The Project Design (PD) is a specialized course of the Kanazawa Institute of Technology (K.I.T), Ishikawa Prefecture - Japan, which has been applied for education program since 1995, was called as Engineering Project Design (EPD) used for teaching of engineering students of K.I.T, then was modified became the PD used for engineering and nonengineering students, still play a role as the backbone of curriculum nowadays. The University's outstanding achievements have contributed to K.I.T becoming the secondhighest private university in Japan based on the result of ranking in 2015. For the first time, PD education has been transferred to apply for teaching at the Vietnam-Japan Institute of Technology (VJIT) which belonging to the University of Technology (HUTECH), Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam since 2015, and has proved its effectiveness not only in Japan but also abroad. The Faculty of Architecture - Duy Tan University (DTU) has applied the PD education methodology from beginning of 2017 for teaching of the architectural academic subjects (Synthesis Project category) for 4th and 5th year students which focusing on the field of urban planning and urban renovation. The designing process including 5 schemes which is followed the CDIO criteria: ①Problem-finding (Conceive) → ②Problem-clarifying (Conceive) → ③Idea-creating (Design) → ④Solution-evaluating (Design) → ⑤Solution-concreting (Implement & Operate). The applying of this education methodology for architectural academic subjects has helped students to think creatively and simultaneously solve practical problems in a comprehensive and effective way, changing the learning method from passive to active, developing teamwork skills, enhancing effective presentation skills and comprehensive assessment. The experimental project with topic "Development of the Ben Dinh traditional fishing village inside the Vung Tau sea-urban environment based on the preservation and inheritance of its remaining traditional factors" carried out by DTU’s faculty members, awarded as the "Best teaching method for architectural academic subjects" by the Vietnamese National Association of Architects in the middle of October, 2017. Thus, it can be said that the applicability of CIDO criteria is also effect for the architecture and urban planning education field that hasn’t been previously applied in Vietnam. For next coming time, Faculty of Architecture of DTU going to continue study on the capacity of PD education methodology to apply for teaching of other suitable-types of architectural academic subjects in DTU.
