A summer conference held in HCM City on July 25-26, part of the Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) project, will help modernise three universities in Việt Nam. — VNS Photo Nguyễn Diệp

HCM CITY — A five-year project costing US$14.2 million funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) will help to modernise three universities in Việt Nam to become high-quality higher education institutions.

A summer conference, part of a project called Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER), was organised in HCM City on July 25- 26 aiming to build a community for higher education experts.

Through the support of the Indiana University (IU), the Việt Nam National University-HCM City (VNU-HCM), Việt Nam National University Hà Nội (VNU-HN) and Đà Nẵng University will benefit from the PHER project.

Launched in November last year, the project is expected to help the universities improve academic quality, advance research, innovation and governance to become more sustainable, accountable and autonomous.

Modernising higher education will upskill Việt Nam’s labour force, allowing the country to enter more high-tech industries and achieve higher economic growth in the future, experts said.

According to Vũ Hải Quân, VNU-HCM’s director, the project focuses on implementing four pillars: innovating governance; improving the quality of teaching and learning; improving research capacity; and strengthening linkages between universities and businesses.

In addition, the project will also promote strategies in higher education policy advocacy and reform, and technology and digitisation.

“I expect to spread the project’s results and achievements, and new policies to take effect to improve the higher education system in the country,” he said.

Through policy research, workshops and conferences that dive deeply into key policy issues, IU and its partner universities will develop recommendations to improve efficiency and create a culture of innovation within the Vietnamese higher education system. — VNS