A pair of education exhibitions, with a record number of participating US universities and colleges, will open in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on March 9 and 11, according to the Institute of International Education (IIE).

In HCM City, an exhibition will take place from 16h to 20h on March 9 at the Rex Hotel while another will take place from 15h to 19h on March 11 at the Melia hotel in Hanoi.

At the events, 36 well-known US universities and colleges will showcase their departments of administration, finance, science and technology, which are expected to draw the keen attention of Vietnamese students.

At each venue, Vietnamese students and their parents will learn about the necessary entrance exams, the courses of study, and scholarship opportunities for each school.

According to the latest statistics released by the IIE’s Open Doors 2009 report, Vietnam is among the top ten nations worldwide in terms of the number of students studying in the US with 12,823, marking a year-on-year increase of 46.2 percent in 2009 alone.

A major non-governmental organisation, the New York-based IIE organises standardised exams such as the TOFEL, ITP, SAT, GRE and LSAT, manages scholarship programmes, including GEFSL and SMBC and holds educational exhibitions.

Established in 1919, IIE opened its office in Hanoi in 1992./.