Higher Education

BACKGROUND

The Government of Vietnam’s ultimate goal is to grow from lower-middle-income status to upper-middle-income status by 2030. To drive this transition, Vietnam needs to invest in producing a highly-skilled workforce that can meet the demands of today’s global economy. Modernizing higher education is an essential component, and the Government of Vietnam enacted a law in 2018 paving the way for such reforms. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is helping Vietnamese universities to improve academic quality and enhance institutional governance to serve as modern models of higher education and drive Vietnam’s socio-economic development. USAID is assisting public and private universities in Vietnam to improve institutional governance and sustainability, implement curriculum and teaching reform, advance technology and innovation, and strengthen partnerships and industry linkages. Together with the Government of Vietnam, and in partnership with U.S. higher education institutions and the private sector, USAID is driving institutional and systemic higher education reforms that better prepare graduates to succeed in a competitive global market. USAID’s investments in higher education underscore the United States’ commitment to the future of Vietnam and the enduring nature of the U.S.-Vietnam partnership. 

PROJECTS

• Building University-Industry Learning and Development through Innovation and Technology (BUILD-IT) partners with academia, industry, and Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training to modernize technology and engineering higher education. [2015-2023, $8.71 million] 
• Improving Access, Curriculum and Teaching in Medical Education and Emerging Diseases (IMPACT-MED) Alliance convenes a diverse group of university, public sector, and private sector partners to educate and build a strong and effective health workforce in Vietnam able to respond to needs of the 21st century. [2016-2026, $15.76 million] 
• Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) is the country’s first fully independent, non-profit university, launched in 2016 as a model of Vietnamese-American partnership. USAID supports FUV to build a strong and sustainable higher education institution, delivering world-class education and serving as a vanguard in Vietnam’s efforts to reform its higher education system. [2021-2024, $16.5 million]
• Through the Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) with Vietnam’s three largest universities and U.S. higher education institutions, USAID advances reforms to improve the quality and market-relevance of higher education to drive lasting growth.  [2021-2026, $14.2 million]
• The Environmental Education Program advances climate change education and action in the 13 Mekong Delta provinces through a partnership with Can Tho University, the leading university in the region. [2022-2023, $100,000]

Photo Albums

• MOU Signing between USAID and Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training
• Launch of USAID's Partnership for Higher Education Reform Project
• USAID Helps Train Medical Students on COVID-19 Care and Treatment
• Launch of USAID’s Two-Year Grant to Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV)
• Maker to Entrepreneur: Venture Demo Day in Ho Chi Minh City
• USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Visits Fulbright University Vietnam
• Opening of Can Tho University Maker Innovation Space
• U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink and U.S. Consul General Mary Tarnowka visit the Maker Innovation Space in Danang
• USAID Vietnam Mission Director Michael Greene visits Fablab in Danang
• Launch of the smart classroom in Ho Chi Minh City
• USAID Mission Director visits Danang University of Technology
• USAID Supports Social Work Education Enhancement Program in Vietnam
• USAID, San Jose State University and Cisco Systems sign a memorandum of understanding for the Social Work Education Enhancement Program
• Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program Conference, Can Tho (March 19-20, 2013)
• Scholarships provided under Higher Engineering Alliance Program for Female Students in Ho Chi Minh City
• Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program Partner Technical Colleges, Ho Chi Minh City
• Graduation ceremony for Kon Tum teachers completing USAID-funded trainings