a part of it. The scope of aviation science is much broader.
The Aviation Engineering major has fundamental engineering sciences such as aerodynamics, aeronautical materials and structures, flight mechanics and control, aircraft engines and propulsion, aircraft design.... Understanding aerodynamics can allow one to work in various fluid mechanics-related fields, such as pumps, fans, compressors, or turbines. Knowledge of aeronautical materials and structures can be used in many fields related to strength of materials, mechanical or construction structures, aeronautical and marine structures... Knowledge of flight mechanics and control can be applied to high-speed ships such as hydrofoils, hovercraft, flying ships... Knowledge of propeller engines and gas turbine engines can be applied in ships, in gas turbine thermal power plants…
In addition, the Aviation Engineering program, following ABET standards, needs to train students in creative design capabilities, providing them with approaches and problem-solving methods to meet the needs and create innovative and distinctive products. With knowledge of aerospace design integrated with aerodynamics, aeronautical structures, and aircraft control, it can be said that the knowledge gained in the Aviation Engineering program is more than enough to apply in several related fields. In particular, aviation alumni also work in the field of petroleum engineering with a high degree of expertise. Although this is a seemingly opposite field, the application of aviation engineering theories to this field is so valuable that it is highly valued by oil and gas companies.
In the previous century, the two greatest inventions were airplanes and computers. Nowadays, the aerospace industry not only develops large aircraft controlled by electrical and electronic systems but also small aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, integrating knowledge of aerospace and technology. At Van Lang University, when designing the program, we also included optional courses on UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), considering that Vietnam is gradually seeing more companies engaging in the research and manufacturing of unmanned aerial vehicles. I have also met many former aviation students who told me that they have received venture capital from foreign companies to start up their own unmanned aerial vehicle businesses. These are the relationships that Van Lang University can utilize to connect with UAV businesses.
Over the past 30 years, the number of aviation graduates and career profiles has created an image of the aviation industry that is not as narrow as one might think. I once shared that following aviation engineering is following an "aeronautical religion", so any "temple", "aeronautical temple" at University of Technology or "aeronautical temple" at Van Lang University are both places of teaching and practice of aviation. Students in this field will have a sense of camaraderie and unity to support and motivate each other, to study, research, and develop the aviation industry in Vietnam.
With the leadership direction of Van Lang University and the qualified Aviation Engineering program, especially with the limited capacity of other universities to meet practical demands, I expect the Aviation Engineering program at Van Lang to achieve high-quality enrollment and training results, to promote the improvement of the school's technical training quality and to make a significant contribution for Vietnam's aviation industry.
News by: Bich Phuong - Gia Han
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