LookAtVietnam – Australian educational institutions are moving ahead with plans to cooperate with their Vietnamese counterparts to support human resources development in this country, said the Australian ambassador to Vietnam.

Cox said that Australia was trying to promote stronger educational linkages with Vietnam in new areas in order to increase the presence of Australian curriculums and materials as well as teachers at Vietnam’s educational systems.

He pointed out the chance for Australia-Vietnam joint ventures in the private sector as more Vietnamese parents send their children to international-standard private schools and the number of middle-income people in this country was growing.

Cox said some schools in Hanoi were partnering with Australian schools and expected a number of educational developments between institutions of the two countries for the medium term.

In addition to partnerships between Australian and Vietnamese schools, Australia is providing more scholarships to Vietnamese candidates because Vietnamese academic ranking was high and Vietnamese candidates did well in the selection process compared with competitors from other countries.

“There are more scholarships for Vietnam in 2009,” Cox confirmed, clarifying that there would be around 175 for Vietnam. He added that the total number of scholarships for Vietnam could be 220 depending on how this country was able to go with other countries in applying for such competitive scholarships like Leadership and Endeavour awards.

Cox said there were around 14,000 Vietnamese students in Australia, coupled with some 5,000 students at the Australian-owned university RMIT Vietnam.

Last week, the University of Queensland announced five winners of the UQ Vietnam-Australia 35 Year Commemorative Research Higher Degree Scholarships. Each of these winners will receive support worth A$200,000 for their four years of study at the university.

Cox said since education was seen as a fundamental for Vietnam’s growth, Australia wanted to help strengthen Vietnamese economy by offering more scholarships and assistance to this country.

He added that Australia wanted Vietnam to be a bigger and stronger economy as this would contribute to stability in the region and create a bigger market for Australian goods and services.

VietNamNet/SGT