Dr Kambiz Ghawami, President of the World University Service of Germany, grants an interview to the Vietnam News Agency. (Photo: VNA)Talking to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the visit onJanuary 23 - 24, Ghawami said the two countries boast long-standing cooperationin higher education which has grown well for many decades.
Over the last 10 years, the number of Vietnamese students inGermany has risen from 2,717 in 2013 to 7,600 at present, not including thousands of other Vietnamese holding Germanpassports. Besides, there are nearly 3,000 students atthe Vietnamese - German University (VGU) in Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile,the number of German students in Vietnam remains limited, less than 50 eachyear. Therefore, more information and incentives are needed to turn Vietnaminto an attractive education destination, he pointed out.
An advantage is that the VGU has frequently received Germanstudents coming from its partner universities in Vietnam as part of trainingcooperation programmes. Such programmes are the key to increasing Germanstudents at Vietnamese universities, giving them opportunities to learn about theVietnamese people and culture, he noted.
Ghawami considered the VGU, founded in 2008, as an importantcontributor to the modernisation of Vietnamese universities, helping enhancethe country’s scientific competitiveness in the world.
The scholar cited Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who joined in the signing of the declaration on the VGU establishment in 2008 as FederalForeign Minister of Germany, as saying that the VGU is a future-orientedcooperation project helping draw younger generations’ attention to bilateralties.
Ghawami said the VGU islike a “lighthouse project”. Since its inception, it has been striving to serveas a special bridge linking Vietnam and Germany, and to establish itself as aleading research university in Southeast Asia. The VGU and partner universitiesare working on common projects of national, regional, and global importance.
Stressing the importance of President Steinmeier’s visitto educational cooperation, he held that the two countries share manysimilarities and have reinforced ties in education for decades. They shouldinvest more in education, which is critical to national prosperity.
Germany is famous for techniques while Vietnam for creativity.The combination of their strengths in education, research, andinnovation will benefit both sides, according to Ghawami./.
VNA
