Trinity joins forces with top Vietnamese University

Posted on: 11 November 2016

Trinity College Dublin   joined forces with one of Vietnam’s top universities, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) this week during President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins’ State Visit to the country.

Trinity and UEH signed an agreement concerning the undergraduate Bachelor of Business Studies programme, which will see Vietnamese students spending their first two years at UEH, and their second two years at Trinity.  On completion, Vietnamese students will graduate with a Trinity Bachelor of Business Studies degree. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan TD, was also in attendance at the signing ceremony which was organised by Enterprise Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Hanoi.

UEH is one of the largest Vietnamese universities in economics and business administration, educating the country’s future policy makers and experts in economics and business administration.

President Michael D. Higgins said: “This Vietnamese partnership is excellent for UEH, Trinity College Dublin and for Ireland. We look forward to welcoming these Vietnamese students to our country where they will benefit from a high calibre Irish third level education from our leading university, Trinity. They will also enjoy a full student life in a diverse and inclusive campus.”

Vice President for Global Relations, Professor Juliette Hussey said: “We are delighted to be part of this collaboration with UEH. Our Trinity Specialist Business Degree is a unique programme, designed for students who focus on business from the very beginning of their degree. Academic excellence meets industry experience in this dynamic programme where innovation and entrepreneurship are also key components.”

During the visit to Vietnam, an agreement between the Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research and the Vietnam National Museum of Nature (VNMN) was marked by both parties in the presence of the President. The Vietnamese equivalent to the Natural History Museum in London, the VNMN has an exceptionally broad scope covering Geography, Geology, Biology, Nature Conservation, Sustainability and Genetics. The museum is to the forefront in the discovery and naming of species new to science in Vietnam.  Trinity has a Geology museum, a fully accredited Zoology museum and an internationally important herbarium.

Trinity’s partnership with the Vietnamese Museum will strengthen and promote cooperation in biodiversity research in Vietnam especially in Botany, Geography, Geology and Zoology. It will support joint field-work, publication of research, specimen exchange as well as exchange of staff and students, consultancy and support for the development of a Botanic Garden in Vietnam.

During the visit the Vice President for Global Relations, Professor Hussey and the Director of Global Engagement, Enterprise and Development, Simon Williams also engaged with academic and industry collaborators in Vietnam. In 2016, Trinity won a grant under the Vietnam Ireland Bilateral Exchange programme initiated by the Irish Embassy and Irish aid to encourage collaborations between Vietnamese and Irish universities. The award was to help develop expertise in Vietnam in the area of data science, a priority for the Vietnamese Government. Trinity partnered with the John Von Newmann Institute in Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh together with support from Glandore Systems, an Irish based company in Vietnam.

Trinity also has a number of exchange collaborations between the School of Medicine and hospitals in Vietnam. Each year up to ten undergraduate students in Medicine and Physiotherapy participate in elective clinical placements in Vietnam.