4.3.1. Public resources (lifelong learning)

Throughout nearly five decades of formation and development, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) has consistently affirmed its pioneering role as a multidisciplinary university for sustainable development and the community. UEH identifies open education and lifelong learning as a core component of its sustainable development strategy, aimed at sharing knowledge, spreading learning opportunities, and creating social value. The university has implemented a multi-modal open learning ecosystem:

+ Free courses with certificates or certifications for the community;

+ Opening facilities, equipment, learning spaces, and innovation spaces to serve the community;

+ Providing online learning resources, open educational resources, academic data, and free career guidance tools for all.

Implementation of Free Courses with Certification

UEH collaborated with the Department of Education and Training of Vinh Long Province to organize the “STEM Teaching” training program, providing completion certificates to teachers from secondary and high schools in Vinh Long Province.

“STEM Teaching” training program for local secondary and high school students

With practical objectives, the program has: (1) Created a platform to inspire creativity in students, promoting STEM education activities in secondary and high schools; (2) Strengthened connections between the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and high schools in providing expert consultation to help secondary and high schools implement STEM projects for competitions at various levels with high results; (3) Selected potential STEM projects for incubation at the “Mekong Startup Incubator” and provided consulting support, investment connections, and project development assistance.

“The STEM UEH Mekong 2024” Competition and “Drone Champion Vinh Long 2024” Competition. These competitions received significant interest and participation from over 408 contestants belonging to 77 STEM teams and 25 Drone teams, comprising teachers and students from secondary and high schools in provinces of the Mekong Delta region, including: Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, and Can Tho.

At “The STEM UEH Mekong 2024” Competition, the competing teams participated in 08 training modules guided by experts and lecturers from UEH’s branch campuses and specialized institutes. At the program’s conclusion, UEH also issued Certificates to 404 teachers and students who participated in the Training and Competition.

Organizers presenting certificates and prizes to the champion team of “The STEM UEH Mekong 2024” Competition

Outstanding teams of “Drone Champion Vinh Long 2024” Competition

Workshops on “Bridging Horizons: Empowering English Language Teaching and Learning” for high school students in Vinh Long Province and Vinh Long Campus students. The workshop brought together many international lecturers with over 500 students from Vinh Long Campus and 100 high school students from Vinh Long Province for 03 discussion sessions focusing on global citizenship skills and innovative English language practice methods in general education. This represented a significant step forward in improving English proficiency among UEH Vinh Long Campus students and high school students across Vinh Long Province.

Opening ceremony of the Workshop program for high school students in Vinh Long Province

The Career Guidance Program “University Journey – UNI on the go” 2024 was organized at UEH – Vinh Long Campus. The program included a series of beneficial and practical activities with nearly 450 high school students participating from provinces in the Mekong Delta region, featuring exhibition activities and 04 specialized sessions from prestigious experts in education and entrepreneurship. Beyond practical academic significance, the program also issued certificates to students who fully participated in all program contents.

“University Journey – UNI on the go” Career Guidance Program

“Design Thinking” training for staff, teachers, students, youth union members, and entrepreneurs at Vinh Long Campus. The event gathered 140 participants including staff, teachers, students, youth union members, and entrepreneurs in Vinh Long Province, aiming to provide valuable knowledge for students, pupils, youth union members, and entrepreneurs.

Selected activities in the training program

Through the School of Management – UEH Vinh Long, UEH has implemented many short-term free courses with certification such as the “Chief Executive Officer” program and “Cooperative Management”, aimed at enhancing management and operational capacity for officials and local businesses in the Mekong Delta region. These programs help expand lifelong learning opportunities and support the community in accessing modern management knowledge.

Opening ceremony of “Advanced Business Management – Chief Executive Officer (CEO)” training course

UEH has successfully implemented numerous short-term training programs updating knowledge for senior leaders, managers, and personnel of enterprises and organizations across various fields. The courses include Certificate-level courses (30 lessons or more) and Certification-level courses (under 30 lessons), flexibly designed by UEH according to the practical needs of each target group: government agencies, state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and individuals seeking capacity enhancement, consistently training hundreds of CEOs annually for the business community and providing high-level human resource training for over 30 government agencies, public and private enterprises.

