The delegation of the European Union was headed by Mr. Mario Ronconi, Head of Unit for South and Southeast Asia ((INTPA.C.2), Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission; Representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam include Ms. Kristina Bünde, Head of Cooperation, Mr. Jesús Laviña, Deputy Head of Cooperation, Ms. Camille Lavirotte, Deputy Director of Finance and Contract; Ms. Vu Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Project Manager together with representatives of the Embassies of Romania, Finland, Italy and other members of the delegation.

On the part of the Vietnam National University of Forestry, there is Prof. Dr. Pham Van Dien, President; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phung Van Khoa, Vice president; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui The Doi, Vice president; representatives of relevant Departments, Faculties and Institutes; and exchange students from European countries studying at the university, students, and alumni who have won Erasmus Mundus master's scholarships funded by the European Union

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At the meeting, on behalf of the Management Board of the Vietnam National University of Forestry (VNUF), Prof. Dr. Pham Van Dien welcomed the delegation of European Union to Vietnam to visit and discuss EU higher education and forestry policy and potential cooperation opportunities between the two sides in the coming time.

Prof. Dr. Pham Van Dien also thanked the EU for supporting Vietnam's forestry sector in general and the Vietnam National University of Forestry in particular, especially in the context that Vietnam and the EU have signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement on the implementation of the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade (VPA/FLEGT).

Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Sam, Director of International Cooperation Division shared about the results of cooperation between the Vietnam National University of Forestry and European partner universities within the framework of the European Union's support program Erasmus+ such as BioEcon project, FOREST project, exchange program (Mobility) with the University of Göttingen, Sopron University, many VNUF students receive Erasmus Mundus scholarships. The numbers and positive results clearly show the effective cooperation of the participants. Also in the sharing session, Dr. Kevin, Prof. Bravo, Prof. Timo representing the Project Coordinator from partner universities also shared about the implementation process and results achieved from the ERASMUS Project: European-Vietnamese Higher Education Network on Sustainable Forest Management and Bioeconomy (BioEcon).

Representative of Delegation of the European Union Vietnam, Mr. Mario Ronconi, made positive assessments on the capacity of the Vietnam National University of Forestry in implementing cooperation projects on educational development. He also emphasized the role of the University in training high-quality human resources for the Forestry sector and hoped that more and more students of the University will be able to access scholarship programs funded by the European Union, to continue their studies, research and further postgraduate qualifications.

The meeting also listened to the sharing of Elias Ahman, student at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) about the learning and exchange experience at the Vietnam National University of Forestry, under the 6-month student exchange cooperation program between the two universities. Mr. Phan Quoc Dung, K58 alumni, also shared about his master's study abroad journey with the Erasmus Mundus full scholarship funded by the European Union.

The meeting successfully ended many prospects for cooperation opportunities between the Vietnam National University of Forestry and the European Union in the coming time.

 

Some pictures at the meeting