Toward the Development of Modern Hanoi Studies (anninhthudo.vn)
ANTD.VN – On December 24, the Hanoi Studies Institute of Hanoi Metropolitan University organized a conference to pay profound tribute to an outstanding Hanoi scholar, Trần Quốc Vượng, with the aspiration of advancing toward the development of modern Hanoi Studies.
Professor Trần Quốc Vượng is regarded as the founding figure of modern Hanoi Studies.
Paying Tribute to a Great Hanoi Scholar
After completing the project to provide Hanoi Studies knowledge training for 6,600 administrators, general school teachers, and students, and establishing a Hanoi Studies space modeled on the approach taught by Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng, the Hanoi Studies and International Training Institute of Hanoi Metropolitan University decided to organize the scientific conference “Trần Quốc Vượng – The Professor Who Laid the Foundations of Modern Hanoi Studies,” commemorating the 20th anniversary of his passing (2005–2025) on the morning of December 24.
The conference attracted 33 papers by 39 authors, covering all areas of Hanoi Studies that Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng devoted his efforts to researching and developing. “I am someone with long experience studying under him and thought I was familiar with assessments of my teacher. Yet reading this manuscript collection, I learned many new things and gained a more comprehensive, profound, essential, and vivid understanding of his contributions—a true master of modern Hanoi Studies,” shared Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Quang Ngọc, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences and Member of the University Council of Hanoi Metropolitan University.
Mr. Phạm Quang Nghị, former Politburo Member and former Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, also shared that he was a student of Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng. He emphasized that the conference carried profound humanistic significance, allowing many of the professor’s students to commemorate him and express gratitude for his immense contributions in both academic and practical fields. He noted that Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng always liked to stand among people—or more accurately, he was always surrounded by them.
According to incomplete statistics, from 1959 to 2005, Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng produced 71 works on Hanoi, including 28 significant studies marking distinctive features of the historical–cultural space of Cổ Loa – Vạn Xuân – Đại La – Thăng Long – Hanoi.
Experts visited the Hanoi Studies Space in Thường Tín.
Gradually Digitizing Hanoi Studies
Ms. Lê Thị Thu Hương, Director of the Hanoi Studies and International Training Institute, stated that Hanoi Studies has become an official subject and a distinctive feature of the University, with more than 2,000 students studying it each year.
Beyond university development, the Institute has completed the appraisal of local curriculum materials to train Hanoi’s general school teachers in Hanoi Studies in accordance with the 2018 General Education Program.
Hanoi Metropolitan University has developed 10 textbooks/reference books for teaching Hanoi Studies and digitized more than 300 Hanoi-related materials from the Thăng Long – Hanoi book collection. The Institute has built the Hanoi Studies website, connecting with Hanoi Publishing House to upload digital learning materials. Through digital technology, materials have been restored and reconstructed to help teachers and students conveniently explore knowledge about various cultural and historical aspects of the Capital.
Notably, the Institute has completed the establishment of a meaningful Hanoi Studies space in Thường Tín (Campus 4 of the University), enabling students who cannot travel to all regions to experience them within this space.
In the context of rapid digital transformation, modern interdisciplinary Hanoi Studies needs to be concretized through new methods and approaches for both researchers and learners exploring Hanoi. Hanoi Metropolitan University has developed a Hanoi Studies space, gradually modeling and digitizing it so that learners can experience, feel, and immerse themselves in the historical and contemporary spaces of Hanoi.
As Hanoi moves toward a development model based on heritage resources and human creativity, the ideas of Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng demonstrate enduring vitality, foresight, and strategic orientation value.
For Thăng Long – Hanoi, Prof. Trần Quốc Vượng was not only a researcher but also a pioneer who opened a new scientific paradigm, laying the foundation for the formation and development of modern Hanoi Studies with innovative approaches to heritage preservation, urban development, and the construction of Thăng Long – Hanoi’s identity in the contemporary context.
