New Zealand universities to increase scholarships for Vietnamese students

On the morning of March 10, in Auckland City, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Mr. Neil Quigley, President of Waikato University (Hamilton City), and President of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

Mr. Neil Quigley said he went to Vietnam 25 years ago to cooperate with universities and support Vietnamese students.

"It was a beautiful, exciting period in my life," he said, adding that New Zealand education had benefited from educational cooperation with Vietnam.

According to Mr. Neil, Vietnam has a young population so education plays a very important role in development. This is even more important when the world is developing rapidly, there are many new technologies, including educational technology.

“It is time for traditional higher education to think, approach and apply new teaching methods,” he said. In recent years, the University of Waikato has collaborated with Vietnam’s National Economics University, focusing on new areas.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked Mr. Neil Quigley for his continued interest in promoting educational cooperation between the two countries, opening training programs in Vietnam and attracting Vietnamese students to study and research in New Zealand. Currently, in addition to the scholarships provided by the New Zealand Government, more than 2,000 Vietnamese students are studying abroad on their own.

This is "a valuable asset of Vietnam, a bridge for the relationship between the two countries".

The Vietnam - New Zealand educational cooperation program for the period 2023-2027 has been signed by both sides and is being implemented well. Therefore, the Prime Minister suggested that Waikato University open more branches in Vietnam, provide more scholarships for Vietnamese students to study AI, semiconductor chips, information technology; and have a project to exchange teachers to teach.

Mr. Neil Quigley said that Waikato University will invite Vietnamese staff and lecturers to participate in training courses and increase the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students in the coming time.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said that of the 2,000 Vietnamese students in New Zealand, about 50 are studying at the University of Waikato. He supported the school to cooperate long-term with agencies in Vietnam to train high-quality human resources in the fields that Vietnam needs.

At the same time, in recognition of the long-term contributions to educational cooperation between the two countries, the Ministry of Education and Training awarded the Medal for Education to Principal Neil Quigley, witnessed by the Prime Minister.

At the meeting, Waikato University and four Vietnamese higher education institutions (Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Vinh University, Hanoi University, and Nam Can Tho University) exchanged cooperation agreements.

According to the QS World University Rankings 2024, the University of Waikato is ranked 250th. The school has nearly 8,400 students, with around 1,900 being international students.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife are on an official visit to New Zealand at the invitation of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (March 10-11). Before that, the Government leader spent 6 days in Australia to attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit and pay an official visit to this country.