Within the framework of Youth Entrepreneurship Day – Future Founders Fest 2024, UEH collaborated with Youth Co:Lab Vietnam, UNDP, and the Citi Foundation to implement the UII x BASIC 2024 program, a free entrepreneurship training and incubation series for youth. The program reached over 2,000 young people, with nearly 500 receiving direct training through Thinkathon courses in Hanoi, Hue, and Vinh Long; 10 outstanding student initiatives were selected for intensive incubation, receiving expert support and course completion certification.

Youth Entrepreneurship Day – Future Founders Fest 2024

FinTech Master Class – Online Course Series on Financial Technology and Banking not only provides engaging and interesting lectures from instructors and experts in Financial Technology and Banking but also issues UEH-certified participation certificates to learners and updates student identification numbers upon completing each course. FinTech Master Class made a strong impression with over 1,300 students participating across all 03 courses. Additionally, UII organized a compelling blockchain seminar, attracting hundreds of students both in-person and online, affirming the program’s appeal and practical relevance.

International Urban Beyond the Urban (UBU) 2024 Summer Camp in Cam Lam – Khanh Hoa co-organized by UEH with prestigious universities worldwide attracted interest from nearly 30 young people from Vietnam, South Korea, and Indonesia.

Competing teams receiving participation certificates

Skills development course “3D Kinematic Design and Simulation on Inventor.” Besides supporting 100% tuition fees, the School of Technology and Design UEH also issued Completion Certificates for skills development courses to students who fully attended all 4 sessions. This training course demonstrates the continuous efforts of the School of Technology and Design UEH and the Institute of Smart Technology and Interactive UEH in improving training quality, particularly in engineering and technology fields.

Opening Community Access to Free Use of University Facilities and Equipment

UEH proactively shares facilities, equipment, and academic resources to serve the local community. Notably, at Vinh Long Campus, UEH has established and operated the Mekong Delta Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center – a venue offering free training programs, workshops, and consultation on innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology application for the community. The Center has supported 12 startup projects and companies; trained 130 teachers and lecturers; and provided training and entrepreneurial inspiration to over 800 students, university students, and rural youth in the region, helping them access knowledge, tools, and sustainable entrepreneurship models.

Mekong Delta Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center

UEH regularly expands access to learning spaces and school facilities for the community. The “CAMPUS TOUR with Class of 2K6” program by UEH – Vinh Long Campus with 07 consultation sessions has welcomed teachers and nearly 1,500 students from Vinh Long, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh provinces. Throughout the program, students directly experienced and used the school’s modern facilities, such as auditoriums, classrooms, experiential learning areas, etc.

Students having opportunities to tour the campus and use smart equipment at UEH Mekong

UEH not only expands learning opportunities for students but also shares facilities and training infrastructure to serve the educational community. In April 2025, UEH collaborated with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to organize the “Without Question – Connecting Theory with University Teaching Practice” program, attracting over 70 lecturers from many universities nationwide. UEH provided free facilities, auditoriums, presentation equipment, and modern training infrastructure, creating favorable conditions for lecturers to exchange, learn, and share new teaching methods.

Besides training, the School of Management – UEH Vinh Long regularly opens facilities and learning spaces to the community by hosting seminars, talk shows, and academic competitions such as “Logistics 5.0”, “Marketing CI”, and “The Supply Chain Champion”. These activities not only help students and local residents access UEH’s high-quality learning environment free of charge but also facilitate knowledge exchange, skills development, and connections between enterprises – university – society, thereby promoting equal access to higher education.

Talk show “Logistics 5.0 – Digital transformation trends and sustainable development to enhance logistics competitiveness in the Mekong Delta” at SCC Round 2

The UEH Institute of Innovation (UII) implements the UII Incubation Program Cohort 2/2024, aimed at supporting startups in digital transformation for sustainable development. The program provides modern and free workspace at UEH facilities. Startup teams receive free access to meeting rooms, presentation studios, networking areas, technology equipment, and the university’s digital resources. The UII Startup Incubator has supported over 150 projects/startup companies at pre-seed/seed stages. Some startup projects/companies have successfully raised funds totaling up to 600,000 USD.

Creating Free Access Opportunities to Online Learning Resources

UEH implements the online learning platform UEH Global Learning as a community initiative, providing courses and learning resources completely free for students, teachers, and high schools nationwide.

UEH has standardized and integrated over 230 mock examination sets for Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, and Geography according to the 2018 General Education Curriculum structure, while opening free access for 12th-grade students to prepare for the High School Graduation Examination. The system features automatic grading, result evaluation, and certification issuance upon completion of preparatory courses, enabling students to self-monitor capacity and allowing teachers to organize classes and track student learning progress. Additionally, UEH transfers the Global Learning platform free of charge to Departments of Education and Training and high schools to support online teaching and learning, particularly in localities with limited infrastructure.

