ENTR1020 – Agile Innovation

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: N/A

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the entrepreneurial and innovative mindset and provide students the opportunity to learn about and develop skills and behaviors correlated with impactful entrepreneurs and innovators. Skills to be developed – through lecturing and in-class discussions, plus coaching on assignments and in-class exercises – include observation of real-world facts, identifying status-quos or problems, identifying core causes leading to status-quos, and to discover original ways to remove causes or to solve problems; networking with people to identify technological contributions, optimizing creativity, seeking feedback, and prototyping or mockup design. The pedagogical outcomes of this course include (i) development of creativity & out-of-the-box thinking, (ii) critical thinking through observation and abstractions, (iii) entrepreneurial mindset, and (iv) teamwork on a social or environmental issue. As part of the course, all students will engage in a 2-day hackathon to present and discuss optimization of the team’s solution to a real-world social or environmental problem. The course is intended for a mix of students from various academic disciplines, such as medicine, nursing, engineering, business, real estate, and hospitality.

NURS1020 – Anatomy and Physiology I

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: N/A

This is the first part of a two-semester course designed to provide a comprehensive study of the structure and function of the human body along with essential embryology and maturational physiology. Histological and gross anatomical features of selected organ systems are related to the physiologic and biochemical mechanisms that enable the human body to maintain homeostasis. Within each system, deviations from normal are considered to situate the student’s understanding of health problems and to foster an appreciation for the complexity of the human organism. Integrated laboratories and case studies provide a contextual base to acquire and use domain-specific knowledge that includes physical assessment and procedural approaches to patient care.

CCSC6100 – Basic Radiology

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on highly practical and relevant themes in basic radiology, a very important part in clinical practice. The aim of this course is to reinforce, strengthen, and expand the knowledge  of  first year residents on Basic Radiology prior to their introduction to the clinical training environment.

BIOL1020 – Bioinformatics

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: N/A

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary course that combines knowledge of information sciences and medical sciences to optimize the use and application of medical data across the spectrum from individuals to populations. It provides basic knowledge of health information systems, data gathering, and management, applied to scientific research, medical analysis, and statistics to support treatment plan establishment and evidence-based decision-making. Students will be introduced basic skills to apply medical software/systems on the activities related to healthcare management and operations.

PHYS1011 – Biophysics

Credits: 3.5

Prerequisite: N/A

Biophysics is a compulsory course for first-year medical students. This course provides fundamental knowledge about Physics and BioPhysics which covers five main topics in Physics such as: Mechanics, Thermodynamics, Electromagnetics, Optics, and Nuclear Physics. In both theory and practice/laboratory portion, the course is designed so as the student can understand the involvement of physics in many areas of biology, and medicine in both basic understanding of process/function as well as in experimental techniques.

MATH1010 – Calculus 1 

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: N/A

This course teaches techniques of integration, finding areas and volumes by integration, exponential growth, partial fractions, infinite sequences and series, tests of convergence, and power series.

CCSC6080 – Clinical Emergencies

Credits: 1

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on common presentation of critical illness for a variety of age groups. Residents will demonstrate competence with initial medical management and stabilization of common clinical emergencies.

CCSC6040 – Clinical Pharmacology Review

Credits: 3.5

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on highly practical and relevant themes in clinical pharmacology, classify the major drugs and drug classes used in medical practice.

CCSC6030 – Communication Skills

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on good relationships with patients in order to improve the care, an approach to breaking bad news and provide strategies addressing patients’ concerns; disclose medical error, ability to counsel patients.

CCSC6060 – Differential Diagnosis Series

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on highly practical and relevant themes in clinically differential diagnosis.Residents will ask to create problem list of patients based on history, symptoms, physical examination and generate differential diagnosis from the problem list.

VCOR1010 – First-Year Experience – OASIS

Required Hours: 39.5

First-Year Experience – OASIS is a mandatory, non-credit bearing course of the General Education Program. It is a foundational course aimed to equip you, a first-year student with a proper understanding of the general nature, value, and requirement of university education. It is designed to assist you to successfully navigate through your new experience of university learning.  It also forms a solid basis of support from which you may further develop their personal and professional excellence in the university.

