Conference focuses on Japan-Vietnam HE tie-ups and cooperation

The vast majority of international students in higher education in Japan come from China, but other nationalities from Asia are also a major presence, including students from Vietnam. Higher education in Japan has become a major player globally, but it mainly serves students from elsewhere in Asia. This will put Japan's HE sector in fierce competition with, for example, Malaysia, which has more abundant space for 'green-site' campuses as well as more widespread social use of English. Students from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand are coming to Japan, but mostly to learn Japanese language and culture, not really to pursue an education. This is sort of a mirror image of what anglophone countries still typically provide for Japanese students (English language training mostly). Students from developing countries in Asia, however, often come to Japan to get training and degrees taken in Japanese.

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http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Education/2009/9/74339/

Vietnam, Japan strengthen cooperation in university education

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan has appreciated Japan’s assistance to Vietnam to develop education.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan opens the first conference of Vietnamese and Japanese university heads in Hanoi on September 17 (Photo: Nhan Dan)

He was speaking at the first conference of Vietnamese and Japanese university heads held by his ministry in Hanoi on September 17 under the theme “boosting university cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.”

The two-day conference is being attended by 53 university directors from Japan.

Japan has helped Vietnam build 256 elementary schools in 17 flood-prone provinces and four mountainous southern provinces and grants scholarships to Vietnamese students every year.

The conference provides an opportunity for the two countries’ universities to review cooperation in education and scientific research as well as to compare notes, he said.

In recent years, Japan has been one of biggest donors of official development assistance to the Vietnamese education system.

It has, for instance, funded a US$65 million project to enhance training in information and communication technology and a $23 mil project to upgrade infrastructure at Can Tho University.

More than 100 Vietnamese universities have tied up with Japanese universities, including Hue University, the Hanoi University of Technology, the Hanoi University of Education, and the HCMC University of Education.