Australian and Vietnamese Universities to build research links in agriculture

 

Senior representatives from Australia’s Regional University Network (RUN) are visiting Vietnam this week (from 20-24 April) to further develop research partnerships with Vietnamese universities and institutes in the areas of agriculture, forestry, regional development and sustainable development.

The visit is at the invitation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology and is being supported by the Australian Government, under the treaty level agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between the two nations which entered into force in July 2014. Agriculture is one of the shared areas of interest outlined in the agreement, in addition to climate change, bio-technology, health, and ICT.

“RUN universities have a strong and growing pure and applied research effort, which is undertaken from a unique regional perspective. We are looking forward to collaborating with our Vietnamese colleagues on a range of significant projects” said the chair of RUN, Professor Peter Lee.

RUN is a network of six universities with headquarters in regional Australia. RUN members annually deliver educational programs to over 110,000 students, train over 2,200 higher degree by research candidates and conduct world standard research that matters to regional communities.

The RUN delegation will visit the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Thai Nguyen University, the Vietnam Academy of Forest Sciences, the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Nha Trang University, Dalat University, VNU HCMC, Nong Lam University, and Can Tho University.

“While we have much to offer in terms of our expertise, we expect to also gain new insights and experience through future collaboration with Vietnam” the Executive Director of RUN, Dr Caroline Perkins said.

The week-long visit will end in Can Tho with a research seminar on “Agriculture development for the Mekong Delta” co-organised by the Australian Government, RUN universities and Can Tho University. Around 20 Australian alumni are being sponsored by the Australian Government to attend the seminar to provide an opportunity for them to explore options for future research collaboration and networks in the field of agriculture.

For further information about the visit, please contact Ms Vu Binh Chau, Communication Officer, Australian Embassy at Tel: 04 3774 0216 or Email: [email protected].