UEH Global Learning website – the E-Learning Global System implementation portal

In 2024, UEH also collaborated with iGroup and Statista to organize two rounds of free access to the international academic database Statista for all lecturers, students, and learners. Statista provides over 80,000 data topics from 22,500 sources across 170 industries, supporting research, teaching, and learning. During the access periods (March 2024 and October 2024), UEH users could access full-text content, reports, and online data through the UEH network system, accompanied by user guides and supporting materials provided by UEH Library.

Statista information, reporting, and statistical data database

Development and operation of the “Understanding Yourself” personality assessment and major selection tool – a free career guidance application helping students, parents, and learners identify personal inclinations, personality groups (according to MBTI and Holland), thereby suggesting appropriate majors, careers, and training programs. In 2024, UEH upgraded and integrated this tool on the Zalo mini app platform, allowing users completely free access anytime, anywhere, with a friendly interface and wide sharing capability.

“Understanding Yourself” tool interface – 2024 version

Implementation of online admission counseling series Virtual Open Days 2024 – “Ask UEH Now”, a virtual reality exhibition space with 35 booths organized by major groups and 15 online consultation sessions with participation from 130 lecturers and experts. The program was organized completely free, allowing nearly 38,000 students and parents nationwide to access, tour, and communicate online, particularly supporting candidates in remote localities who cannot attend in person.

UEH Virtual Open Days 2024 homepage

LiveTalk combined with MOOC course Sustainable Career Guidance 5.0 “Empowering Tomorrow” jointly organized by UEH with VnExpress newspaper and “Other People’s School” fanpage attracted interest from over 426,000 students, university students, parents, teachers, and community members, successfully spreading valuable information about sustainable career guidance in the 5.0 era.

Live Talk Series: Sustainable Career Guidance 5.0 “Empowering Tomorrow”

Creating conditions for each individual to develop skills in educational activities, online training courses supplementing digital teaching capacity such as “Electronic Lesson Design”, “Video Recording and Editing with Camtasia Software”, and “Supporting Tools for Teaching” attracted over 4,000 views from 477 lecturers, teachers, and nearly 3,000 Vinh Long residents. Additionally, activities accompanying high school students, university students, and the community in improving soft skills were also organized by the university through online courses. Skills emphasized include critical thinking, problem-solving, or adapting to work and business environments. Online courses help learners anywhere experience new learning methods and continuously develop themselves.

In 2024, UEH published over 500 international articles and 598 student research works in Scopus, Web of Science, and ABDC categories, with over 85% belonging to Q1 and Q2 quartile journals. Nearly 50% of these works are linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and publicly published on Scopus and the UEH information portal. Additionally, in ongoing international projects, UEH has published and disseminated many open resources:

+ Oxfam Project: compiled 01 “Household Solid Waste Sorting Guide” handbook, distributed 03 rainbow trash bin clusters and environmental legal documents to residents of 03 wards (12, 13, and 17 in Go Vap District).

+ DIGITAL-MOVE Project: coordinated with 13 universities in the ASEAN region, sharing tools and online learning data on digital transformation for thousands of learners inside and outside the university.

UEH participated in the kickoff meeting of the “Erasmus+ Bridging Digital Divide between Mongolia and Vietnam through Digital Transformation in Higher Education Institutions (DIGITAL – MOVE)” Project in Mongolia

+ EU4Sustainability Project: UEH’s first Jean Monnet Actions project funded by the European Union through the Erasmus program. Within one year of implementation, project members developed and delivered 07 courses on sustainable development for undergraduate and graduate students. Course materials and articles on sustainable development by project members are published and continuously updated on the Project website www.eu4sustainability.com. 

EU4Sustainability Project learning resource homepage interface

Parallel to international publications, UEH has intensified scientific research activities at all levels and publicly released research results on communication channels, helping students and the community access academic knowledge free of charge. Specifically, during 2023–2024, UEH implemented 03 National-level topics, 14 Ministry-level and equivalent topics, 89 University-level topics, along with 598 scientific research works by 1,838 students. Among these, 457 student topics received awards, creating a rich academic data source that UEH shares widely on the university website, scientific journals, and electronic library systems.

