Launched in 2016, FUV is a turning point in Vietnam’s drive to reform its higher education system – it is the country’s first fully independent non-profit university. On June 22, in remarks delivered on campus, Ambassador Kritenbrink cited the “special place that FUV holds” in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship and launched the new two-year, $5 million USAID grant which will support investments that advance the university’s goal of international accreditation within five years. USAID’s previous $7.2 million grant from 2017 to 2020 helped FUV grow from a startup organization to a university. FUV will now turn to hiring new faculty, adding new academic programs, expanding services that generate revenue, and engaging the private sector in shared value partnerships.
So What? FUV’s emphasis on institutional independence and academic freedom are still experimental concepts in Vietnam. Private sector partnerships and revenue sustainability will help FUV safeguard its ambitions to deliver a new kind of university to this country.
USAID/Vietnam