Embassy Education Support

U.S.-Vietnam Education Task Force Final Report Signing Ceremony, September 30

Ambassador Michael W. Michalak and Vice Minister Pham Vu Luan Shaking Hands at the Signing Ceremony.

Ambassador Michalak and MOET Vice Minister Luan signed the long-awaited Final Report containing recommendations on ways that the U.S. and Vietnamese governments can cooperate to support public-private sector partnerships to improve the Vietnamese educational system and increase the number of Vietnamese studying at American schools. The Report also lays out a roadmap for the development of an American-style university in Vietnam. In addition, the Report calls for the creation of four working groups that will explore ideas to establish the American style university, to improve English language instruction, and to support closer cooperation between American and Vietnamese universities, and between American companies and Vietnamese universities.

Higher Education in Vietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships, January 2009

Ambassador Michael W. Michalak opening the Education Conference held in Ho Chi Minh City January 15-16, 2009

More than 400 educators and officials attended Higher Education in Vietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships, the Education Conference organized by the U.S. Mission in Vietnam, Vietnam National University, HCMC, and the Ministry of Education and Training. The event, held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 15-16, 2009, drew more than 400 educators and officials, including 200+ Americans representing 120 universities, colleges and companies, and about 200 Vietnamese representing 104 educational institutions and government offices.

Participants engaged in intense discussions about their experiences establishing and operating joint educational programs in Vietnam, including 2+2 programs and the Ministry’s Advanced Programs. Speakers noted best practices, what worked and what didn’t work, obstacles they encountered and the solutions they found. Other sessions focused on the efforts by American companies in Vietnam to work with Vietnamese schools to help them produce graduates with the skills needed in Vietnam’s modernizing economy. Many participants noted the need for better English skills among Vietnam’s students and workforce and identified ways to improve English instruction. The Conference enabled all participants to ask questions of the U.S. and Vietnamese governments and receive direct answers, and enabled U.S. officials to hear directly from American schools about the challenges they face and what the Mission can do to help them. Another benefit from the Conference was the opportunity it afforded the U.S.-Vietnam Education Task Force to present and receive feedback on its preliminary recommendations before preparing its Final Report, which will be presented to the two countries’ leaders in February, 2009.

The Conference Report is intended to capture the most important of the wide range of discussions that took place during the Conference. It is not intended necessarily to provide solutions, but to ensure that the information and ideas that arose during the Conference are widely available to those who might find them relevant for their own activities in Vietnam.

Bringing American Stakeholders Together for Brainstorming Sessions, January 2008

Ambassador Michalak giving opening remarks (top),  A brainstorming session on how private sector-public sector partnerships could enable all participants to make progress toward three principal goals (bottom)

On January 24-25, 2008, Ambassador Michael Michalak hosted a groundbreaking event – American Support for Education in Vietnam: A Brainstorming Conference for American Stakeholders.  Designed as a forum for American stakeholders in education in Vietnam, this Conference enabled almost 200 representatives from American businesses, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations that share an interest in U.S.-Vietnam education ties to discuss how closer cooperation between them can enhance their educational programs.

More specifically, the two-day brainstorming session focused on how private sector-public sector partnerships could enable all participants to make progress toward three principal goals: A significant increase in the flow of Vietnamese students to the United States; More and deeper links between American and Vietnamese universities; Enhanced public sector-private sector cooperation to meet the education and training needs of American companies in Vietnam.

To take advantage of the presence of so many representatives of American schools, The U.S. Embassy also organized a U.S. Higher Education Fair on the day following the Conference, at which representatives from more than 20 American universities and colleges distributed information on studying in the U.S. to more than 800 interested Vietnamese students.