(VOV) - The Government of Australia will continue to give priority to strengthening education cooperation with Vietnam, said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Allaster Cox.
Mr Cox made the statement at a ceremony held in Hanoi on April 14 to launch a contest entitled “Australia through your eyes” for Vietnamese people studying, working or travelling in Australia to tell stories through videos and photos.
He said that there are almost 26,000 Vietnamese students in Australia, while more than 15,000 others are pursuing their study at Australian training courses in Vietnam.
According to the Ambassador, Australia is one the countries granting the most scholarships to Vietnamese students. In 2010, 352 Vietnamese students and scholars received Australia Awards, including 279 Development Awards and 73 Endeavour Awards. “We will continue to offer opportunities for Vietnamese students to come to Australia for their studies,” he said.
The Australian government always attaches importance to enhancing the education relationship and strategy with Vietnam in the future, said Ambassador Cox.
According to Mr Cox, the focus will be put into three programmes to provide Vietnamese students with scholarships to study in Australia, build partnership between the two countries’ universities and institutions, and strengthen capacity for academic research.
“More and more young people speak English in Vietnam, and we are organizing international education programmes following global standards for Vietnamese students in Vietnam,” he said.
Ambassador Cox suggested that for those Vietnamese students who do not have much money to travel abroad to study, they should apply for global-benchmark courses in Vietnam. “Therefore, we will cooperate with you (Vietnam) to build capacity at Vietnam-based universities and institutions so that Vietnamese students learn in their home country,” he stated.