News Release:
UNE collaborates with Vietnam on education
| Date 9/3/04 No 045/04 Nine senior administrators from Vietnam have visited the University of New England as part of a new collaborative program that is assisting the development of Vietnam's education system. Their 10-day visit was for the first residential school in a Master of Educational Administration program conducted jointly by UNE and the Vietnam National University (VNU). The nine Master's-degree candidates all hold important positions in Vietnamese government or business organisations involved in education. They are among 120 Vietnamese students now enrolled in the program, which began in 2002 and will produce its first graduates later this year. The residential course was an optional component of the Master's
program, and included visits to Armidale schools as well as lectures
and seminars. The Dean of VNU's Faculty of Education, Associate
Professor Nguyen Thi My Loc, who accompanied the students to Australia,
said that, after more than 30 years of war, Vietnam had had to "start
from the beginning" with its education system. Vietnam's current
move towards a market economy involved big changes, she said, and
in addressing those changes Vietnam could learn from developed countries.
"These students are learning how to plan for the future of
education in Vietnam," she said. The Coordinator of International
Studies at VNU, Dr Nguyen Ngoc Bich, also accompanied the students.
|
UNE's School of Professional Development and Leadership, which delivers the six UNE-based units in the collaborative program, organised a presentation ceremony on Tuesday [2 March] to mark the successful completion of the residential course. The Head of the School, Associate Professor Larry Smith, thanked VNU for a partnership that had allowed UNE to host such a distinguished group of students and academics. Lecturers within the School, including Emeritus Professor Grant Harman and Associate Professor Kay Harman, who acted as facilitators for the residential course, attended the ceremony. One of the students, Mr Le Van Ngoc, is a Vice-Director within the national radio network The Voice of Vietnam. He said the Master's program would help greatly in his planning for distance-education programs delivered by radio. Another student, Ms Nguyen Hien, said she had benefited not only from the program itself, but also from the opportunity to visit UNE and Armidale. Media contact: Professor Grant Harman, School of Professional Development and Leadership, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3217 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049. A photograph is available for download. It shows Associate Professor Larry Smith congratulating one of the Master's students, Nguyen Thi Khanh Huyen, during the presentation ceremony. Behind them are (from left) Emeritus Professor Grant Harman, Dr Nguyen Ngoc Bich and Associate Professor Nguyen Thi My Loc. |
