Vietnam-UK Education Cooperation Forum in London - Connecting opportunities for sustainable education partnerships
Over 60 UK institutions and educational organisations and 20 universities and organisations from Vietnam gathered in London at the Vietnam-UK Education Cooperation Forum on 11 September 2015. Attended by HE Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Vu Van Ninh, the bilateral education forum shed light on real opportunities to further boost Vietnam – UK ties in the education sector.
The event was co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK and the British Council Vietnam. It’s part of Vietnam Discovery Week in the UK to mark the fifth anniversary of Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership and the Platinum Jubilee of modern Vietnam during its 70th birthday.
HE Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam Vu Van Ninh said: ‘The government of Vietnam regards high quality human resources education as one of the strategic breakthroughs for sustainable development of the country. The basic and comprehensive renewal of the education system is currently our key mission for international integration.
I highly appreciate that the Vietnam-UK Education Cooperation Forum chose the theme as 'Connecting opportunities for sustainable education partnerships'. This is a principal topic which will contribute to enhance the education cooperation between two countries. At the Forum, education leaders and experts from both countries will discuss and share their expertise and initiatives, as well as provide effective ways to foster cooperation in education between our two countries.
Vietnam and the UK have made specific commitments on cooperation in higher education. The government of Vietnam requested the UK to continue helping Vietnam with the implementation of the Vietnam-UK University in Danang, with the establishment of English Testing Center and mutual recognition of qualifications, and to support Vietnamese students in the UK.’
The one-day event witnessed the signing of the Joint Statement between the Ministry of Education and Training, the British Council in Vietnam and UK Higher Education International Unit. The joint statement focuses on four areas of cooperation, which include policy dialogue, education development, academic and student exchange and qualification recognition and reference. In particular, all parties agreed to look at mechanisms to increase the number of Vietnamese students and lecturers to the UK through Vietnam governmental scholarship schemes such as Project 559 and 911 and through collaborative programmes between Vietnamese and UK institutions.
Cherry Gough, Director of British Council Vietnam said: ‘It is a great honour for the British Council in Vietnam to cooperate with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Embassy of Vietnam in the UK to organise the Vietnam-UK Education Cooperation Forum during the first Vietnam Discovery Week in the UK. The Joint Statement we will sign at the Forum between the Ministry of Education and Training, the British Council Vietnam and UK Higher Education International Unit is an important milestone in our mission to further internationalise higher education in our two countries.'
‘The forum is a wonderful opportunity to bring together not only UK and Vietnam higher education institutions but also UK stakeholders and higher education policy makers from both countries. They will all have a chance to better understand the current state of higher education in both countries, and to learn about each other’s strategies and ambitions for the future. We hope this will lay a firm foundation for further collaborations at institutional and governmental level between Vietnam and the UK.
‘We believe that this forum will make a valuable contribution to our shared vision of more and deeper Vietnam-UK education partnerships, contributing to Vietnam’s development as a leading economy of the future, and building on the fact that UK is already among the three most preferred English-speaking destinations for study abroad for Vietnamese students.’
Please click the below link to view presentations delivered at the forum.
For more information, please contact Phi Phan, Higher Education Manager, Partnerships, British Council Vietnam at phi.phan@britishcouncil.org.vn