There are 5 components that you are required to take. The following components form OASIS:

O – Orientation (required hours: 11.5)

A – Advising (required hours: 2)

S – Study skills (required hours: 7 hours for online learning and 7 hours for in-class)

I – Inter-Cultural Competency (required hours: 6)

S – Self- Exploration and Growth (required hours: 6)

CCSC6010 – General Education Series

Required Hours: 4

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on defining ethical issues in clinical medicine, identifying jurisprudence issues in medical practice, document of patient care precisely and coherently in both inpatient and outpatient setting.

VCOR1021 – Healthy Lifestyle 1         

Required Hours: 22.5

“Healthy Lifestyle” is a mandatory and non-credit bearing course of the General Education Program.  Undergraduate students are required to enroll in this course to fulfill part of the graduation requirements and are expected to complete it by the end of their first-year study. This course provides the essential knowledge, skills and practicum lessons (exercise/sport classes), whereby students are able to develop a suitable approach in attaining a physically, mentally, socially and spiritually healthy lifestyle.

Specifically, this course provides students with the knowledge to make better choices during their daily routines to build a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle includes physical wellbeing, psychosocial, and spiritual health. Students receive mentorship that guides and shapes their perspective, showcasing the importance of having a well-balanced life. Components of a healthy lifestyle will be discussed as a process and science that allows students to have a greater understanding of what it takes to achieve their goals for overall wellbeing. Nutrition and diet will be taught to dispel the myths about how and what you should eat to achieve desired health results.  Having a healthy mind, healthy body, clarity of thought and the ability to effectively process information are key trademarks of a healthy lifestyle.

This course emphasizes the practical application of the learned concepts in order to integrate subject matter into students’ current daily routines and throughout life. The majority of coursework will be held in different environments and venues in order to expose students to the many varieties of fitness tools and resources to maintain a healthy foundation.

CCSC6050 – History and Physical Exam series

Required Hours: 0.5

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on obtaining the history from the patients accurately and comprehensively and performing the physical examination rationally and skillfully.

HASS1050 – History of the Communist Party (Vietnam: History and Culture I)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: N/A

The great American humorist and writer Mark Twain once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” This course takes as its point of departure the possibility of using those rhymes of the past to better help us navigate our present and future. What lessons can we draw? As future businesspeople, health care professionals, engineers, and computer scientists, these lessons have far more relevance than you may imagine.

Vietnam History and Culture (I) examines Vietnamese history and cultural production from its early origins to 1858 and the French Colonial project. The curriculum is divided into five units. We begin the curriculum by considering the study of both history and culture from theoretical perspectives and consider what these mean in the Vietnamese context. Just what are “History” and “culture”? What does it mean to be Vietnamese? In the second unit, we consider the ancient construction of Vietnamese history and cultural production. The third portion of the course examines the Lý and Trần dynasties as well as the Ming Occupation. Fourth, we explore the movement of Vietnamese people southward and the Tây Sơn Rebellion. And finally, fifth, we assess the unification of Vietnam under the Nguyễn and what is to come.

Too often Vietnamese are portrayed in history as vessels upon which events happen to them. This course treats the Vietnamese as agents of their history, grappling with big questions and great problems. We also explore the Vietnamese people’s historical willingness to learn from and integrate foreign ideas and instruments to further develop the Vietnamese culture.  To this end, We will wrestle with questions such as: What are the forces that have shaped Vietnamese identity? What drives the world-view(s) of Vietnamese? How has it been transformed over time?.

HASS1041 – Ho Chi Minh Ideology (Vietnam: History and Culture II)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: N/A

In the past two decades, Vietnam has achieved remarkable economic development while deepening its international ties and committments. As a result, the country is enjoying a transformation rarely seen in human history. This makeover extends to fields as diverse as education, health care, technology, information, transportation, nutrition and real estate. But as Vietnam has developed, so have the complexities it faces, both at home and internationally. How do we make sense of it all?

In reality, Vietnam has long been a global crossroads. However, its history, culture and economy are rarely understood in this way. Vietnam History and Culture (II) considers Vietnam’s significance as a point of international intersection since the arrival of French Colonialism to examine its history and contemporary events. Surverying modern Vietnam, the course explores such topics as French colonialism and the end of Dynastic Vietnam, Vietnamese responses to colonialism, the rise of nationalism and Communism, Hồ Chí Minh, the First and Second Indochina Wars, the post-1975 period, and Đổi Mới.

To tell this story, the course approaches events as William Shakespeare famously wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” In order to dive deep into events and the figures who participated in them, students will be challenged to reenact key moments and engagements on the classroom stage. Just who were Phan Thanh Giản and Phan Đình Phùng? How did Hồ Chí Minh experience September 2, 1945? And what was the air like in Geneva in 1954? Students will imagine themselves at these events and in these roles as well as a host of others.

This course is intended for students both with an aversion to history as well as advanced historians. As Vietnam’s legendary economic historian Đặng Phong has argued, only with a strong understanding of history can leaders make appropriate decisions and policy.  Therefore, this course aims to train future leaders of all fields, so they can better navigate and assess the complex issues facing Vietnam today as well as make informed judgements about what lies ahead.

STAT1010 – Introduction to Business Statistics                                   

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: N/A

This course introduces statistical methods as they apply in business contexts. Topics include the descriptive analysis of data, probability concepts and distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing, regression, and correlation analysis.  The course uses Excel extensively.

CECS1010 – Introduction to Engineering and Computer Science

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: N/A

This course provides a general introduction to the engineering design process–spanning core topics from problem definition through prototyping and testing, as well as other important considerations such as sustainability, failure analysis, and engineering economics. This course also emphasizes multidisciplinary design via a design project which involves students from different majors of the college of engineering and computer science.

NURS1030 – Introduction to Professional Nursing Practice I             

Credits: 3 Credit Hours

Prerequisite: N/A

This course explores the role of the nurse particularly within Vietnam and introduces the foundations for nursing practice. Nursing students will be facilitated to develop nursing knowledge by use of scientific knowledge integrated into theory and applied to simulated practice situations. Clinical decision-making skills will be simulated through use of nursing focused case studies. Teaching methods will guide students to build a foundation for independent learning and application of evidence base to support clinical decision making for nursing practice.

MEDI1011 – Introduction to Professionalism in Medicine 1    

Credits: 2.5

Prerequisite: N/A

This course in year one sets the foundations of professionalism. Students being the active learners, will identify the core components of what it means to be a professional as a medical student and a doctor in later years. These components once identified will determine the content to be learned across the six years.

COMP1010 – Introduction to Programming                                       

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: N/A

This course covers programming and problem-solving using Python. Emphasizes principles of software development, style, and testing. Topics include procedures and functions, iteration, recursion, arrays and vectors, strings, an operational model of procedure and function calls, algorithms, exceptions, the basics of object-oriented programming (classes, objects, types, sub-typing), and GUIs (graphical user interfaces).

ECON1010 – Introductory Microeconomics                                

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: N/A

Microeconomics offers a model and explanation of how people interact through market and nonmarket institutions and how those interactions determines what goods are produced, how goods are produced, how much of each good is produced, and the prices at which goods are bought and sold. In this course we introduce that model and use it to evaluate how deviations from it, due to the actions of individuals, companies, and government entities alter prices, quantities, and ultimately human welfare.

CCSC6070 – Laboratory Interpretation

Credits: 3.5

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on identifying the indications for basic laboratory tests rationale for use and intepreting the lab test results appropriately and precisely.

HASS1010 – Marxism-Leninism Philosophy (Philosophy Science and Society)

Credits: 3

Prerequisite: N/A

Philosophy Science and Society is one of four courses in the General Education Program forming the ideology/national education component required for higher education curriculum as directed by the Ministry of Education & Training, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. These four courses are written to achieve the primary objective of helping students understand core values of both country and university through objective and critical academic lenses in a global context. As these courses will be taught in English to students for whom English is mainly a second language at VinUniversity, each course is designed to be delivered in the spirit of content-based language learning approach to help students both develop English language competency (focusing on speaking, listening and reading) and basic understanding of the content.

Philosophy, Science & Society (PSS) provides students with a broad survey of key ideas in Philosophy, its relevance to society and the way we think we understand the world, or to put it broadly, “science.” We begin the course with an overview of the role of Philosophy and Metaphysics as we embark on this journey of critically re-examining the way we look at our world. In the second part of the course, we take a deep dive into questions of Epistemology, based on which students can orient and develop their creative thinking, philosophy of humanity and action. We follow up with an exploration of trends that came into being with the “social turn” of epistemology found in the critical works of Thomas Kuhn and later in the burgeoning body of works clustered as Sociology of Science. Following this radical re-thinking, we return to the fundamental questions about humanity posed in Social Philosophy and Ethics, to round up our critical inquiry of the complex relationship among philosophy, science and society.

