THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH INTERNSHIP REPORT Organization VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS Student’s name Phạm Thị Yến Class K55N3 Student code 19D170194 Supervi[.]
THUONG MAI UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH - - INTERNSHIP REPORT Organization: VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS Student’s name : Phạm Thị Yến Class : K55N3 Student code :19D170194 Supervisor : Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc M.A Hanoi, 2023 TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT i LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS, AND IMAGES ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .iii INTRODUCTION iv CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS .1 1.1 General Information of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics.1 1.1.1 General Information about Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 1.1.2 Establishment and Development of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 1.1.3 Function and Mission 1.1.4 Organizational Structure of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 1.1.5 Some achievements 1.2 Information about VIASM Office .6 CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS AT VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS 2.1 The tasks are performed during the internship 2.2 The difficulties and experiences in internship process at Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 12 2.2.1 Difficulties 12 2.2.2 The experiences 13 CHAPTER 3: THE REALITY OF THE USE OF ENGLISH AT VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS .15 3.1 The reality of using English at VIASM 15 3.2 Some solutions to improve the use of English in the working environment at VIASM 16 CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTION FOR THE SUBJECT OF GRADUATION THESIS 18 CONCLUSION .19 REFERENCES 20 i LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS, AND IMAGES No List Content Page Image Logo of VIASM Diagram Organizational structure chart of VIASM 3 Diagram Organizational structure chart of VIASM Office Table 2.1 Internship schedule in week 10 Table 2.2 Internship schedule in week 10 Table 2.3 Internship schedule in week 11 Table 2.4 Internship schedule in week 11 Table 2.5 Internship schedule in week 12 ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviations VIASM English meaning Vietnam Institute Advanced Study Vietnamese meaning for Viện nghiên cứu cao cấp in Toán Mathematics Etc Et cetera Vân vân No Number Số, số thứ tự USA The United States of Hoa Kỳ America IAS Institute for Advanced Viện Nghiên cứu cao cấp Study, Princeton IIT Bombay Indian Princeton Institute Technology, Bombay NPDM of Viện Công nghệ Ấn Độ Bombay (IIT Bombay The National Program Chương trình trọng điểm quốc for the Development of gia phát triển Toán học Mathematics Assoc Prof Associate Professor Phó giáo sư Dr Doctor Tiến sĩ iii INTRODUCTION In Vietnam in recent years, the in-depth teaching and research on mathematics have been significantly improved compared to the first years of the 21st century All achievements have been thanks to a long-term math program and the implementation unit is the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics Particularly, until 2005, higher education in Vietnam, including Mathematics, only focused on quantity Besides, the number of new universities increased rapidly at that time, leading to an overload of teaching time After 2005, policymakers saw that scientific research was also very important in addition to teaching; therefore, they began to research and propose new policies to promote scientific research in universities At that time, social awareness about the role of Mathematics was declining The quick and easy solution of importing foreign technology greatly undermines the role of scientists and basic sciences, including Mathematics In many universities and colleges, Mathematics courses are gradually getting shortened, or even taken out of the curriculum Meanwhile, in high education, the teaching and learning of Mathematics were highly affected by an exam-heavy system and the shortage of qualified teachers The profession of teaching Mathematics and researching Mathematics was no longer attractive to young people As a result, fewer and fewer students were enrolling in Mathematics majors, and this led to a large shortage of human resources in Mathematics Besides, most mathematicians in Vietnam at the time were university lecturers with a heavy teaching load and could not focus on research activities The National Program for the Development of Mathematics until 2020 (NPDM) is an ambitious program approved by the Government to promote the research, application, teaching, and training of Mathematics in Vietnam One of the goals of the NPDM was to establish an advanced research institute suitable for the specific situation of Vietnam It is called Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM) iv Through the activities of VIASM, Vietnamese mathematics has significantly improved, creating a passion for mathematics for students, attracting many international researchers to Vietnam to research and convey experience, and above all, bringing mathematics to apply in all aspects of life In organizations, English plays a very important role and VIASM is no exception After being introduced to and allowed by the English Faculty of Thuongmai University, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be an intern at the VIASM Office of the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics After five weeks (from January 2, 2023, to February 10, 2023), I completed my internship, and this report is a summary of what I gained from the internship process I would like to express my deep gratitude to supervisor Mrs Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, the teachers at the Faculty of English, the board of directors, and the staff members of the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics for helping me complete this report Due to the limited practice time and my level, the report must have some errors I am honored to receive comments to improve my internship report v CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF VIETNAM INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS 1.1 General Information of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 1.1.1 General Information about Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics Image 1: Logo of VIASM (Source: Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics) Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM) is a research institute in Vietnam The purpose of VIASM is to become an excellent mathematical center with a working environment equivalent to some mathematically developed countries, to exchange academics to improve the scientific capacity of researchers, teaching, and the application of Mathematics in Vietnam Below is the general information about VIASM: Official name: Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics