On December 14th, 2023, Hiroshima University (HU) President Mitsuo Ochi, Executive Vice President for Global Initiatives Shinji Kaneko, Dean of the HU School of Applied Biological Science Masayuki Shimada, and Professor Tran Dang Xuan of the IDEC Institute paid a visit to Mr. Dang Xuan Truong, Standing Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Thai Nguyen Province. Rector Nguyen Hung Quang of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) as well as members of Thai Nguyen National Hospital also attended the meeting.

President Ochi began the meeting with an introduction of HU’s acceptance of Vietnamese students. Students from Vietnam comprise the third largest group of international students, with 65 Vietnamese students currently studying at HU and 343 Vietnamese alumni, many of whom are from Thai Nguyen Province. Following the introduction, President Ochi announced the conclusion carried out earlier that day of an inter-university international exchange agreement with TUAF for the establishment of a satellite campus. He also explained how HU will collaborate with TUAF and Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training in the future and will move forward with preparations to accept more doctoral students. Furthermore, he asked for the government of Thai Nguyen Province to offer scholarships and other support in order to secure distinguished students. In addition, he expressed that he would collaborate with Japanese businesses expanding into the Vietnamese market and put effort towards the development of human resources in the four fields of agriculture, semiconductors, carbon neutrality, and smart cities, and that he would like to actively accept distinguished students from Vietnam.

In response, Vice Chairman Truong stated his hopes for the expansion of exchange in the future, saying, “As a province we will fully cooperate with the establishment of the satellite campus. Although Thai Nguyen Province has not developed a system for scholarships for university students before now, we will discuss as a whole what kind of scholarships will be possible. Also, we would like to move forward with collaboration not only in the field of agriculture, but also in the fields of semiconductors, infrastructure technology development for smart cities, and especially the medical field with Thai Nguyen National Hospital.”

HU has been making efforts to promote exchange with Vietnam, with President Ochi meeting with H.E. Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, during his visit to Japan for the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May 2023, and with H.E. Mr. Vo Van Thuong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in November. It is hoped that this visit and the conclusion of the inter-university international exchange agreement will promote exchange with Thai Nguyen Province and other universities and research institutions in Vietnam.

• Thai Nguyen Province People's Committee Electronic Information Portal
• Thai Nguyen Province People's Committee Official YouTube