The University of Maine is a strategic university of France specializing in economics, social and educational fields. The University has numerous partners all over the world, which provides favorable condition for research and teaching activities of the University. The University of Maine now is a member of the European Association for International Education (EAIE) and the ISEP network (International Student Exchange Program).

Assoc.Prof. Eric Bidet is currently the Director of the Master in Social Economics Program at the University of Maine, France. He specializes in social entrepreneurship, especially research on social enterprise in Korea, and has worked in Korea for many years.

At the meeting, representatives of the two universities introduced the basic information and the fields of research and international cooperation that the and University of Maine are launching. Two parties also discuss the exchange programs for students and faculty members. Dr. Nguyen Anh Thu presented to the guest about the UEB’s research on green growth and international integration.

The two parties exchanged views on cooperation in social enterprise research in Vietnam through results of research on Korea - one of the most successful countries in promoting social enterprises. In addition, representatives of the two universities also discussed about experiences of France in promoting the social enterprises.

 

Beside, the two parties also discussed other aspects, such as student exchange for academic purposes and networking opportunities by inviting professors and researchers to attend international workshops hold by two universities.

The meeting opened up opportunities for researching in the field of social enterprise development in Vietnam. This also brought about promising cooperation in student/lecturer exchanges for University of Maine and the University of Economics and Business.

Previously, Assoc.Prof. Eric Bidet has worked with the CEDS on research topics in the field of social entrepreneurship and opportunities for cooperation between the center and the University of Maine, including the cooperation in composing a book named "Social Enterprise Model in Asia".

After the meeting with representatives of University of Economics and Business, Assoc.Prof. Eric Bidet will have field trips to some typical social enterprises in Vietnam to conduct research on these case studies.