Vietnamese name: Viện Nghiên cứu cao cấp Toán Office headquarters: 157 Chua Lang street, Dong Da district, Hanoi, Vietnam Telephone: (024) 2623 1543 Email: info@viasm.edu.vn Websites: www.viasm.edu.vn 1.1.2 Establishment and Development of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics was founded on December 23, 2010, according to the Decision of the Prime Minister, and officially in operation since January 2012 VIASM was born within the framework of the National program for the development of Mathematics in the period 2010-2020 The objective of VIASM is to become an excellent mathematical center, with a working environment equivalent to some developed countries, to exchange academics and to improve the scientific capacity of researchers, teaching, and the application of mathematics It ensures that Vietnamese mathematics develops sustainably, which contributes positively to the development of the country, and improves the position of Vietnamese mathematics in the world After more than 10 years, the Institute has created an advanced academic environment, highly appreciated by the domestic and international mathematical community This is the success in implementing solutions and the Institute becomes a supporting institute for the advanced research and training activities on Mathematics for university lecturers, mathematicians, doctors, and students to implement excellent scientific and highly applicable mathematical research topics The Institute has become the “common research center” of the Vietnamese Math community 1.1.3 Function and Mission Function The function of VIASM is to create a special academic environment for scientists and university lecturers to implement important mathematical research ideas and topics which are highly applicable and support talent training Mission Organize scientific and technological research programs, tasks, topics, and projects assigned by state agencies as well as proactively propose them to the State according to the ability and the professional field of the Institute Create favorable working conditions to improve the qualifications of young mathematicians at universities, research institutes, and mathematical application facilities throughout the country Facilitate for Vietnamese mathematicians to become international experts Support for establishing and strengthening research and training cooperation among domestic mathematicians; support for training and fostering talents Support and promote cooperation between mathematics and relevant sciences such as physics, computer science, earth science, life science, and economy Attract Vietnamese mathematicians abroad and foreign mathematicians to participate in research and training in Vietnam Promote international cooperation in mathematics 1.1.4 Organizational Structure of Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics Diagram 1: Organizational structure chart of VIASM (Source: Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics) The Scientific Council, consisting of domestic and overseas leading Vietnamese scientists, was established by the Minister of Education and Training according to the proposal of the Institute's scientific director The scientific council has to 15 members, led by Professor Ngo Bao Chau The scientific council’s meetings take place periodically to discuss issues such as research and training orientation, establishment and organization of research groups, giving opinions on reports and contracts, translating documents, and solving all problems related to documents Besides, they are also responsible for assisting the accountant in completing documents CHAPTER 2: THE INTERNSHIP PROCESS AT VIETNAM INSTITUTE 12 FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN MATHEMATICS 2.1 The tasks are performed during the internship In five weeks of the internship process at VIASM, I have had great opportunities and experiences to gain information about VIASM and obtain a thorough view of all activities at VIASM In addition to applying English skills and knowledge to work, I also learned many new things to perform administrative jobs in the office In the first week, it was the time I learned about the works and operating mechanisms of the Institute as well as got familiar with the VIASM Office by learning the rules, the organizational structure, and functions As a new employee, my supervisor allowed me to spend time researching tasks of the staff Because this is an organization with a professional working environment, requiring high concentration, in the first week, I will mostly learn and get used to the working environment However, I was also assigned a task related to translation such as translating CVs of foreign professors In the following weeks, my tasks use many English skills like translating, reading, and writing skills I translated documents about the meetings and participated in collecting information and summarizing the activity reports of the Institute I also attended meetings of the office to know activities and assigned tasks in the following time, know how to work together effectively and how to divide tasks among members In addition to translating documents, I also participated in some work to organize events at the institute, because there were many math events such as math festivals, conferences, and seminars at VIASM with the participation of foreign students and foreign researchers During that time, my jobs were related much to English and event organization skills such as doing surveys in English to get information about participants, writing and sending correspondence to foreign participants to announce information about events, as well as answering questions from them In some events, I was assigned to interpret for a Vietnamese journalist when he had interviews with foreign students Although I had some mistakes during the process of interpreting, overall the interpretation went quite well In addition, 13 when seminars and conferences took place, I was taught to use a mechanical camera Although I had quite a bit of trouble in the early stages, then I got acquainted and knew photography skills Therefore, I was often assigned to take photos of events and researchers participating in the events In the last week, after the events ended, I wrote articles about the events and translated these articles into English (with editing from the board of directors) to post on the website and send to some journalists In addition, other employees and I collected evaluation reports on the Institute's activities and events After synthesizing, I translated these reports and sent them to the board of directors and the international advisory council By the end of this week, I completed all the work and made a report about my tasks During my internship, I also had other experiences. Thanks to assistance from the communication and design staff, I used graphic design software more fluently such as Canva to design posters and videos for events, design newsletters, edit images for posts, and other design works However, the