Published on: Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) is strengthening its educational links with Vietnam during a visit to the country by Orla Flynn, Vice President for External Affairs, Gerard O’Donovan, Head of Faculty of Business and Humanities and Carmel Jordan, CIT International Officer. It included visits to partner Universities, Education Fairs and Guest Lectures.

On Friday November 11th in the presence of President of Ireland Michael D Higgins, who is on a State Visit to Vietnam marking 20 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, CIT signed a Memoranda of Understanding in Ho Chi Minh City with two partner Universities in Vietnam: The University of Economics at the University of Danang (UE-UD) and Ho Chi Minh Univeristy of Technology (HCMUT). The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charles Flanagan TD and Enterprise Ireland CEO, Julie Sinnamon, also attended the signing ceremony organised by Enterprise Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Hanoi.

CIT has been working on a Vietnam Ireland Bilateral Exchange (VIBE) programme: an Entrepreneurship project, with Danang University funded by Irish Aid through the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland and supported by the Irish Embassy in Vietnam. VIBE funded Vietnamese students entrepreneurs to compete to win an opportunity to spend last summer at CIT’s Rubicon Centre participating in the CIT Student Inc. Programme. CIT has also been successful with Erasmus Plus funding which facilitates staff and student exchange to Vietnam.

CIT also signed a general cooperation agreement with HCMUT. CIT is currently hosting a Vietnamese PhD student based in its MeSSO Research Group studying Energy Engineering.

Speaking about the partnerships, Orla Flynn said, “it is remarkable how quickly we have been able to build up a strong relationship with our partners. There is a willingness to get to know each other’s culture and a mutual respect which underpins our collaboration. The relationship, in a very short period of time, has developed to involve multiple stakeholders in both institutions.”