Tay Bac University and the Australian government’s Aus4Skills programme signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, laying the foundation for a series of activities until 2020 to strengthen Tay Bac University’s leadership and management, reform curriculum and teaching methodology, increase academic support for disadvantaged students, and advance women in leadership.

Tay Bac University is a regional university located in the economically disadvantaged province of Son La. About 80% of its students are from ethnic minorities. Its mission is to educate people, conduct research, and provide economic and technical services for the development of the north western region. In the context of education reform and international integration, Tay Bac University needs to strengthen capacity to accomplish its mission.

“The Australian government’s support will enable Tay Bac University to train people to better serve the labour market needs and support the economic and industrial growth of the region. This assistance will also help the university establish long-term partnerships with Australian universities,” said Tay Bac University Rector Dr. Nguyen Van Bao.

Mr Graham Alliband, Program Director – Aus4Skills program and Nguyen Van Bao, Rector of Tay Bac University at the MOU signing ceremony.

“We are committed to assisting Vietnam’s human resource development in various ways, including through our support for Tay Bac University,” said Australian Ambassador Craig Chittick. “We believe that with strengthened university management and reformed curriculum and teaching methodology, Tay Bac University will be able to provide better academic support to nearly 4,000 ethnic minority students. This will increase the success rate of ethnic minority students at university and help them get better jobs,” he continued.

In September 2017, Aus4Skills will sign similar MOUs with Thai Nguyen University and the Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry.

Aus4Skills is a five-year programme providing support to Vietnam to achieve the shared goal that Vietnam accesses and uses high level professional and technical knowledge, skills and competencies to contribute to the country’s sustainable economic and social development./.

( VNF/DTnews )