Prof Dr Nguyen Cong Thanh, who assisted more than 1,700 Vietnamese youths in studying abroad and persuaded them to return to work in the homeland, has become the first Viet Kieu to receive the third level Labour Medal.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan (left) awards teh third level Labour Medal to Prof Dr Nguyen Cong Thanh

A lot of students were sent to study branches which, at that time, were unfamiliar to Vietnam, like environment technology, or information technology.

According to the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Education and Training, in 2001, Prof Thanh returned to Vietnam to work as the Director of AIT Vietnam (AITCV). During that time, Prof Thanh made a great contribution to the development of the institute in Vietnam, helping it overcome difficulties, and made a great contribution to the development of a high-quality labour force for the country. He did not demand anything for his work, even money.

During his eight years of living in Vietnam, Prof Thanh has been moving heaven and earth, asking local authorities, economic groups and universities to cooperate in creating more opportunities for students to study overseas.

With his prestige, experience and good relations from tens of years of learning and teaching abroad, Prof Thanh has helped 500 Vietnamese people to follow training courses for masters and doctoral degrees in the US, Europe and Asia.

In general, Prof Thanh has assisted over 1,700 Vietnamese students in studying abroad.

The project of Da Lat International University

For the last few months, Prof Thanh has been living in a small room at Da Lat University, working as the consultant for the universities in the highlands city, helping them expand international cooperation in education and training.

“Hanoi and HCM City have international universities or universities which carry out joint training programmes with foreign universities. Why doesn’t Da Lat do that, when it has many advantages, including good climate and favourable traffic?” said Prof Thanh.

Tens of years ago, many military high schools and religious schools were opened in Da Lat. Prof Thanh was once a poor student, who got a scholarship from Lycée Yersin for studying abroad, and then protected his thesis to become a doctor in Canada.

Prof Thanh and the leadership of Yersin Da Lat have successfully persuaded Assumption University in Thailand to sign an MOU on cooperating to open post-university training courses which allow trainees to continue studying at prestigious universities in the UK and US. Some high schools and universities in France, US and Sweden have agreed to cooperate in education and training and exchange lecturers with Yersin Da Lat University.

VietNamNet/TP