French is being taught in many Vietnamese schools. Many students use French as the main subject in university entrance exams. Vietnam-France education has recently been brought a new high with many premium quality training programmes introduced.
Comprehensive cooperation
The French government emphasises cooperation and coordination with the Vietnamese government in training key personnel, improving education and training systems and scientific study in Vietnam, assisting Vietnam to train doctors at Vietnamese universities and enrolling Vietnamese students in French universities. According to Idecaf in Ho Chi Minh City, around 5,000 Vietnamese students are studying in France, focusing on economics, government, medicine, architecture and French.
Vietnam-France education cooperation was extensively developed in 2006 and 2007, highlighted by the cooperation with French University Centre in Vietnam (PUF) and the establishment of CampusFrance Vietnam in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for Vietnamese students to register for overseas study in France.
Besides, the French Embassy in Vietnam always maintains and develops scholarship programmes such as Evalis Galois (granting 25 doctorate scholarships and 50 master scholarships in 2007), Iie de France and Rhones Alpes scholarships.
The French Embassy in Vietnam also supported 18 French researchers of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and seven researchers from the Institute of Research Development (IRD) to work in Vietnam. It also cooperated with relevant bodies to organise activities such as seminars on scientific cooperation between Vietnam and France, the establishment of the centre for scientific and technological research in Hanoi on the occasion of the visits of Ms Catherine Brechignac, director of France National Science Study Centre, Mr Jean Francois Girard, director of IRD and Mr Francois Guinot, Chairman of Technology Academy.
French education exhibitions were organised in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on December 2007.
Top engineer training
With the aim of training Vietnamese engineers with excellent theoretical knowledge, practice skill and management capacity, the governments of Vietnam and France set up the P.F.I.E.V programme (Programme de Formation d’Ingénieurs d’Exellence au Vietnam). Mr Francois Millard, chief of science and technology cooperation of the French General Consulate in HCM City, said: “This programme is carried out in four top universities of Vietnam; namely Hanoi University of Technology, Hanoi Construction University, Danang University of Technology and HCM City University of Technology. Eight top engineers from French schools, such as ENST Bretagne, INP Toulouse, INP Grenoble, Ecole Centrale Paris and others were lecturers for this programme. Training fields are telecom, energy system, electronic mechanics, aviation, advanced materials, polymer and composites.”
France’s Former Consul General Nicolas Warnery said PFIEV was an exemplary cooperation model and would play a leading role in regional projects in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training intends to train 20,000 doctors over 10 years for Vietnamese universities and colleges. Top engineers will be trained to become doctors.
Postgraduate training methods are imported from France.
World-class executive training
CFVG is the first international manager training programme in Vietnam. It took shape in 1992 from the agreement between the Vietnamese Government (Ministry of Education and Training) and French Government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and was carried out by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris (CCIP). At present, CFVG plays a pioneering role in manager training in Vietnam and is an example of the successful cooperation between Vietnam and France. CFVG is a top MBA training programme in Vietnam. So far, more than 1,200 trainees have graduated with CFVG degrees and hold key positions in top companies in Vietnam such as Big C and HSBC.
CFVG provides young executives for Vietnam and gives the best chance for Vietnamese students to approach top French training units in the fields of governance, finance and marketing with three programmes: MBA (master of business administration granted by Vietnam and France), MEBF (master of economics, banking and finance granted by France’s ESCP-EAP and Paris Dauphine) and MMSS (master of marketing, sales and service granted by IAE Paris I Sorbonne and ESCP - EAP). Besides, CFVG also trains officials for companies.
At the meeting on April 23, 2008, the EPAS Certification Council approved to grant EPAS certificates for MBA training programme of CFVG. Thus, MBA CFVG has become an international MBA training programme.
The MBA CFVG is the achievement of 16 years of cooperation between Vietnam and France.
Phan Thanh
Vietnamese
