Australia to provide support to universities in the North West

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On August 29, Tay Bac University and the Australian Government’s Aus4Skills program, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), laying the foundation for a series of cooperation activities until 2020 to strengthen Tay BacUniversity’s leadership and management, reform curriculum and teaching methodology, increase academic support for disadvantaged students, and advance women in leadership.

Tay Bac University is a regional university located in the economically disadvantaged province of Son La. About80% of its students are from ethnic minorities. Its mission is to train highly qualified human resources, conduct research, and provide economic and technical services for the development of the north western region. In the context of education reform and international integration, TayBac University needs to strengthen its capacity to accomplish its mission.

Mr Graham Alliband, Program Director – Aus4Skills program and Mr Nguyen Van Bao, Rector – Tay Bac University at the MOU signing ceremony

“We are committed to assisting Vietnam’s human resource development in various ways, including through our support for TayBac University,” said Australian Ambassador, HE Mr Craig Chittick. “We believe that with strengthened university management and reformed curriculum and teaching methodology, TayBac University will be able to provide better academic support to nearly 4,000 ethnic minority students. This will increase thesuccess rateof ethnic minority students at university and help them get better jobs,” he continued.

In September 2017, Aus4Skills will sign similar MOUs with Thai Nguyen University (TNU) and TNU –University ofAgriculture and Forestry.

Aus4Skills is a five-year program providing support to Vietnam to achieve the shared goal that Vietnam accesses and uses high level professional and technical knowledge, skills and competenciesto contribute to the country’s sustainable economic and social development.