From the end of May to mid-June 2019, the British Council-supported training for Vietnamese researchers on supplementary skills, in partnership with Vietnam Institute for Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Science and Technology was successfully organised in three big cities: Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City. The training has ended but left a positive impression on trainees. “Listening, discussing, learning and sharing with experts and colleagues in this course is a really valuable experience.” said Dr Tran Duc Dung after the training.
As part of the Programme “Enhancing Science and Innovation Capacity of Vietnam for Sustainable Development” within the framework of cooperation between the MOST and the British Council-implemented Newton Programme Vietnam, the Training for Vietnamese researchers on research supplementary skills are designed to equip young Vietnamese researchers with necessary skills to improve research quality and transfer research results based on the framework for developing research staff capacity in the United Kingdom (UK).
Ms Donna McGowan, Country Director of the British Council in Vietnam, said: “In this cooperation with VISTI-MOST, we received more than 100 registrations from early career researchers to take part in training in three cities. This number shows their great interest and urgent need to enhance knowledge, experience and skills, as well as actively seek international cooperation opportunities to constantly improve and develop their research.”
To meet this need, in partnership with experienced experts from Coventry University, the training was successfully organised in three big cities for 100 participants. Through the 5-day training programme, Vietnamese researchers were equipped with essential skills and knowledge to consolidate and develop necessary and practical research skills, such as writing high-quality articles, communication, presentation, research project management and transferring research results to businesses…
As a lecturer and researcher at University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University (Ho Chi Minh City), more than anyone, Hoang Ngoc Minh Chau understands the importance of improving her professional capacity, especially through scientific research skills. First time attending such a training course, she shared: “I am very pleased for completing this course. I was provided with a very important and core knowledge system on how to improve research capacity for lecturers and researchers such as a research capacity framework for researchers, a 5D indicator system to evaluate as a researcher, knowledge of technology transfer and research evaluation.”
“I was trained to increase my skills and ability in scientific research such as communication skills, effective presentation skills, teamwork skills and problem-solving.” she also shared. She also greatly appreciated the efforts and activities that the British Council has organised, particularly in activities to improve supplementary skills for Vietnamese researchers.
For those having attended many courses focusing on different issues yet has not received any funding/grants for her projects like Dr Dang Viet Dai - Southern Institute of Ecology, joining this training is a special experience for her. She shared: “Since I started doing research, I have never found any successful source of funding for my project, so after learning the course content, I found it really fit with my research purposes. After this course, I feel more confident, since the course covers many subjects from basic skills to specialised skills. This course has helped systematise my knowledge as well as better applying knowledge I haven’t known.”
The training ended but left many positive impression for young researchers. Post-training, 15 trainees will join a study tour to the UK to further develop their skills, then run cascade training for other researchers in Vietnam. This will be a solid foundation for the sustainable development of science, technology and innovation in Vietnam.
Sharing his opinion of the role of the British Council in implementing activities to improve supplementary skills for researchers, Bui Thanh Liem from Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute said: “The British Council plays a very important part in the connection between Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Scientifically, the UK is one of the most developed countries in science. Vietnam is integrating with the world. The British Council acts as a connection channel that brings experience, skills, and development orientation from the UK to train and develop young Vietnamese researchers. This will be a very helpful orientation to improve the capacity of domestic researchers and improve the quality of Vietnamese research products to be on par with developed countries.”
Through the training, the British Council is helping to introduce UK curriculum models and embed these into the professional training curriculum and activities for specific groups, including researchers, research managers, social and innovation stakeholders in Vietnam. Furthermore, this work will also unlock more international cooperation opportunities in the fields of science, technology and innovation between the two countries.
