​Vietnamese Minister for Education and Training, Prof Pham Vu Luan has recognised the work of AEI in Vietnam by awarding a medal for contribution to the development of education and training in Vietnam, recognising both the hard work of the Post and the successful policy dialogue framework put in place by the Australian Government.

In accepting the honour Sally Burnard, Counsellor (Education) paid tribute AEI Hanoi Deputy Director (Education) Ms Tran Le Ha and to the many tertiary institutions and tiers of Australian Government that have collaborated on education policy development and program delivery with Vietnam.

“Our bilateral education engagement has matured over the past three years: we now hold an annual Joint Working Group on Education and Training where we agree on priorities for cooperation such as quality assurance, vocational education reform, education governance and research cooperation,” Ms Burnard said.

“Australia’s state governments, educational institutions and peak bodies have contributed to the success of our program by sending experts to Vietnam to deliver workshops and hosting Vietnamese policy makers and educators in Australia.

Our education linkages have also been increased by those organisations that have hosted Vietnamese Endeavour awardees in Australia or sent staff to Vietnam under the Endeavour Program.”

Vietnam has an ambitious program of reform for its education system and values Australia's willingness to share its experiences in developing policies and programs to support the delivery of quality education at all levels. The Hanoi Post is looking forward to the next phase of the engagement which will hopefully see increased research cooperation and greater numbers of Australian students, academics and researchers coming to Vietnam.

The bilateral education relationship was strengthened with the signing of the Australia – Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership in 2009 and Plan of Action in 2010 which emphasise the important role of education. In 2013, the celebration of 40 years of diplomatic relations will highlight the role education has played in linking the two countries.

Sally Burnard, AEI Vietnam, with the Vietnamese Minister for Education and Training, Professor Pham Vu Luan.