On December 1, 2023, the Institutional Accreditation Certificate was awarded to USTH by HCERES in the presence of many distinguished guests and the USTH community. It marked a significant milestone in USTH’s 14-year journey of establishment and development.
The ceremony was attended by Mr. Stanislas Guerini – French Minister of Transition and Public Service; Prof. Acad. Chau Van Minh – President of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; Prof. Chu Hoang Ha, Vice President of Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and Chairman of USTH Council; Mr. Olivier Brochet – French Ambassador to Vietnam; Ms. Amélie Bensimon – Representative of the High Council for Research and Higher Education of France (HCERES); together with USTH’s Rector Board, staff, lecturers, students and alumni.
Addressing in the opening speech, Prof. Jean – Marc Lavest – Principal Rector of USTH expressed his delight and pride when USTH became one of the few public Vietnamese universities to receive the institutional accreditation granted by HCERES. He emphasized that this recognition was not only an honor for USTH but also reaffirmed the university’s commitment to international standards for training and research. USTH is actively modernizing its management systems, restructuring research activities, expanding collaborative networks, and enhancing training quality to meet both labor market demands and the economic growth of Vietnam.
Being granted the institutional accreditation certificate by HCERES marked a momentous milestone in the development of USTH. Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest expressed deep gratitude to the Vietnamese Government, the French Government, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, USTH Consortium as well as domestic and international partners for their unwavering support. He also thanked the previous generations of leaders, staff, lecturers, and students for their dedication and contributions.
Speaking at the ceremony on behalf of HCERES, Ms. Amélie Bensimon expressed that she was delighted to award the institutional accreditation certificate to USTH in the presence of Mr. Stanislas Guerini – French Minister of Transition and Public Service, and Mr. Olivier Brochet – French Ambassador to Vietnam.
Ms. Amélie Bensimon stated that HCERES recognized USTH as a unique higher education that was established within the framework of the intergovernmental agreement between Vietnam and France. HCERES highly regarded its rapid development to become one of the well-known universities in Vietnam. When Vietnamese universities were moving towards autonomy, USTH had made numerous effective transformations to adapt to the new context. HCERES believed that institutional accreditation would signify a new milestone in USTH’s efforts to achieve its development goals.
At the ceremony, on behalf of HCERES, Ms. Amélie Bensimon awarded the institutional accreditation certificate to Prof. Jean – Marc Lavest – Principal Rector and Assoc. Prof. Dinh Thi Mai Thanh – Rector.
HCERES is the official member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and applies the Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) under the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). HCERES is known as a prestigious education quality accreditation organization not only in France but also in Europe. In addition to evaluating institutions in France, HCERES also conducts international assessments for universities abroad, as well as French educational institutions and international collaborative research institutions.
Before receiving the HCERES accreditation, USTH underwent one year of preparation for the evaluation process.
In November 2022, the HCERES evaluation team conducted a preliminary assessment at USTH and confirmed that the University met the conditions for evaluation. They also provided guidance for USTH to conduct a self-assessment according to the HCERES standards and procedures.
By March 2023, USTH had completed and submitted a self-assessment report by HCERES’ schedule.
In May 2023, the HCERES evaluation team conducted a quality assessment at USTH. They held independent interviews with various groups including the University Council, the University Senate, the Science and Education Council, the Rector Board, representatives of academic and administrative departments, lecturers, researchers, students, alumni, domestic and international partners, and employers to assess the effectiveness of the university’s management, the quality of training and research activities, and the contribution and impact of USTH on the community as well as the development prospects of students and alumni. Besides, they directly inspected the physical facilities that serve research and training at USTH.
In October 2023, HCERES announced that USTH met all the standards for the institutional accreditation. The accreditation would be valid for the period of 5 years from 2023 to 2028.
With this result, USTH has become the sixth Vietnamese university to receive this recognition.
In the evaluation report, HCERES highly commended all criteria of USTH and also proposed strategies and development directions for the University to achieve its set goals in the near future.
Moreover, the evaluation report provided crucial information for USTH to continually improve its management, training, and research activities according to international standards, with the aim of further development and the aspiration to become an excellent university in science and technology training, not only in Vietnam but also in the region.