ENGL0021 – Pathway English Advanced A                                

Required Hours: 90 Hours

Prerequisite: Pathway English Intermediate

The overall goal of Pathway English is to provide students with the English proficiency and academic skills needed to successfully study at VinUniversity in English. Pathway English Advanced is a course for students who have completed Pathway English Intermediate or for those who have an English entry proficiency level of CEFR B2 (IELTS 6.0 or equivalent). Students who study Pathway Intermediate in the Summer semester will study Pathway Advanced in the Fall and Spring semesters, alongside some introductory courses. At the end of the course, students will exit with an English proficiency equivalent to CEFR B2+ and meet the English language requirements for full admission to VinUniversity.

The course is divided into two separate skills components: a reading and writing component, and a listening and speaking component. By the end of this course, students will have developed fundamental academic English reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills as well as increased their knowledge of prescriptive grammar, pronunciation, and academic vocabulary. Classes are active, utilizing a range of activities including group discussions, tasks, online learning activities. The input provided for learners at this level is a blend of graded and authentic texts, including audiovisual texts. Students at this level are still provided with enough scaffolding strategies, diagnostic information, regular formative assessments, teacher check-ins, and out-of-class support to help them achieve optimal success.

This course will benefit students by not only improving their English language proficiency but also by learning and applying academic and 21st-century skills that will prepare them to adjust to the norms and expectations of a modern university environment.

PHYS1012 – Physics – Biophysics         

Credits: 2 Hours

Prerequisite: N/A

The course introduces fundamental physical principles through the study of biological systems and clinical situations. The goal of this course is for students to understand the physical mechanisms underlying physiological processes (i.e. blood flow, nerve impulses, vision) and medical instrumentation (i.e. MRI, ultrasound, ECG, nuclear medicine). Emphasis is given to bioelectricity, diagnostic imaging, enzymes, fluid dynamics, entropic forces, and ionizing radiation. The integrated lab component of the course will reinforce content presented in lectures and problem-solving exercises, as well as train the student’s use of tools and techniques.

NURS1040 – Psychology and Communication Skills in Nursing Practice I

Credits: 2

Prerequisite: N/A

Students will be introduced to basic communication processes. The focus of the course is the development of the therapeutic relationship between the nurse, the patient and their family; skills in information gathering and information provision are addressed. This is the first of a two-course sequence.

HASS1030 – Scientific Socialism (Politics and Social Change)

Credits: 2

Assuming a basic, strong, and even pivotal relationship between society and politics, the course Politics and Social Change will guide participants to a deep understanding of that relationship in Vietnam and the wider Asian region in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. The course explores key concepts of politics and social change, and in explication of those concepts, examine the dynamics of politics and social change in concrete terms.

What can be learned?

Students at the end of course will become familiar with the concepts of politics and social change of Vietnam.  Students will also understand and compare Vietnam with national development efforts elsewhere in Asia.  Finally, they will become familiar with major political and international relations developments from the 20^th century.

The medium of instruction help students to both develop English language competency (focusing on speaking, and articulation, reading) and discourse skills through continuous practice with classmates and instructor.

Broad outlines

The course begins with a basic appreciation of the concepts of politics and social change, moving into Marxism-Leninism and its application to understanding politics & social change, and extending into how Ho Chi Minh Thought applies Marxism-Leninism and also stands apart as a set of national and contextual ideas and practices. The processes of politics and social change of other countries in the Asia-Pacific are then explored for comparison and contrast.

Medium of learning

The guiding principle for learning at the Vin Uni is active learning.  This approach engages students to be active in the learning process with methods that are more than, not without, the traditional base of lectures and tutorials.  The instructor or teacher plays the role of facilitator and provides the environment where students responsibly and actively acquire as much as possible, rather than are passively given, the learning points that the course desires.

Participants in this course will learn and share through a mix of lectures, tutorials, non-judgmental journal writing, presentations, and learning to collaborate with others through group projects.  The learning environment should be safe, frank, friendly, collaborative, and enlightening.

CCSC6020 – Simulation/Procedures

Credits: 4.5

Prerequisite: N/A

The course will focus on highly practical and relevant themes in simulated clinical activities, a very important part to prepare qualified clinical skill for residents. Residents have to demonstrate competence for a defined set of procedural and communication skills.