DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OF VIETNAM UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF PROMOTING UNIVERSITY AUTHORITY: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The article identifies the current situation of digital transformation in Vietnam’s higher education in the context of promoting university autonomy. The study uses the secondary literature, quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze Vietnam’s opportunities and challenges of higher education’s digital transformation. The survey results with 20 managers and 60 lecturers from 10 Vietnam’s universities show that the digital transformation of higher education has brought Vietnam opportunities such as promoting innovation in management through information and communication technology; innovating learning methods; improving output standards and promoting scientific research and international cooperation. In addition, the research results show the challenges faced by Vietnam’s higher education known as the lack of a national-level management policy system, the limited integration of digital technology in administration, the lack of high-quality human resources for digital transformation and inadequacies in digital transformation infrastructure. Based on the research results, the authors propose some recommendations for digital transformation of Vietnam’s higher education in terms of state management, investment in technology infrastructure and development of digital human resources.