HaUI strengthens cooperation with KOTRA and Ara Soft (Korea) to promote digital transformation in education

The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the global trend of digital transformation have made the digitization of learning materials and the modernization of teaching methods essential for enhancing the competitiveness of higher education institutions. In this context, on November 17, Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) held a working session with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Hanoi and Ara Soft Co., Ltd. (Korea) to discuss technological solutions for e-publishing and the development of digital learning resources.

Overview of the working session

The working session at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI) took place with the attendance of high-level leaders from both sides. Representing HaUI were Mr. Pham Van Dong, Vice Rector of the University, cum Head of the External Affairs Department, along with Mr. Ngo Duc Vinh, Director of the Information and Library Center, and Mr. Le Truong Giang, Deputy Director of the Information Technology Center. On the partner's side, the delegation was led by Mr. Kang Juong Hyon, CEO of Ara Soft Company. Joining the delegation were Mr. Kang Min Soo, Director of the Global Competitiveness Development Institute, and representatives from the KOTRA Hanoi office.

At the working session, Mr. Pham Van Dong, Vice Rector of HaUI and concurrently Head of the External Affairs Department, shared the development strategy of HaUI. He highlighted the institution as a 100% autonomous public university with a 127-year history, currently serving over 35,000 learners. HaUI is undergoing a robust transformation toward an innovative and creative university model. One of the key issues for achieving this goal is digital transformation, which includes the comprehensive digitalization of learning resources. Currently, the university library manages tens of thousands of digital documents, and there is a critical need to further thoroughly exploit the interactive capability and user experience on mobile devices for this resource.

Mr. Pham Van Dong, Vice Rector of HaUI, cum Head of the External Affairs Department

Based on this strategic context, the working session focused on exchanging technology related to ePUB 3.0 standard e-book publishing, developed by Ara Soft Company using the HTML5 platform. This technology allows content to be reflowable across various devices. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions regarding the multimedia integration and interactivity capabilities of ePUB 3.0, which would allow lecturers to embed videos, audio files, or create quizzes directly within the curriculum. This platform utilizes a WYSIWYG visual editor to simplify the content creation process for lecturers without specialized programming skills, while also integrating Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions.

Mr. Kang Juong Hyon, Director of Ara Soft

Mr. Pham Van Dong, Vice Rector of HaUI acknowledged the potential of this technology, specifically noting a trial where it supported lecturers in compiling over 400 internal textbooks. However, he emphasized the significant challenge of organizing resources and time required for multimedia content development.

Discussing implementation feasibility, Mr. Ngo Duc Vinh, Director of the HaUI Information and Library Center, raised the crucial issue of integration with the university’s existing digital library system (Libol 8.0) through an SDK (Software Development Kit).

Mr. Ngo Duc Vinh, Director of the Information and Library Center

The Ara Soft representative provided information regarding a project currently being proposed to the Korean Government aimed at providing Vietnamese universities with this technology application. Both sides then discussed the possibility of a pilot cooperation on a scale of 50 to 100 students to evaluate the technology's real-world effectiveness.