Hanoi University of Science and Technology Strengthening Cooperation with Swedish Partners

3:57:26 PM | 15/1/2019

With the vision of “becoming a leading regional research university cored by technique and technology and focusing on improving the quality of training and scientific research”, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) has always focused on promoting international cooperation with many prestigious universities in the world. Uppsala University of Sweden is one of its typical training cooperation partners. This is one of the best universities in the world, ranked 63rd on the ARWU Shanghai Ranking (2017) and 86th on the Times Higher Education Ranking (2017).

Enhancing international cooperation

Consistent with the goal of reaching international standard training quality, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has always focused on enhancing the quality of international undergraduate and postgraduate training programs in recent years. It is currently implementing university-level training affiliate programs in the 2+2, 3+1 and 4+2 models with prestigious universities of Sweden, the United States, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, France, Australia and England. Major training cooperation contents include mechatronics engineering, information technology, electronics - telecommunications, computer science, business administration, mechanical engineering - machine manufacturing, logistics and supply chain.

In September 2017, on a working trip to Sweden, Ass. Prof. Hoang Minh Son, Rector of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate official cooperation between Hanoi University of Science and Technology and Uppsala University. To further upgrade their training cooperation, on January 9, 2018, the two universities continued to sign a specific agreement on the 3+1 training cooperation model for English-speaking Global ICT Program and Bachelor of Computer Science Program of Uppsala University.

Earlier, in 2016, this cooperation model was meticulously discussed by the Institute of Information and Communication Technology under Hanoi University of Science and Technology and the Department of Information Technology of Uppsala University.

Opportunity to study in Nordic countries

The Global ICT Program is designed to train good global IT engineers with a strong command of English to play a leading role in connecting the Vietnamese information technology market with international markets. Students will have their English skills improved right from the first year and study entirely in English in the following years. They can participate in a 3+1 follow-up program with Uppsala University to get a Bachelor of Computer Science from Uppsala University.

Through this 3+1 program, after completing the first three years of Global ICT Program at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, they can study for the next year at Uppsala University to obtain a Bachelor of Computer Science degree at Uppsala University.

Ass. Prof. Truong Thi Dieu Linh, Coordinator of the Global ICT Program at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said, “As a big university, Uppsala University has strict regulations on credits and subjects that students need to get to obtain the bachelor’s degree. It also spent more than three years observing the quality of Global ICT Program students by accepting some students to study one semester. After seeing that these students studied very well and got on well with the environment, Uppsala University just promoted the evaluation of all subjects in the Global ICT Program in content, duration and conversion of credits to equivalent credits at Uppsala University. The one-year evaluation process was performed via multiple channels, both direct and indirect. The staff of Hanoi University of Science and Technology also went to Uppsala University to present the program structure and training contents.”

“The signing of this 3+1 program not only benefits students, but also demonstrates that the training quality of the Global ICT Program has been recognized by a leading European university,” said Dr. Pham Huy Hoang, Deputy Director of the Institute of Information and Communication Technology.

Since 2017, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has exempted English requirement, which can take up most of the first-year study time, for Global ICT Program students with a good command of English. Thus, these students will benefit most from the 3+1 program because, after only two years studying at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, they may be eligible to move to Uppsala University. They will graduate with a Bachelor of Computer Science degree from Uppsala University in just three years. For students not exempted from English, they will do this 3+1 program in four years.

Launched in 2009, the Global ICT Program is a complete English-language ICT engineer training program of Hanoi University of Science and Technology. This is a training program of the Elitech program system from 2017.

Remarking on this cooperation program, Ass. Prof. Tran Van Top, Vice Rector of Hanoi University of Science and Technology, stressed that the 3+1 cooperation program is expected to further promote relations between Uppsala University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology and give the opportunity to HUST students to access modern and innovative Nordic education.

Typical outcomes and development prospects

Since 2010, Hanoi University of Science and Technology has cooperated in student exchanges with Uppsala University under the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program (LOTUS1, 2, 3, Unlimited and Lotus+) and Erasmus + KA1 Scholarship Program funded by the European Commission. Accordingly, 10 students and four employees of Hanoi University of Science and Technology are on exchange with Uppsala University. In turn, Hanoi University of Science and Technology welcomed three students and two employees of Uppsala University.

In 2018, four students of the Global ICT Program moved to Uppsala University to continue the 3+1 model, including two students awarded Erasmus+ scholarships. When these students complete the program, they will receive diplomas from both Uppsala University and Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

In addition, from 2017, the Global ICT Program included a subject for mixed students divided into groups working together in a remote medium to execute one project. This course is designed to help students experience a group working environment where members from different cultures, time zones and language settings are popularly seen in many global technology companies. The course requires a lot of coordination of teachers and support and interest of students from both sides.

Needless to say, the 3+1 training cooperation program provides a good opportunity for students, not only to access academic knowledge because they are trained in a top-class environment like Uppsala University, but also to experience Nordic modern industry and culture and interact with international students from many parts of the world.

PV