University of Hawaii and Hanoi University collaborate to launch Inter-University Center in Vietnam

New venue will help strengthen UH's education and research ties in Southeast Asia

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Carolyn Tanaka, (808) 956-9803
External Affairs & University Relations
Posted: Dec 18, 2006


The longstanding partnership between Hanoi University (HANU) and the University of Hawaiʻi was further solidified today when President Nguyen Xuan Vang and President David McClain officially launched the Inter-University Center (IUC), a joint project of the two universities. Since 2003, UH has partnered with HANU to expand its English language and applied linguistics capacity. Over the last three years nearly 70 Vietnamese English instructors have been trained, among them 9 teachers from Thai Nguyen, Dalat, Nha Trang, and Hue, and the remainder from HANU.

The new Inter-University Center, located in HANU‘s newest building C on the fifth floor, will serve as a venue for workshops, conferences, and seminars. Additionally, it will provide a location for advising prospective Vietnamese students and scholars wishing to study or conduct research at one of the University of Hawaiʻi‘s ten campuses.

President McClain stated, "The IUC will enable the University of Hawaiʻi to engage more effectively in education, training, and research with our partners in Vietnam and neighboring Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, furthering our century-old mission of being the leading American institution focused on the Pacific-Asia region. We‘re most grateful to President Vang and HANU for this productive and important relationship."

The University of Hawaiʻi has maintained uninterrupted ties with Vietnam for more than a quarter of a century, and is deeply committed to enhancing relations between the two nations. UH academic activities in Vietnam have included language training in both Vietnamese and English, delivery of an executive MBA, and collaboration in the fields of tourism, nursing, public health and the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The University of Hawaiʻi will celebrate its centennial in 2007.

Hanoi University‘s strategy for development is to uphold its leading position in education and research on foreign languages and international studies at all levels, and to develop gradually into a multi-disciplinary language-based university for the education and training of professionals of the highest standards for the industrialization and modernization of the country. President Vang notes that, "We strive to become an internationally recognized university, making an active contribution to Vietnam‘s renovation and global integration processes."

These two university presidents share a common vision. This new partnership reinforces HANU‘s and UH‘s shared goals of transforming students from their respective institutions into global leaders.