The Vietnamese Intellectual Society in the UK and Ireland (VIS) will contribute to the building of Vietnam's strategic policies while actively strengthening bilateral relations, and attracting the UK Government-funded projects in the fields of research and science-technology, VNA citied its Chairman Prof. Nguyen Xuan Huan.

At the VIS’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) convened at the Judge Business School under the University of Cambridge on February 17, Huan emphasised that with its members being professors, doctors, and scientists working in various fields in the UK and Ireland, VIS stands ready to provide counselling to the Vietnamese Government in formulating policies tailored to the country's context.

Furthermore, he stressed the importance of aligning with global technological trends.

At the Lunar New Year gathering at Westminster College. Photo: VNA

Last year, VIS significantly facilitated educational collaboration between Vietnam and the UK through a mentoring programme sponsored by the British Council.

Through this initiative, VIS professors directly mentored and advised nearly 100 young lecturers from 50 Vietnamese universities, aiding in their skill development, including publishing studies and international scientific articles, forming research groups, and building internationally accredited laboratories.

Not only contributing to Vietnam-UK cooperation activities, VIS is a place to support and connect Vietnamese intellectuals in the UK and Ireland to build a strong, united Vietnamese intellectual community in the two countries.

VIS Executive Committee at the annual meeting. Photo: VNA

An outstanding initiative of VIS in fostering member connection is the Coffee Talk event, an online-themed discussion platform where members across the UK share insights and experiences on scientific research activities, professional expertise and soft skills. In 2023, VIS held 13 Coffee Talk sessions featuring speakers from various fields.

With diverse activities, VIS attracts more and more members. Also last year, VIS admitted over 60 new members, increasing the total membership to 154. These members include professors, associate professors, senior lecturers, and Vietnamese researchers studying or working at over 60 universities in the UK and Ireland.

Many of the members are professors and doctors with outstanding scientific achievements, winning prestigious international awards such as Professor Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh of University College London, winner of the Thomas Graham Prize 2023 from the Royal Society of Chemical; Dr. Pham Minh Son, Imperial College London, winner of the 2024 Young Innovator in the Materials Science of Additive Manufacturing Award from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society; and Dr. Kelly Nguyen, University of Cambridge, winner of the 2024 Colworth Medal awarded of the Biochemical Society.

VIS's initiatives also extended to the launch of the Mentorship and Talent Development (MTD) program at the National Economics University in Hanoi in 2022, aimed at supporting talented students. It also collaborated with the British Council to connect researchers from both countries.

The AGM, an annual event, serves as a platform for VIS to review its past activities and chart its course for the future.

Following the meeting, VIS partnered with the Vietnamese Student Association in Cambridge to celebrate the Lunar New Year at Westminster College, University of Cambridge.

The event is an opportunity for the Vietnamese student community in Cambridge and Vietnamese intellectuals in the UK and Ireland to share and preserve traditional values, look forward to the country in the first days of the new year, and at the same time is an opportunity to promote the beauty of Vietnamese culture to British and international friends.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long speaks at the Lunar New Year gathering at Westminster College. Photo: VNA

Speaking at the event, the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long happily celebrated the Vietnamese traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) with the students and intellectual community in Cambridge, the UK, and Ireland.

Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long appreciated VIS's activities in the past year, especially its contributions to his homeland as well as to the relationship between the two countries.

The diplomat hopes that VIS members as well as students and graduate students at the University of Cambridge will be ambassadors connecting educational cooperation between Vietnam and the UK and with the university.

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