Simultaneously, UEH Library – the smart online library provides open access to a total of 41 research documents from UEH along with research works and academic materials from 103 universities worldwide.

Conclusion

In 2023, UEH established a solid foundation through initiatives such as UEH Global, the STEM Teaching program, UEH Robocon, and free ACCA-VACPA courses. These activities enabled over 8,000 students, teachers, parents, and learners to access free learning resources, while supporting online education technology transfer to 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta region. By 2024, UEH significantly expanded scale, diversified formats, and enhanced social impact. The quantity of open educational resources, reports, and free courses increased by over 35%, serving not only students but also lecturers, researchers, and the international community.

For free courses with certification, 2024 witnessed nearly double the growth in learner scale compared to 2023. While 2023 focused on lecturers and high school students, 2024 expanded to enterprises, young entrepreneurs, and local residents. A total of over 6,000 learners participated in training courses, workshops, and development programs (STEM Mekong, FinTech Master Class, UII x BASIC, CEO, Inventor 3D…), with over 1,800 receiving certificates/certifications – a nearly 60% increase from the previous year.

Many campuses opened to the community, supporting over 3,000 students, university students, teachers, and startups in using infrastructure and equipment free of charge. This represents progress from “sharing facilities” to “co-creating knowledge and innovation”.

In 2024, the UEH Global Learning platform was upgraded with over 230 standardized examination sets and online preparatory courses. The number of users and online interactions reached over 38,000, increasing five-fold compared to 2023. Additionally, opening access to the international database Statista enabled all UEH lecturers and students to access over 80,000 global academic topics, affirming UEH’s commitment to sharing open knowledge.

Overall, 2024 witnessed over 50% growth in the scale of beneficiaries and the quantity of learning materials, courses, and resources shared free of charge compared to 2023. If 2023 was the phase of “building foundations” for open education, then 2024 marked the transition to “expansion and dissemination”, moving toward forming a lifelong learning ecosystem – multi-modal – connecting the community.

Open Related Links:

1. STEM Teaching training program (UEH news): https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/university-of-economics-ho-chi-minh-city-ueh-organizing-a-training-course-on-stem-teaching-and-opening-the-contest-the-stem-ueh-mekong-2024-71776

2. The STEM UEH Mekong 2024 Competition and Drone Champion Vinh Long 2024 Competition: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/ueh-inaugurating-the-mekong-delta-center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-mcie-and-organizing-the-contests-the-stem-ueh-mekong-2024-and-drone-champion-vinh-long-2024-71962

3. 3D Kinematic Design and Simulation on Inventor: https://ai.ueh.edu.vn/tin-tuc/ueh-life/truong-cong-nghe-va-thiet-ke-ueh-to-chuc-thanh-cong-khoa-boi-duong-ky-nang-thiet-ke-va-mo-phong-dong-hoc-3d-tren-inventor/

4. Workshops on “Bridging Horizons: Empowering English Language Teaching and Learning”: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/ueh-organizing-the-workshop-bridging-horizons-empowering-english-language-teaching-and-learning-for-teachers-of-high-schools-in-the-mekong-delta-region-71770

5. Without Question – Connecting Theory with University Teaching Practice: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/icaew-and-ueh-co-organize-the-training-course-without-question-connecting-theory-with-practice-in-university-teaching-73904

6. Career Guidance Program “University Journey – UNI on the go”: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/cuoc-song-ueh/tin-tuc/ueh-to-chuc-chuong-trinh-dinh-huong-nghe-nghiep-danh-cho-hoc-sinh-trung-hoc-pho-thong-hanh-trang-vao-dai-hoc-uni-on-the-go-nam-2024-tai-ueh-phan-hieu-vinh-long-72095

7. Design Thinking training: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/ueh-inaugurating-the-mekong-delta-center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-mcie-and-organizing-the-contests-the-stem-ueh-mekong-2024-and-drone-champion-vinh-long-2024-71962

8. Online soft skills courses category: https://global.ueh.edu.vn/course/index.php?categoryid=71

9. Short-term free courses with certification (CEO/Cooperative Management): https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/university-of-economics-ho-chi-minh-city-ueh-launching-short-term-training-courses-for-individuals-organizations-and-businesses-72461

10. Short-term training programs for individuals, organizations, and businesses: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/university-of-economics-ho-chi-minh-city-ueh-launching-short-term-training-courses-for-individuals-organizations-and-businesses-72461

