AUCKLAND (AUT University/Pacific Media Watch): AUT University marked the 40th anniversary of New Zealand’s bilateral relationship with Vietnam today by hosting Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and signing an education memorandum of understanding with Quang Ninh province.
Discussions with the Vietnamese delegation, headed by the Prime Minister, covered AUT’s educational partnership with the country, including training of more than 300 Vietnamese officials last year in human resource development, public policy and English language.
New Zealand Minister of Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce told the delegation the visit to AUT was appropriate.
“You are sitting in New Zealand’s youngest and one of our most dynamic universities which is appropriate given Vietnam’s own youth, dynamism and position in South-east Asia.
“Links created through education are among the strongest links of all,” Joyce said.
Prime Minister Dũng told the delegation that with young people making up 40 percent of Vietnam’s 90 million population there is a huge demand for education and training.
“Education is a high priority for social growth and progress and improving people’s lives,” he said.
Two decades
AUT Vice-Chancellor Derek McCormack noted Vietnam is an important trading partner for New Zealand and AUT’s relationship with the country reflects this.
“We are privileged to host Prime Minister Dũng. AUT’s partnership with Vietnam spans more than two decades and since 2009, we have had more than 1300 Vietnamese students at the university.
“Partnerships include programmes with six Viet Namese universities covering the disciplines of Business, Engineering, Hospitality and Tourism and Aquaculture Research as well as postgraduate placements at AUT from Hue University,” said McCormack.
Members of the delegation also visited Colab AUT’s collaboratory for Design and Creative Technologies aimed at imagining, constructing, articulating and navigating rapidly changing social, economic, technological and career environments.
The MOU, to be signed in Quang Ninh on March 23, sets the scene for AUT to become a key training and consultancy partner with Quang Ninh province with a focus on hospitality and tourism; promoting academic research and commercial collaboration and the establishment of the Ha Long Bay University in the province.
Work has already begun with AUT being selected to train more than 20 industry and government leaders from the province in a programme lead by AUT’s Professor Simon Milne of the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute.
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