Strengthening cooperation with French partners in science, technology and education

Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh and French Ambassador to Vietnam Betrand Lortholary sign the second phase of the agreement on USTH development under the witness of Vietnamese and French Prime Ministers

The second phase of the USTH development governmental agreement continues to demonstrate the determination of the Vietnamese and French Governments in building USTH into a world-class university to become a leading university in Southeast Asia. In the agreement, the French Government pledged continued strong support for the development of the USTH. Specifically, in terms of training, the French side confirmed that it will be more involved in the construction and teaching of pedagogical support, and evaluation of higher education programs. In particular, the two sides will begin to issue degrees for Master"s programs while increasing the exchange of students, lecturers and researchers between French and USTH educational and research institutions. In terms of research, the two sides pledged to expand sustainable cooperation in high level science and technology, and development of joint international laboratories.

On the afternoon of November 2, 2018, Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, President of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and Dr. Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of the National Center for Space Studies, France (CNES), signed the agreement between the VAST and the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES).

Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, President of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) and Dr. Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of the National Center for Space Studies, France (CNES), signed the letter of intent between the two agencies.

 According to the letter of intent, VAST and CNES are committed to conducting discussions for mutual benefit; enhancing the relationship and discussing in more detail the applications of space technology in climate change research towards sustainable development; jointly developing activities to implement joint projects.

The two sides also identified potential cooperation areas and forms such as: (1) Enhancing cooperation on earth observation between VAST and CNES to promote the role of space in climate change research as proposals of the space agencies after COP21; (2) Promoting global cooperation in earth observation, including concepts such as the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) proposed within the framework of the “One Planet” Summit in Paris in December 2017; (3) intensifying the exchange of Vietnamese and French research groups to improve research results on climate change, including sustainable development, using satellites that have been or will be launched into orbits from both countries, and integrating earth observation data to monitor climate change; (4) Strengthening the exchange of practical guidelines on spatial solutions from operation to completion for sustainable development, including, but not limited to, water management, agricultural management or monitoring of disaster recovery.

Following the signing ceremony, on November 3, 2018, at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, VAST President, had a meeting with Dr. Jean-Yves Le Gall, CNES President. The two sides discussed the cooperation in the coming time set out in the Letter of Intent signed on November 2, 2018. During the reception, Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh emphasized that the USTH is a symbol of good cooperation between Vietnam and France, adding he hoped that CNES will cooperate closely with the Vietnam National Space Center, the Institute of Space Technology and USTH in supporting human resources training as well as scientific research at USTH, while supporting VAST for step-by-step approach to mastering satellite technology, especially earth observation satellites, the application of space technology in marine research, monitoring of natural resources, the environment and agriculture. He also said he hoped that CNES will support the Vietnam Datacube program, look towards the Mekong Datacube and support the construction of Vietnam space museum.

Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, VAST President, welcomes Jean-Yves Le Gall, CNES President

In the framework of the activities of the delegation of French Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe to visit Vietnam, on November 5, 2018, Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, VAST President, received Jean-Paul Moatti, President of the Institute of Research for Development (IRD) at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. At the meeting, the two sides discussed and identified 3 key issues in the upcoming time. Firstly, continuing to cooperate in marine survey and research; secondly, enhancing the efficiency of joint laboratories between VAST and IRD; and thirdly, putting forth the proposal on building joint projects on environmental pollution in general and marine environment pollution in particular.

 Professor and Academic Chau Van Minh, VAST President, receives Dr. Jean-Yves Le Gall, CNES President.

On November 3, 2018, USTH under VAST signed cooperation agreements with many partners (including IRD), to establish international labs which consist of the Study Center of the Land-Ocean-Atmosphere regional coupled System” (LMI-LOTUS) and the Drug Resistance in Southeast Asia" (LMI-DRISA). Together with the Laboratory Rice Functional Genomics and Plant Biotechnology (LMI Rice 2), the Intelligent Computer Science Laboratory (ICTLab) and the Clean Energy and Sustainable Development (CleanED) laboratory, the birth of LMI DRISA and LMI LOTUS has officially raised the total number of international labs in USTH to five. These are international research units that gather the participation of many elite and experienced scientists from universities and research organizations in Vietnam, France and many other countries. Research projects are being developed to address current urgent global issues such as climate change, clean energy development, or sustainable agriculture.

USTH signs agreement cooperation with the IRD (L) and CNES (R)

On November 3, the USTH also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the CNES to develop research and training activities in space. Accordingly, USTH is a pioneering university in the field of space science training in Vietnam. The cooperation agreement with the CNES, one of the three leading European and international space research centers, opens up many opportunities for studying and exchanging profession with the best international scientists for lecturers, researchers and students.

Tranlated by Phuong Huyen
Link to vietnamese version