Apr 18,2023

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - THE PATH AHEAD

1. Introduction

As of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of Nam Can Tho University, the Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) is the youngest faculty among the 12 faculties of the university. However, the FIT has achieved proud results and opened up a bright future.

The Information Technology program was opened in 2016 under Decision No. 983/QĐ-BGDĐT dated March 30, 2016, by the Ministry of Education and Training and belonged to the Faculty of Engineering-Technology [1]. The FIT was officially established under Decision No. 02/QĐ-CTHĐT-ĐHNCT dated January 10, 2022, by the President of the University Council, based on the separation from the Faculty of Engineering-Technology.

2. Functions - Tasks

The FIT is a unit that provides education, scientific research, and technology transfer in the fields of Computer Science and Information Technology.

Regarding the education mission, the FIT manages four undergraduate training programs, including Information Technology, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Networks and Data Communication, and a Master training program in Information Technology. In addition, the FIT also teaches Basic Informatics to all students of the university, and Informatics to the Outcome-Based Education Center.

Regarding scientific research and technology transfer, the FIT conducts applied research tasks on Information Technology primarily to supplement the updated knowledge into lectures on students, and develop applications to serve the university and society.

3. Organizational structure and personnel

Regarding organizational structure, the FIT has three departments and one administration office. Additionally, there is a Faculty Council and an IT Club. The Faculty Council advises the faculty leadership on matters related to training and scientific research. The IT Club is an organization that gathers IT students from the faculty and other majors that are passionate about IT. It provides a useful playground for students to develop their creativity and gain additional knowledge and skills outside of the curriculum.

In terms of personnel, currently, the FIT has a relatively sufficient team of in-house lecturers to undertake the teaching of the main subjects of the training programs. Additionally, the faculty has a large team of guest lecturers from reputable universities in the region.

4. Achievements

Under the management of the Faculty of Engineering-Technology, from 2016 to 2022, seven training courses for Information Technology majors were admitted. By 2021, the University had opened additional majors in Software Engineering and Computer Science, and in 2022, admitted students in Computer Networking and Data Communication and a Master's program in Information Technology. So far, there were seven training courses for approximately 1,900 students, including about 400 students that graduated in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In addition, the FIT also participates in teaching basic computer skills to students across the University and teaches standardized Computer Science classes at the Outcome-Based Education and Human Resources Development Center. With the great effort of the faculty, the FIT has completed a tremendous amount of teaching work.

An outstanding achievement in the teaching work of IT lecturers in 2021 was the completion of the self-evaluation and accreditation process, achieving the quality standards set by the Ministry of Education and Training for the IT training program.

In addition to teaching, scientific research is also a concern of IT lecturers, and some promising results were achieved. Some notable achievements include the approval for two basic scientific research projects and two textbooks, thirty-three published papers in journals, including five papers published in foreign journals, of which two were Scopus (Q4). In addition, students from the Faculty also participate in scientific research and produced products that were presented in admission counseling sessions, such as facial recognition systems and automatic irrigation systems.

Book and Curriculum Evaluation

5. Development orientation: The path ahead

As a newly established faculty in a young university, there are many advantages and challenges. On the advantageous side, the Faculty has the attention to the University Council and the University Rector Board. The university has invested in building a 6-storey building for the Faculty and the Software Development and Application Center (SDAC), which is expected to be operational in July 2023. Another significant advantage is the high demand for IT labor in both domestic and international markets, which creates favorable enrollment opportunities for training disciplines managed by the Faculty.

The biggest challenge to the department currently is the limited number of staff while having a significant training workload, including both undergraduate and postgraduate training.

In the near future, the FIT will focus on the following tasks:

Firstly, continue to improve training, including training master's degrees in IT. Research and open new training programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to meet societal demands.

Secondly, establish plans to assess the quality of the department's computer science and software engineering training programs when the conditions are right and conduct post-assessment, to improve the IT training program.

Thirdly, the Faculty will actively participate in research and development, focusing on applying research topics that serve the development of the university and the Mekong Delta region. Concentrate on research topics in the field of Industry 4.0 such as IoT, Big Data, artificial intelligence, etc.

Fourthly, develop a quality and diverse team of faculty members, combined with building a stable team of visiting lecturers with high qualifications, based on cooperation with other universities and institutions nationwide.

Fifthly, consolidate and develop strong departments, capable of managing training programs according to their specialized fields.

Sixthly, maximize the role of the IT Club, organizing specialized activities, seminars, and extracurricular activities to supplement knowledge and skills for students, while providing a playground for students to develop their creativity.

Seventhly, seek foreign partners to implement training collaborations and research cooperation.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the construction of

Software Development and Application Center

In a university built on the model of a business enterprise, such as DNC, the FIT will collaborate with the SDAC to jointly develop, as follows:

Firstly, SDAC will accept students of the FIT as interns for graduation.

Secondly, research topics of the FIT will be selected by SDAC for commercialization.

Thirdly, the two sides will exchange personnel, specifically, the FIT will invite high-level personnel of SDAC for teaching, and vice versa, SDAC will invite lecturers from the FIT to participate in the Center's projects.

6. Conclusions

The Nam Can Tho University is established after only 10 years of development, but it has made a good impression on society and the Vietnamese university community for its achievements in education and research. The FIT’s lecturers contributed significantly to the overall achievements of the University. With the investment and attention to the university leadership and the efforts of the lecturers and students of the FIT, in the near future, the FIT will become a reliable address for education and research, serving the socio-economic development of the Mekong Delta region and the whole country.    

REFERENCES

[1] Nam Can Tho University, 2021. Report on self-assessment of training programs in Information Technology (in Vietnamese).

CONTACT INFORMATION

Faculty of Information Technology, Email: khoacntt@nctu.edu.vn