On July 6, 2026, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thanh Bac, Vice President of the University of Danang (UD), chaired a reception and working session with Ms. Erin Wight, Director of MacEwan International, and a delegation from MacEwan University (Canada).

Also attending the meeting were Assoc. Prof. Mohammed Elmorsy from the Department of Computer Science, MacEwan University; Dr. Theresa Chika-James from the Triffo School of Business; Dr. Matthew LaGrone from the Faculty of Health and Community Studies; representatives of UD's Departments of Science and International Cooperation, and Student Affairs, Corporate Relations and Communications; as well as leaders of UD member institutions, including the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (UD-VKU) and the Vietnam-UK Institute for Research and Executive Education (UD-VNUK).

Welcoming the delegation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thanh Bac expressed his pleasure in receiving the MacEwan University delegation during the Da Nang Economic, Finance and Technology Week 2026, which features a series of academic events hosted by UD with the participation of MacEwan University.

Introducing an overview of UD, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thanh Bac noted that UD is one of Vietnam's key regional universities, offering multidisciplinary and multi-sector education through its six member universities and affiliated institutions. The University currently enrolls approximately 70,000 students and offers around 160 undergraduate programs, 54 master's programs, and 34 doctoral programs. Nearly 140 of these programs have been accredited under national and international quality assurance standards.

With its long-standing tradition and strategic role as one of Vietnam's three leading centers for high-quality human resource development and scientific research, UD was recently selected by the Central Government as one of four key universities to receive strategic investment as model institutions for Vietnam's higher education system. This represents both a significant opportunity and a major responsibility, requiring breakthrough solutions to achieve UD's strategic goal of becoming one of Asia's Top 150 universities while developing at least one discipline ranked among the world's Top 100.

To realize these ambitious goals, UD continues to strengthen international partnerships and university-industry collaboration, particularly in key disciplines and strategic technology sectors. Areas such as FinTech and International Business, in which MacEwan University has established strengths, offer promising opportunities for future cooperation.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. Erin Wight, Director of MacEwan International, expressed her delight at the strong partnership that the two universities have maintained over the past decade. She noted that, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, exchanges between the two institutions have become increasingly active. MacEwan University consistently regards UD as one of its strategic partners within its global network of international collaborators.

The representative of MacEwan International expressed hope that both institutions would continue building on the existing pillars of cooperation by promoting faculty exchanges, collaborative research, and stronger engagement with industry partners, thereby creating more opportunities for students to gain international learning experiences and practical exposure.

She also expressed the desire to see more students from both universities participate in two-way academic exchanges, which would serve as a vivid demonstration of the substantive and effective partnership between the two institutions.

In an atmosphere of mutual understanding and trust, leaders of the two universities discussed issues of shared interest and agreed to further promote exchanges of faculty members, experts, and international students. They also agreed to co-organize conferences, seminars, and academic events, while strengthening university-industry connections to expand partnerships with business communities in both countries, thereby contributing to the internationalization of higher education.

During their visit, the MacEwan University delegation also met and discussed cooperation with several UD member and affiliated institutions, including University of Science and Technology (UD-DUT), UD-VKU, UD-VNUK, and Center for Continuing Education (UD-CCE). The delegation also attended the Conference on Strengthening Substantive and Effective Triple Helix Linkages hosted by UD, as well as the International Conference on Management, Business, Economics, Law and Technology organized by University of Economics (UD-DUE).

UD Media