Vietnam - UK Higher Education Forum held in Hanoi

British Council and MoET organize second forum in Hanoi on October 30.

The forum was attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Training Associate Professor Nguyen Van Phuc and Kirsty Williams AM, Cabinet Secretary for Education in the Welsh Government, together with about 150 delegates who are higher education leaders and national experts from MoET, more than 60 UK and Vietnamese universities and organizations, and news agencies.

In Vietnam, Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW on fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education and training during the international integration period has created the platform for international collaboration and development in education. With developing countries like Vietnam, internationalizing higher education (IHE) acts as a driver to enhance the quality of human capital and, as a result, enhance the competitive advantage for the economy, learn from the experience of others to speed up education reform, and establish excellent universities.

For higher education institutions, IHE helps enhance capacity in teaching and research, renovate curriculum, and promote student employability and student exchange. IHE brings benefits not only to developing countries but also developed countries.

In 2015, the British Council in Vietnam worked closely with MoET and the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK to successfully organize the first Vietnam - UK higher education collaboration forum, “Connecting opportunities for sustainable education partnerships”, in London. In 2018, the second Vietnam - UK Higher Education forum is being organized in Hanoi on the occasion of 45 years of diplomatic relations between the UK and Vietnam and on the occasion of the British Council’s 25 years in Vietnam.

As a country with one of the most developed education systems in the world, the UK also has one of the most “internationalized” education systems. With a mission to promote knowledge and friendly understanding between the people of the UK and other countries around the world, the British Council is a pioneer in promoting IHE.

British Council and MoET organize second forum in Hanoi on October 30.

“IHE plays a crucial role in developing international cultural and diplomatic relations,” said Williams. “Through the British Council in Vietnam, we are very glad to have the opportunity to work in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training to organize the second Vietnam - UK higher education collaboration forum today. I am delighted that the relationship between Wales and Vietnam, our governments, universities and students, is going from strength to strength. The Welsh Government is committed to working with the British Council, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training, to address the challenges of the global landscape in the internationalization of higher education.”

Vietnam is recognized as one of the countries with an “openness” to international education rated as “Very high” and “High” in terms of government support for international student mobility, joint training programs, and research. However, in order to establish a position in the regional or international higher education sector, the government considers quality the top priority and this needs to be balanced with rapid development in quantity.

Opening the forum, Deputy Minister Phuc said it being organized on the occasion of the UK and Vietnam celebrating 45 years of diplomatic relations brings a very important message about the future of education collaboration between the two countries.

The forum will connect higher education leaders from the UK, the region and Vietnam, debate national, regional and international issues and challenges in IHE, and share new trends in IHE, with quality assurance being the driving force to move higher education to a new stage.

At the forum, the Vietnam - UK Higher Education Network will officially launch ten collaborative projects in line with the four objectives above and the main priorities in IHE. The network consists of 56 universities and businesses from both Vietnam and the UK. The British Council commits to supporting Vietnam in its efforts to internationalize education, science and innovation and promote higher education cooperation between the UK and Vietnam.

Donna McGowan, Country Director of the British Council in Vietnam, told the forum that higher education partnerships are a vitally important means of promoting inter-cultural cooperation, dialogue, engagement, and shared understanding between the UK and Vietnam. Internationalizing higher education is defined as one of the strategies to enhance the quality of higher education in terms of teaching, learning, research and innovation.

The British Council has been working with Vietnam since 1993 and is marking its 25^th anniversary this year with a series of events celebrating cultural relations and exchange between the UK and Vietnam./.

( VNF/VET )