Vietnam

Cooperation in the field of science and technology

The cooperation has been intensified in recent years, not least through joint science and technology meetings (2008 in Berlin, 2009 in Hanoi).

In late September 2006, a joint working group on scientific and technological cooperation between the BMBF and the MoST was established. The cooperation, which was intensified further by this move, is based on the successes in the areas of water and environmental research and technology, biotechnology and research management. In addition, a strategic partnership in the field of water technology has existed since then. BMBF and MoST are jointly funding a project bureau in Hanoi to support the expanded cooperation in water and environmental technology.

Priority subjects

The German-Vietnamese cooperation currently focuses on the following priority areas

• Water and environmental research and technology
• Research administration and management

The water and environmental research/environmental technology area of activity has become an important area of cooperation in the meantime. Since 2002, activities have increasingly focused on the topic of “Water and the Environment”. This bilateral partnership is in the strategic interest of both countries. The international orientation of the water research funded by the BMBF is designed to contribute to achieving the millennium goals and to internationalise water research. Water research in Vietnam aims to contribute to achieving the ambitious goals in developing a sustainable water management.

Biotechnology
Thanks to Vietnam’s still mainly agricultural economy, the development of biotechnological competencies in the field of edible plant and animal breeding and food processing is of great importance.

Research management

Of particular political importance is the cooperation in the field of research management, which aims to redesign the Vietnamese system for research promotion according to the German model. Part of this reform is the establishment of the “Vietnam Science and Technology Evaluation Centre (VISTEC)”, which was founded in 2006. VISTEC is an institution within the portfolio of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) of Vietnam and is tasked with preparing statements on the scientific and structural development of universities and research institutions. An important requirement for realigning and strengthening R&D capacities in Vietnam was the evaluation of the research landscape. VISTEC is supported in this endeavour by a CIM expert (Centre for International Migration and Development).

 Cooperation in higher education

Education and research policy measures have been successfully combined in Vietnam. Since 2009, the Cologne University of Applied Sciences has been offering together with the Vietnam Academy for Water Resources (VAWR) in Hanoi a two-year Master’s programme in Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (TERMA) which is supported with funds from the DAAD. The first students were able to matriculate in the programme in 2009. The TERMA-Programme offers participants an interdisciplinary approach to the topic: questions about the assessment, selection and application of technologies will not only be discussed on an economic basis, but also from an ecological, social and institutional point of view. In the course of their studies, students will have the opportunity to select one area of specialisation.

The education fairs held by the consortium for international higher education marketing, GATE Germany, were supported with funds from the BMBF and intensively promoted Germany in Vietnam as a study and research location Since the year 2000, the German Higher Education and Research Fair in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City has taken place annually with the participation of up to 20 German universities, universities of applied sciences and language schools (approximately 4,000 visitors); the consortium also participated in the European Higher Education Fair in Hanoi in December 2007 and a French-German higher education fair in March 2009. The number of Vietnamese students at German universities is increasing, and amounted to a total of 3,671 students in the winter semester 2008/09, 1,156 of whom gained their higher education entrance qualification in Germany or at a German school abroad.

Vietnam has recently made a number of changes in its law to facilitate access for foreign investors. The bilateral trade agreement with the USA came into force in late 2001. It is considered as a milestone in Vietnam’s economic development. Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007. The country is a member of ASEAN, which means that it will impose no tariffs on goods from the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) until 2015. This increases the pressure on the Vietnamese economy to advance the modernisation of the country. At the same time, Vietnam is campaigning hard for direct investments from Germany and other countries. Further information about Vietnam’s economic situation and economic structure is available on the website of the German Embassy in Hanoi.

All these measures increase the success prospects of joint research activities, particularly with a view to the future joint utilisation of research results ("sustainability").

Cooperation with Vietnamese research institutes is certainly attractive for German scientists, particularly in application-oriented fields. However, Vietnam is also an increasingly attractive partner in certain areas of basic research. This is reflected in the commitment of the German Research Association (DFG) in Vietnam, for example in the form of a collaborative research programme (“Sustainable Land Use and Rural Development in Mountainous Regions of Southeast Asia – The Uplands Programme”).