On April 3rd, 2023, University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) had a meeting with KU Leuven (Belgium) on the cooperation plan for the upcoming time.
Participating in the meeting, on the side of USTH was Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest – Principal Rector, Dr. Hoang Trung Kien – Director of Department of Energy, Dr. Nguyen Duc Anh – Deputy Director Department of Fundamental and Applied Science, Dr. Mai Huong – Deputy Director of Department of Water – Environment – Oceanography, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Nhi, Officer of Department of International Cooperation; on the side of KU Leuven was Prof. Wim Dewulf – Campus Chairman of Group T Leuven Campus of KU Leuven’s Science, Engineering and Technology Group, Prof. Johan De Greef – Chemical Engineering, Prof. Wim Polet – Faculty Council for International Policy of the Faculty of Engineering Technology.
After welcoming the delegates, the two universities introduced their overview information, training programs, research areas and development plans.
Established in 1425, KU Leuven is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Today, KU Leuven accommodates 50,000 students, spread across the various campuses in Leuven and elsewhere in Flanders. KU Leuven’s sixteen faculties offer classes and degree-granting academic programmes, whilst research activities are organized by departments and research groups. These faculties and departments are clustered into three thematic groups: Humanities and Social Sciences; Science, Engineering and Technology; and Biomedical Sciences. For research, KU Leuven ranks among the world’s finest. KU Leuven has become a cosmopolitan institution in a rapidly changing urban environment. KU Leuven is the highest ranked university in Reuters World Ranking of Most Innovative Universities, the 7th in the Reuters World Ranking of Most Innovative Universities, and the 42th in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking. The KU Leuven Research & Development (LRD) technology transfer office was one of the first in Europe. LRD has a long and productive tradition of licensing tech, collaborating with industry and creating spin-off companies.
University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) is a public university established in 2009 within the framework of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the two countries Vietnam and France with the orientation of becoming an excellent world-class university training in science and technology. The University cooperates with the prestigious universities and research institutes in France to co-award Master’s degrees and opens a Vietnam-France double degree program for 3 majors. An unique feature of USTH’s training program is that students are introduced and supported to find internship opportunities for 3-6 months abroad. An average of 60% of USTH’s students have had the opportunity to do internships at universities and research institutes in France and many other countries with advanced science and technology in Europe and Asia such as Germany, Finland, Italia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. With the strong support of the governing body, VAST, the French Embassy in Vietnam, the Consortium of more than 30 French universities and research institutes, the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and with the investment from the Government of Vietnam, USTH has built 2 international joint laboratories and 1 strong research group, 2 potential research groups, bringing the participation of many excellent and experienced scientists at universities, research organizations of Vietnam, France, and many other countries.
After the introduction, the representatives of two universities discussed the potential cooperation plan between USTH and KU Leuven Faculty of Engineering Technology’s Campus Group T. The Faculty of Engineering Technology is the largest multi-campus faculty of KU Leuven with 6,286 students (17% of them are international students). Group T Leuven Campus is the largest and most international campus of the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Its research focuses on two global challenges: Health Engineering and Sustainable Engineering.
Speaking at the meeting, Prof. Wim Dewulf and Prof. Johan De Greef emphasized that Group T Leuven Campus would like to cooperate with USTH in student exchange, internship and research, initially in the field of Fundamental and Applied Chemistry, Energy and Information Technology. In addition, Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest and USTH’s representatives suggested that USTH can send students to Group T Leuven Campus’s laboratory to do internship and work; and final year students can come to Group T Leuven Campus to study and research. Moreover, the two universities wish to have joint research projects to contribute to the development of sustainable engineering.
At the end of the meeting, the representatives of USTH and KU Leuven both agreed with the initial cooperation proposals and expressed their desire to build and develop a long-term cooperation relationship. The two universities look forward to further discussions in the upcoming meetings with representatives from their departments and hope to sign the Memorandum of Understanding soon.
