First national conference for Vietnamese alumni
of Australian universities

The Australian Embassy in Hanoi is organising the first national conference for Vietnamese alumni who have graduated from Australian universities.

The event will take place in Hanoi on 14 and 15 December 2013, with the theme Celebrating 40 years of Australia - Vietnam Diplomatic Relations: Education for Development in Vietnam: Future Collaboration and Directions.

With attendance from over 500 alumni and several prominent academics from Australia, the conference aims to celebrate the achievements of Vietnamese who have studied an Australian university degree and the benefits these links have brought to the Australia-Vietnam relationship.

The conference will also explore future collaboration in areas of shared priority, enhancing linkages between Australia and Vietnam in diversified areas.

The conference will include seven sessions covering issues of key interest to Vietnam including: health sector reform; better education outcomes for Vietnam; sustainable agricultural development; Vietnam’s regional economic integration; environmental sustainability for development; developing Vietnam’s human resources and public sector reform.

Professor Geoff Gallop (former Premier of Western Australia and currently Director of the Graduate School of Management at The University of Sydney), a keynote speaker at the Conference, emphasizes that higher education plays an important role in sustainable development. “Higher education has the capacity to act as an autonomous force for change,” Professor Gallop said. “By making available science and new technology, higher education not only helps businesses innovate and compete, it also helps communities tackle disease, decay and disadvantage”.

To date, there have been around 40,000 Vietnamese who have graduated from Australian institutions since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973. Of these, 4,500 Vietnamese students have received long and short-term training opportunities from the Australian Government. Vietnam is the third largest recipient of Australia Awards, with up to 400 awards on offer each year.

“I am proud to see how the ties between our two nations have grown over the years, and thousands of alumni from Australian universities are playing an active role in strengthening this relationship and contributing to Vietnam’s development”, said Mr Phillip Stonehouse, Charge d’Affaires at the Australian Embassy in Hanoi.

Further information on the conference, including a list of keynote speakers can be found at the website: http://vnac2013.vn/

Contacts:

Ms Vu Binh Chau, email: [email protected]; tel: +84-4-3774 0216
Ms Nguyen Minh Chau, email: [email protected]; tel: +84 4 3939 3991/2 ext: 106