most difficult task during this period is to collect data on researchers who have come to the institute since its establishment This is a time-consuming job because of the large number of researchers going to VIASM But I finally finished the statistical document on researchers on time In short, this is a job that requires patience, hard work, and discipline This is the reason why I had to change my bad thoughts and habits Therefore, it has created my virtue of patience, and a professional working style I spent five weeks working as an intern on training at VIASM (from 2023/01/02 to 2023/02/10) And my working timeline is according to the working timetable of the Institute Office time: In the morning: From 8:00 to 11:30 In the afternoon: From 13:00 to 17:30 From Monday to Friday I would like to report my tasks which I have done during internship time as below: Table 2.1: Internship schedule in week 14 No Date Main Activities Tuesday, Meet the board of directors of the Vietnam Institute for January Advanced Study in Mathematics to confirm the decision to let me become the Institute’s intern Wednesday, Meet and greet all colleagues in the office, and start to receive January the job Thursday, Learn the rules, how to work, and information about VIASM January Friday, Translate CVs of foreign professors and documents related to January the meetings January 2: New Year’s holiday as prescribed Table 2.2: Internship schedule in week No Date Main Activities Monday, Attend meetings of the office to know activities and assigned January tasks, how to work together roles and tasks of members Tuesday, Collect information and summarize the activity reports of the January 10 Institute Wednesday, Send and answer email from foreign participants at some January 11 events in January Thursday, Translate several documents into English January 12 Friday, Design and conduct surveys to collect information about January 13 participants at some events 15 Table 2.3: Internship schedule in week No Date Main Activities Monday, Get acquainted with the camera and take photos for the event January 16 Design posters for some events Tuesday, Send and answer emails from foreign participants January 17 Take part in a seminar to support participants in case any unexpected problems happen Wednesday, Collect data on researchers who have come to the institute January 18 since its establishment Edit some videos about the activities of VIASM Thursday, Collect data on researchers who have come to the institute January 19 since its establishment Send and answer emails from foreign participants From 2023/01/20 -2023/01/26: Lunar New Year holiday Table 2.4: Internship schedule in week No Date Main Activities Friday, Interpret for Vietnamese journalists when they had interviews January 27 with foreign students Take photos for the events Monday, Send and answer emails from foreign participants January 30 Edit images for some events Tuesday, Answering phone calls from overseas participants January 31 Wednesday, Continue collecting data on researchers who have come to the February institute since its establishment Thursday, Finish collecting data on researchers who have come to the February Institute since its establishment and translate some required data into English Friday, Write articles about the events that took place in VIASM 16 February Table 2.5: Internship schedule in week No Date Main Activities Monday, Translate these articles into English, post them on the website, February and send them to some journalists Tuesday, Synthesize evaluation reports on the Institute's activities and February events Wednesday, Translate these reports and sent them to the board of directors February and international advisory council Thursday, Complete all the work and make a report about my tasks February Friday, Finish the internship process, thanks to the Board of February 10 Directors and colleagues at the VIASM Office 2.2 The difficulties and experiences in internship process at Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics 2.2.1 Difficulties During my 5-week internship at the Institute, I had great opportunities to study, work, and improve my knowledge and experiences However, I have faced many difficulties at work due to a lack of practical experience and soft skills Although I have been advised and supported by other staff during my work, I still face some challenges as follows: Firstly, it is not easy for me to apply the theory of English skills to practical tasks, although I learned English skills such as translation, interpretation, speaking, and writing skills at school At the beginning of my internship, it was quite hard for me to use English in jobs related to translation, interpretation, and business correspondence For example, many practical and complicated situations cause difficulties in writing emails to send to foreigners Besides, the lack of practical experience in interpretation is also a big challenge for me Interpreting in this 17 working environment not only requires me to have a high level of English expertise but also to have good communication skills Therefore, I need to continue improving them Secondly, the lack of professional knowledge and skills was my big challenge during the internship They are required in my assigned work but I not study them at university Therefore, I have had to spend a lot of time learning this knowledge from various sources on the Internet and social networking sites In addition, I have never had the opportunity to use office equipment such as fax machines or printers before, so I had to learn to use them from the instructor and other staff Besides, the work of synthesizing data in a professional working environment is also a challenge for me Because the amount of information is very large, and the data is also complicated, so I spend quite much time getting acquainted and completing the job Finally, the working environment at VIASM is extremely professional I have never worked in such an intense professional environment before As a college student, my study and working time are quite free and my working attitude is sometimes unprofessional However, working in this environment forces me to change myself to become more disciplined and more professional but sometimes I will feel "suffocated" by the "authentic" professional working environment 2.2.2 The experiences After weeks of internship period at the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, I have gained a lot of valuable working experience and skills These experiences not only help me to improve myself during this important period but also support me in my work in the future Firstly, the internship allows me to apply my English knowledge learned in university to practical tasks Through practice, my English improved a lot such as translation, interpretation, communication skills, writing skills, etc. Besides, when interpreting for foreigners in the internship process at VIASM, I can experience realistic situations to understand the difficulties and pressure, thereby seeking ways 18