On October 1st, 2024, USTH was honored to welcome a delegation from Agence Française de Développement (AFD). As part of this visit, Ms. Sarah Marniesse – Head of AFD Campus, led an insightful seminar on the theme of Innovation.
Attending the seminar, on the side of AFD Vietnam was Mr. Hervé Conan – Country Director, Ms. Sarah Marniesse – Head of AFD Campus, Mr. Antoine Le Bihan – Head of Public Policy and Partnership Unit; on the side of USTH was Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest – Principal Rector, Dr. Vu Thi Thu – Deputy Director of Direction of Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer and lecturers, staff, Vietnamese and international students.
At the beginning of the seminar, on behalf of USTH, Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest – Principal Rector extended his warm welcome to Ms. Sarah Marniesse and expressed the desire to develop a strong long-term cooperation relationship between USTH and AFD.
Ms. Sarah Marniesse is Head of AFD Campus, an AFD entity whose mission is to train its partners, and share knowledge and experience through an original curriculum, in order to drive major social, economic and environmental changes. With the firm belief that the complexity and uncertainty of the modern world require new approaches to development, research and training, Ms. Sarah Marniesse has throughout her career championed collective intelligence, co-creation and technology to provide meaningful solutions. With an AFD Campus team committed to adopting a revamped, partnership-based approach to training, she supports the integration of new skills into learning pathways (21st century skills such as creativity, collective intelligence and leadership) and innovative formats (use of digital technology, peer-to-peer exchanges and project- or idea-based approaches).
In the seminar, Ms. Sarah Marniesse delved into the critical discussion of how innovation has evolved to become a key driver of change. With the world facing unprecedented challenges—climate disruptions, biodiversity loss, and growing inequality—the role of innovation is more significant than ever. The talk explored whether innovation can serve as a replacement for the traditional notion of progress, how these two concepts have historically shaped society, and whether a new paradigm is needed to address the complexities of our modern world.
Following Ms. Sarah Marniesse’s presentation, the participants had a lively discussion about innovation, the need of innovation in the development of Vietnam’s technology and economy as well as its side effects on the environment and how we can balance, and what we can provide for society.
At the end of seminar, Ms. Sarah Marniesse thanked participants and hoped to have more opportunities to work with USTH’s lecturers and students in the future.
Some photos of the seminar:
