University of Economics and Business
 
UEB leaders met and worked with representatives of Australian Embassy

On 24th November, 2014, leaders of the VNU University of Economics and Business had a working session with representatives of Australian Embassy to discuss the New Colombo Plan (NCP) of Australian Government in implementing the program which provides Australian students with academic exchange programs in higher education organizations of Vietnam.


To be present at the meeting, from Australian Embassy, there were Mrs Kim Cleary, Counselor of Education & Science, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Phuong Nga, senior consultant cum officer of Department of International Education and Training; from UEB, there were Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, UEB Rector, Dr. Nguyen Truc Le, Vice Rector, Dr. Le Trung Thanh, Head of Office of Research and Partnership Development together with representatives of departments/centers that have training programs taught in English.
At the working session, representatives of Australian Embassy expressed the desire that they wanted to quickly collect information about the VNU-UEB as well as English-taught training programs to promote the UEB image at Australian universities so that the Australian universities could select their qualified students to study or undertake short-term internships at famous Vietnamese universities, including VNU-UEB. The information will be published as a Brochure which is sent to Australian education organizations so that Australian students can choose and apply for appropriate exchange programs in Vietnam.
According to Mrs Kim Cleary, the Australian Government has been promoting their partner network, especially in the field of training and education, opening many opportunities for Australian students to study, research, exchange and undertake internships outside Australia, particularly in the Asia - Pacific region which is located geographically close to Australia.

Talking with representative of Australian Embassy, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Hong Son emphasized that the UEB, which aims at becoming a research-oriented university with high ranking in the region and in the world, would focus on expanding partnership, promoting international exchange activities for not only lecturers but also students and graduates of the university. In recent years, many international students have enrolled some short-term exchange programs (one term or one academic year) within the framework of cooperation with partners such as: student exchange program with Uppsala University (Sweden), Oita University, Soka University, Waseda University, Yokohama National University (Japan), Sciences Po University (France). Besides; through the introduction of foreign professors, the UEB also received 4 German students for a 2 year exchange program. They will have credits accepted when returning their home institution and most of them are satisfied with the studying and life in Hanoi.


Representatives of two parties at the meeting

With the broad partner network and experience of implementing international student exchange programs, the UEB is ready to cooperate with Australian universities in the NCP of Australian Government. Firstly, the UEB will closely coordinate with Australian Embassy to develop the Brochure of English-taught training programs to send to partners. This is a good opportunity for UEB to broaden and promote the international academic environment for students and lecturers, strengthen the partner network and create foundation for partnership development.

The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of the Australian Government which aims to strengthen the education linkage between Australia and other countries across the Indo-Pacific region. The NCP is to encourage and support Australian undergraduates to study in countries located in Indo-Pacific region, including Vietnam. The NCP provides Australian students with flexible funding in taking long-term programs (up to one academic year) or short-term programs, internships, or research (less than 6 months). Accordingly, the Australian universities will develop programs which shift students to international partner universities and apply for funding from the Australian Government. On 31st July, 2014, the Prime Minister of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Mr Pham Binh Minh sent an email to Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform that Vietnam had accepted the invitation of Australian Government to the NCP. Next, implementing the guidance of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam that the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) will participate in NCP and MOET sent the official Dispatch No. 2048 / ĐTVNN signed on 23rd September, 2014 to the universities.


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Kha Nguyen