The launching ceremony of the Partnership for Higher Education Reform in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of the US Embassy in Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — The United States, through US Agency for International Development (USAID), launched on Monday a five-year US$14.2 million partnership with three leading Vietnamese universities.

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform, announced by Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit last fall in Hà Nội, will collaborate with universities, key government officials, and industry partners to strengthen higher education in Việt Nam.

US partner Indiana University will work with Việt Nam's three largest universities  Việt Nam National University - HCM City (VNU-HCM), Việt Nam National University - Hà Nội (VNU-HN), and the University of Đà Nẵng (UD) to improve their academic quality, enhance institutional governance, and enable them to serve as models of modern higher education across Việt Nam.

The partnership will drive socio-economic development by benefitting more than 200,000 students and equip them to thrive in an increasingly competitive global market.

“The United States is a committed partner in supporting the success and long-term sustainability of Việt Nam's higher education institutions,” said US Ambassador Marc Knapper during remarks delivered at today’s event. “Through this partnership, together, we will collectively improve the quality and market-relevance of higher education to drive lasting growth.”

The partnership will work to achieve three objectives for the universities: increase sustainability and autonomy; improve academic quality; and strengthen research and innovation capacity. Core activities will strengthen university governance and financial systems, provide faculty training in the design of state-of-the-art courses, facilitate research collaborations, expand research capacity, and develop guidelines and incentives for prosperous partnerships between universities and the private sector.

The Partnership for Higher Education Reform is the product of an extensive consultation process between USAID and the three largest Vietnamese universities, with numerous relevant entities such as the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Indiana University, and the World Bank. Industry partners during implementation will include Purdue University, Amazon Web Services, the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.

The partnership helps advance higher education reforms that were called for under Việt Nam's 2018 Revised Law on Higher Education. — VNS