Saturday, April 18, 2009

US university to start sending students to Vietnam

April 18, 2009
Bye VietNamNet/VNA

VietNamNet Bridge - The first students of US-based Loyola University will arrive in Vietnam next month to participate in Loyola's study-abroad pilot programme in Vietnam.

The study-abroad programme which is one of three pilot programmes Loyola will launch this year in Vietnam will offer the students a month studying anthropology before going to work for two weeks in local orphanages and elementary schools.

Loyola is the first American university to establish a representative office in Vietnam as part of a partnership with the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training.

Loyola Associate Provost Patrick Boyle said the university wants to help foster cooperation between the two countries. "Developing positive relations between the US and Vietnam is a theme that runs through our activities", he said.

The university will offer English as a second language courses for Vietnamese students at Hanoi Medical University.

According to the Associate Provost, although students at Hanoi Medical University have studied English for many years, they are usually not fluent, and Loyola will provide advanced instruction. "The goal is to help them to participate in medical research by giving them access to English-language journals and conferences," he said.

Boyle added ultimately, Loyola university hopes the programme will lead to collaboration between Hanoi Medical University and its own medical school.

Loyola's Associate Provost said that the university's leadership training programme, which will be designed for Vietnamese university officials, is in the planning phase. The programme is scheduled to start late this year or in early 2010.

The Ho Chi Minh City office is Loyola's third international outpost. The university has centers in Rome and Beijing, in addition to study-abroad programmes in 70 other locations.

VietNamNet/VNA

No comments: