On the morning of December 12, 2024, at the Hilton Hotel in Da Nang, the University of Danang (UD) hosted the Learning event for the Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) Project for the 2022-2024 period.

Attending the event, there were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Hai Quan, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, President of Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, Member of Da Nang City Party Committee, President of UD; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Bao Son, Vice President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Anh, PHER Project Director; Dr. Teshome Alemneh, Co-Director of the PHER Project; Ms. Nguyen Phuong Thao, Project Management Specialist at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam; Dr. Phan Anh Duc, Party Secretary and Chairman of the UD Council; Dr. Nguyen Thi Mai Phuong, Acting Director of the PHER Project; representatives from USAID, the World Bank (WB), and Indiana University (IU), USA; as well as leaders from member universities and affiliated units of UD.

The event at the Hilton Hotel, Da Nang

In the opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, President of UD, warmly welcomed the delegates to the learning event of the PHER Project for the 2022-2024 period. UD President also emphasized that this occasion allowed the universities and their partners to reflect on the attained significant achievements, share experiences, and thereby promote successful initiatives while addressing existing limitations to ensure the project's continued effective implementation in the coming years.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu delivered the opening remark.

President Nguyen Ngoc Vu noted that the PHER Project brings great expectations and confidence to UD and the three universities, serving as a substantial impetus for important changes in governance, training, scientific research, and partnerships, thereby contributing to the development of higher education in Vietnam.

As a leading center for training, scientific research, and technology transfer in the region and nation, UD places special emphasis on training quality, considering it the "red thread" throughout and the foundation for sustainable development of a university.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Hai Quan, a Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, President of Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City shared his ideas

To achieve this goal, UD has implemented several strategic orientations to enhance training quality through key pillars:                                                                                                      

1. Strengthening connections with high schools to improve input quality;
2. Promoting university-industry cooperation to align training with employment needs;
3. Expanding international cooperation for faculty and student exchanges, research collaboration, and additional resources for development and international integration;
4. Focusing on relationships with ministries, sectors, and localities to elevate the university's social standing;
5. Innovating university governance towards modernity and professionalism, linked with digital transformation, aiming at learner satisfaction.
6. 

Dr. Teshome Alemneh - Co-Chairman of Project PHER presented a presentation

These five strategic pillars of UD align with the four strategic activities that the PHER Project has been implementing over the past two years. The project has assisted UD and the two national universities in modernizing university governance following the model of Indiana University, USA, focusing primarily on human factors. Many staff and lecturers have received capacity-building training, exchanged experiences with experts, and participated in training courses, contributing to enhancing research capacity,  innovation, and improving the quality of the workforce.

Initiatives from the project have acted as bridges between universities and enterprises, connecting alumni, contributing to the development of training programs that meet the practical needs of the labor market, creating job opportunities for students, and effectively promoting knowledge transfer.

Prof.Dr. Tran Ngoc Anh - PHER Project Director (left image) transferred Technical documents to leaders of 03 universities

“The project has established and strengthened an extensive cooperation network between our three universities and international partners such as USAID, the World Bank, and the network of U.S. universities like Indiana University. This foundation not only facilitates knowledge sharing but also opens prospects for long-term cooperation to enhance the prestige and competitiveness of each university as well as Vietnam's higher education. This highlight is a significant success of the project for UD” emphasized President Nguyen Ngoc Vu.

Leaders of UD and 02 National Universities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City gave flowers to the representatives of the partners' leaders and Co-Directors of the PHER Project.

Representatives of UD gave special thanks to USAID, Indiana University, the leadership of Vietnam National University, Hanoi and Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, the World Bank in Vietnam, and the leadership of the PHER Project Management Board for their dedication and responsibility, contributing to the project's success to date.

In the future, UD commits to continue effectively implementing the project's initiatives and strengthening cooperation with relevant parties to achieve breakthrough results.

Topical session on Higher Education Governance and discussion results and experiences from 03 universities

At the event, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Hai Quan, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, expressed his pleasure in attending the event, recalling the close ties with the project from its early days alongside the three universities and partners namely USAID, WB, and IU.

President Vu Hai Quan shared practical lessons and notable results of the project for the three leading universities in Vietnam, including experiences in innovating advanced higher education governance, enhancing research capacity, fostering innovation, and promoting enterprise cooperation.

Teaching and Learning session

President Vu Hai Quan highlighted impressive outcomes from Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, such as:

• In higher education governance, implementing talent attraction solutions, notably the VNU 350 Program aiming to recruit 350 PhDs and reputable scientists by 2030;
• In digital transformation, initiating the digitization of electronic processes and establishing a staff data center for the entire Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City;
• In enhancing scientific research capacity and international publications, surpassing 3,000 articles published in reputable journals (WoS/Scopus) in 2024.

Additionally, President Vu Hai Quan also discussed upcoming challenges and affirmed the close-knit relationship between the three universities, "together on one boat," along with partners to lead the project to success.

Prof.Dr. Le Quang Son, UD Vice President shared his ideas.

Dr. Teshome Alemneh, Co-Director of the PHER Project, highly appreciated and sincerely thanked UD for hosting the project's learning event in the beautiful coastal city of Da Nang and for its active contributions to the project's outstanding results during the 2022-2024 period.

He expressed his gratitude to the accompanying partners and congratulated the three universities for their relentless efforts in gradually fulfilling the project's implementation commitments, achieving results and lessons in the process of innovating higher education suitable to Vietnam's realities.

Senior representative of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, USAID, and Indiana University shared their ideas

A notable aspect of the project was to strengthen cohesion and cooperation towards sustainable goals, promoting a network for developing teams of experts, scientists, and talents. The activities of the PHER Project were long-term and sustainable, based on trust and collaboration to adapt to domestic and international contexts, supported by the government, authorities, and the three leading universities in Vietnam.

PHER Project leaders also suggested which innovative results can continue to be expanded in the future and identify challenges to strive to overcome, thereby extending the PHER Project's widespread and effective impact.

Preliminary Results of the PHER Project for the period of 2022-2024

At the event, Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Anh, Director of the PHER Project, handed over technical documents to the three universities, including Guidelines for Evaluating and Classifying the Quality of Staff in Public Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam Based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); Guidelines for Developing a Program Evaluation System; Online Course Quality Assessment; Policy Analysis on Online Education; Guidelines for Building a Management Information System; Training Programs for Lecturers on Blended Learning; Online Courses Being Finalized on the Universities' Learning Management Systems (LMS); Regulations on Academic Integrity in Scientific and Technological Activities at UD; Regulations on the Organization and Operation of the Research Ethics Council in the Social Sciences and Humanities UD…

Sustainability Mechanism of the PHER Project

The Seminar featured three discussion sessions with specialized reports on (1) Higher Education Governance: Evaluating faculty based on KPIs, Management Information Systems (MIS), and Internal Quality Assurance; (2) Teaching and Learning: Focusing on Digital Education policies, professional development for excellence in teaching and learning, and online course development; (3) Research and Innovation: Actively exchanging experiences and agreeing on implementation plans for the upcoming phase

The University of Danang reaffirmed its commitment to actively contribute to the PHER Project's outcomes, enhancing system capacity and the quality of training and research for sustainable development.

Delegates concurred that the PHER Project has made practical contributions to governance, training, and scientific research activities at the three universities during the last phase, supporting the implementation of each university's development strategies. According to Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Anh, Project Director, the project promoted higher education innovation in Vietnam, meeting the goal of improving human resource quality to serve the country's industrialization, modernization, and international integration.

The collaboration strongly connected Vietnam's three leading universities with partners from USAID, the World Bank, and Indiana University, pioneering higher education reform.