The BUILD-IT Alliance, in partnership with Pearson Education, is proud to announce that Nguyen Minh Quang, Lecturer at Can Tho University, is the grand prize winner of the Pearson Education Innovation Award Vietnam.
Recently, Vietnam has witnessed an increasing number of unemployed graduate teachers, therefore new graduates have found first jobs as low-cost workers in labor-intensive factories, despite the fact that there is great demand for the skills of these teacher graduates in professional positions within Vietnam's workforce.
Like many fellows, with years of research and experience in the education field, it is not challenging for Nguyen Minh Quang to understand that this situation is a clear manifestation of the gap between what is offered in classrooms and what is demanded in Vietnam’s labour market.
He also understands that the situation further highlights one critical question: how do we achieve a more effective approach to preparing students with in-demand skills, enabling them to compete and thrive in an interconnected, diverse, and rapidly changing world?
"Supervicon" is his answer to this looming question. And alongside five other finalists, Mr. Nguyen and Supervicon was awarded the grand prize at STEMCON 2019.
Mr. Nguyen and Supervicon was awarded the grand prize at STEMCON 2019
About Mr. Nguyen´s Supervicon, Mr. Brian Epp, Director of Student Success, Pearson Education once shared his thoughts,
"Pearson believes that a thoughtful integration of education technology can be particularly helpful in tailoring learning to individual student needs. And by organising this award, we aim to have it as a catalyst for the transformation of education in Vietnam. Working on organising the award allows us to recognize educators, who are working towards addressing current educational issues, like Mr. Nguyen Minh Quang, and help them experiment and apply pedagogies that provide students with personalized, hands-on learning experiences."
A few months after STEMCON 2019, Nguyen Minh Quang travelled to the Pearson Now/Next in Learning conference in Scottsdale, Arizona to share insights on his project, “Supervicon – Preparing Students for a Globally Competitive World” with digital learning advocates across the education ecosystem including educators and leaders within the higher education, K-12, EdTech, and corporate communities.
Nguyen Minh Quang presents at the 2019 Pearson Now/Next in Learning conference.
Over the course of three days at the Pearson Now/Next in Learning conference, Nguyen Minh Quang presented Supervicon (which is a combination of the words Supervision and Confession), an online performance-based assessment tool, which has proved itself to be an effective yardstick for educational success.
“Supervicon was designed to provide, firstly, an open-access brochure, or a global competence framework addressing the existing mismatch between university curricula and labor market’s needs, along with detailing the competencies and 21st century skills deemed as necessary for meeting prospective employers’ requirements."
He adds, "Building the global competence framework means university officers have to closely work with local employers and to keep the framework up-to-date with the latest development/changes in job market's demands. And, secondly, Supervicon offers an online interactive assessment tool, where students and lecturers are welcome to freely share their feedback and thoughts, especially on how the current learning and teaching approaches, programs and curriculum can be better designed and implemented.”
“With engaging two-way conversations, between industry and faculty members, faculty members and students, I know that limitless professional development is no longer impossible for our students,” Nguyen Minh Quang continued.
The major impact of Nguyen Minh Quang's project was understood through substantial and profound changes in learning approaches after a pilot study was implemented in the 2017-2018 academic year at Can Tho University, where 80 Geography Major students were selected to participate.
A pre-study survey and in-depth interviews showed that about 95% of students do not meet the global competency framework due to the lack of 21st century skillsets, including proficiency in MS Office, multi-cultural interaction, conflict management skills, foreign language (English) proficiency and teamwork, and competitive ability.
Just one academic year later, after Supervicon was implemented, survey results revealed that:
- About 60% of the participating students had improved and met the majority of competencies prescribed in the global competency framework.
- 12 participating students were employed to work in NGOs and diplomatic entities in Vietnam.
- 17 participating students found their dream jobs at international high schools in Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho City.
- 3 participating students were selected to work as research analysts and program associates in Bangkok.
- Other participating students were employed to teach at high schools and private universities in the Mekong Delta region.
The fruitful outcomes from the pilot study prove that Supervicon has the potential to help increase job opportunities for students after graduation, and to improve teaching and learning quality in other specializations, especially those related to STEM programs that require students to possess the necessary global competency and 21st century skills to work and live in today’s globalized world.
About Pearson Education Innovation Award Vietnam
Pearson Education Innovation Award Vietnam is designed to promote inventive practices in all aspects of teaching and learning for STEM fields among BUILD-IT partners. The goal is to help Engineering and Technology faculties close the gap between academia and industry as well as between theory and practice. By improving in these areas, graduates will be better prepared to meet employer requirements and at the same time, the educational institutes will fulfil their mission to prepare students as productive leaders.
Learn more about the Pearson Education Innovation Award Vietnam, and subscribe to our exclusive email list to receive future updates about applying for the award.