Over recent years, Agile training courses have become popular with information technology (IT) students.  The courses are entirely taught in English, and they feature a harmonious combination of simulation activities, doing IT projects, and making presentations instead of just studying theory.

Local students at an Agile session

Agile is one of the big buzzwords of the IT development industry.  The Agile model is a combination of iterative and incremental process models which focus on process adaptability and customer satisfaction by rapid delivery of a working software product.

Mr Dang Ngoc Hai, Director of the city’s branch of Axon Active Viet Nam, said that the Agile model is being effectively applied by some of the world’s large IT groups such as Google, Microsoft and IBM.  This has resulted in a significant increase in the demand for software outsourcing partners who can softly apply this kind of model.  

In order to enhance the practical knowledge for students, over recent years some educational institutions in Da Nang have cooperated with local IT businesses to introduce the Agile model to their students.

In particular, since 2011, Axon Active Viet Nam has been working with the Da Nang University of Technology and Science (DUT) to replace a subject about traditional software development process with an Agile training course.  Accordingly, participating students are required to research and implement their own projects based on the Agile method. 

Ms Vo Hoang Thuy Trang, Head of Passerelles numériques’s Foreign Relations Department, remarked “Thanks to the teaching of English as a main language and other modern methods, the Agile courses help their trainees to acquire knowledge in a comprehensive manner, and develop the necessary soft skills for their future careers.”

According to local software experts, the Agile course is one of the most feasible ways to develop high-quality human resources and deal with a severe shortage of qualified IT employees in the city, and in the country as a whole.

In addition to DUT, the Agile courses are currently being offered in the University of Education, the Duy Tan University, and the Passerelles numériques organisation in Da Nang.