In the period of 5-9 December 2016 in Vietnam, the European – ASEAN Academic University Network (ASEA-UNINET) in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Hanoi held “Austrian – Vietnamese ASEA-UNINET Days in Vietnam” as one of the commemorative activities towards the 45th Anniversary of the establishment of Austrian – Vietnamese diplomatic relations.

As national coordinating university of ASEA-UNINET in Vietnam, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) hosted the first Austrian – Vietnamese Days with joint seminars and networking activities on joint research and training, graduate & research grants information session as well as alumni meeting on 5-6 December, 2016 at HUST campus.

Presenting at the Opening Ceremony are H.E. Dr. Thomas Loidl, Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam; Uni. Prof. A Min Tjoa – National Coordinator of Asea-Uninet in Austria; Assoc. Prof. Huynh Quyet Thang – HUST Vice President; Asea-Uninet university coordinators from Austrian Universities and Asea-Uninet member Universities in the northern Vietnam; also many young lecturers and researchers from HUST and other Vietnamese universities and research institutions.

The main objective of “Austrian-Vietnamese ASEA-UNINET Days in Vietnam” is to promote the research collaboration among Vietnamese and Austrian universities and disseminating ASEA-UNINET grants including sandwich grants, PhD grants, Postdoc and short-term research grants to young university staffs in Vietnam.

Univ. Prof. A Min Tjoa, Dr. Thomas Loidl and Prof. Huynh Quyet Thang 
in MOU Signing Ceremony between HUST and TUWien

Addressing at the Opening Ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Huynh Quyet Thang said “this is a special event in celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the establishment of Austrian – Vietnamese diplomatic relations and also in a series of activities towards the 60th Founding Anniversary of HUST in 2016”. H.E. Dr. Thomas Loidl emphasized that the Austrian – Vietnamese Diplomatic Relation was established in 1972 and it is excellent and based on mutual trust and friendship: “An important objective for the Austrian Embassy in Hanoi is to strengthen the relations between Vietnam and Austria in all sectors, not only in the political and economic field but also in the important sectors of science, research, technology and education” – he said and highly appreciated the contributions of ASEA-UNINET as well as the initiative of Austrian – Vietnamese Asea-Uninet Days in Vietnam.

Since the establishment in 1994, ASEA-UNINET has been so successful in pursuing its long-range goals and building a durable good image in all the participating countries including Austria and Vietnam. By focusing on supporting and training young researchers and lecturers in university members, ASEA-UNINET has been making great contributions to the higher education capacity building, the advancement of knowledge and solving scientific and social problems in many fields ranging from science, engineering, medicine, pharmacy, biotech to the fields of arts and music… Addressing at the Opening session, Univ. Prof. A Min Tjoa shared: “In the last 3 years, we have had an increasing number of academic cooperation –nearly 70 projects. I very much hope that this event will contribute that in a not too far future we can significantly have many more cooperation projects”.

During one and a half day of the Event at HUST, professors, lecturers and young researchers from Austrian and Vietnamese Universities made presentations to introduce their research areas and joined in separate research groups to exchange mutual interests for future projects and collaborations. The Austrian – Vietnamese ASEA-UNINET Days draw special attentions from young lecturers, researchers and alumni from HUST and other Vietnamese universities with information sessions on all types of Asea-Uninet grants including Follow-up grants specialized for Austrian Alumni.

In the afternoon of December 6th, ASEA-UNINET delegation moved to Da Nang and then Ho Chi Minh City, continuing to organize the networking events in Vietnam until December 09th, 2016.