Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam – the Netherlands Program: A Sustainable Journey Welcoming a Bright Future

22 December, 2023

On the afternoon of December 16, 2023, at the UEH Nguyen Van Linh Campus Square, the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam – the Netherlands Program (VNP), a cooperative Master’s and doctoral project between the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and the International Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands.

In this event to mark a new milestone in the training and development journey of the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program, it was very honored to welcome guests from partners and school leaders. On behalf of the International Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam had the participation of Prof. Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort – Director; Dr. Matthias Rieger – Coordinator; Dr. Howard Nicholas – Lecturer, former coordinator. On the side of the Ministry of Education and Training, there was the participation of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc – Deputy Minister and also a former student of Course 2 and lecturer of the program; Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy – Director of the Department of Higher Education, Representatives of the Central Economic Committee, with the presence of Dr. Nguyen Tu Anh – Director of General Department. On behalf of UEH’s Board of Directors, there was the presence of Prof. Dr. Su Dinh Thanh – Director of UEH; Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Nam – Vice Head of UEH College of Economics, Law and Government, Director of VNP program; Prof.Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai – Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Asian Economic and Business Studies, Chairman of the VNP Program Scientific Council; