Vietnam-Germany University helps reform national education

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan at the ceremony (Source: VNA)

Vietnam will work closely with Germany to turn the Vietnam-Germany University (VGU) into a model university, contributing to comprehensively reforming Vietnam’s university education system, said President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the beginning of the 2015-2016 academic year of the university in the southern province of Binh Duong on October 23, VFF President Nhan expressed his hope that the educational establishment would help increase the position of Vietnam’s education sector in the region and bring it to meet international standards.

He expressed his joy at the comprehensive development of the educational establishment in recent years, saying that it laid a basic foundation for developing research-oriented university models in Vietnam.

The VGU is a highlight in the Vietnam-Germany Strategic Partnership, he affirmed.

Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy to Vietnam Hanns-Joerg Brunner said with support provided by the German Government, the VGU is a typical project for the increasingly fruitful relations.

Once completed, the unit’s new branches, which are built in line with international standards and scales, will meet demands for science research activities and high-quality training.

The VGU is one of the first new-model public education establishments in Vietnam. It was founded in 2008 on an area of 50.5 ha in Binh Duong province under a cooperation agreement between Vietnam and the German Federal State of Hessen.

It has built 17 modern laboratories for 11 training programmes focusing on robots, automation, technical calculation, pattern manufacturing, technology assembly and traffic management, among others.

The unit has trained nearly 1,500 students in English and German so far, focusing on science-technology, engineering, information technology and business management. It has set a target to raise the number of students to 5,000 by 2020 and 12,000 ten years later.

Aiming to become an international-standard university for science studies, the unit provides high-quality training programmes with the same standards as over 30 German partner universities.

The VGU currently offers Bachelor’s and Master’s courses covering the fields of engineering and natural sciences, economics and management, all of which are suitable with Vietnam’s development and international integration demand.

In the next five years, the university will provide training programmes in communications, mechanics, construction-architecture, environmental engineering and processing. After 2021, the VGU will expand its training majors to natural and social sciences in order to match Vietnam’s human resources development demand.-VNA.