11. FinTech Master Class – Online Course Series on Financial Technology and Banking: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/su-kien/fintech-master-class-chuoi-khoa-hoc-truc-tuyen-ve-cong-nghe-tai-chinh-va-ngan-hang-72761

12. Youth Entrepreneurship Day – Future Founders Fest 2024: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/future-founders-fest-2024-calls-for-greater-support-for-youth-entrepreneurship-in-viet-nam-73135

13. Mekong Delta Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/ueh-inaugurating-the-mekong-delta-center-for-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-mcie-and-organizing-the-contests-the-stem-ueh-mekong-2024-and-drone-champion-vinh-long-2024-71962

14. UII Incubation Program Cohort 2/2024: https://uii.ueh.edu.vn/the-uii-incubation-program-cohort-2-2024-is-calling-for-application-a68.html

15. Logistics 5.0 (Facebook event post): https://www.facebook.com/chuyen.phonglogs/posts/-logistics-50-%C4%91%C3%A3-c%E1%BA%ADp-b%E1%BA%BFn-bu%E1%BB%95i-talk-show-v%E1%BB%81-logistics-50-v%C3%A0-chuy%E1%BB%83n-%C4%91%E1%BB%95i-s%E1%BB%91-t%E1%BA%A1i-ueh/122240919056003232/

16. Marketing CI (Facebook event post): https://www.facebook.com/Student.VinhLongCampus/posts/marketing-ci-2024-intellectual-challenge-and-innovating-thinkingi-gi%E1%BB%9Bi-thi%E1%BB%87u-cu%E1%BB%99/1076998477764253/

17. The Supply Chain Champion: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/vinh-long/cuoc-song-ueh-vinh-long/vong-chung-ket-cuoc-thi-the-supply-chain-champion-2024-noi-toa-sang-dam-me-va-hoi-tu-cac-chuyen-nganh-73143

18. International Urban Beyond the Urban (UBU) 2024 Summer Camp in Cam Lam – Khanh Hoa: https://www.iscm.ueh.edu.vn/vi/news/ubu2024

19. UEH Global Learning: https://global.ueh.edu.vn/

20. DIGITAL-MOVE Project (UEH news – consortium meeting): https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/ueh-attended-the-erasmus-digital-move-consortium-meeting-and-the-ulysseus-r-i-conference-in-slovakia-advancing-international-cooperation-and-digital-transformation-in-higher-education-75129

21. EU4Sustainability Project (UEH news summary): https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/eu4sustainability-project-summary-of-one-year-of-implementing-72577

22. EU4Sustainability Project learning resource homepage interface: http://www.eu4sustainability.com

23. Statista access announcement (UEH news): https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/explore-comprehensive-data-from-statista-extended-access-in-october-72628

24. Statista: https://www.statista.com/

25. Understanding Yourself personality tool info post: https://tuyensinh.ueh.edu.vn/bai-viet/huong-nghiep-ben-vung-ueh-nang-cap-cong-cu-trac-nghiem-tinh-cach-lua-chon-nganh-hoc-hieu-ve-ban-tren-nen-tang-zalo-mini-app/

26. Zalo mini app platform: https://zalo.me/s/1883841182404547642/

27. Virtual Open Days 2024 – “Ask UEH Now”: https://www.ueh.edu.vn/en/news/virtual-open-days-2024-impressive-figures-15-tempting-topics-regarding-different-majors-and-careers-800-exhibition-participants-and-face-to-face-consultation-for-38-000-candidates-and-parents-71845

28. UEH Virtual Open Days 2024 homepage: https://event.ueh.edu.vn/trien-lam

29. Sustainable Career Guidance 5.0 “Empowering Tomorrow” LiveTalk: https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/live-talk-on-sustainable-career-orientation-5-0-empowering-tomorrow-spreading-sustainable-career-orientation-to-more-than-426-000-students-parents-and-communities-71847

30. Spreadsheet: LiveTalk with audience count: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WsY72sgdjXATGMrxBNYhJoT6VLMvXp7A2nUJb2qivEA/edit?usp=sharing

31. YouTube: Empowering Tomorrow Live Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQdGiHKrhvY

32. UEH research document listing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VjOgYsjPXn3Ut32o3YEbGorj-DMPqOLB/edit

33. Research works and academic materials from 103 universities spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GEczC4vDahyfIKkIga83kq-GvbHSarpb/edit?gid=879766834#gid=879766834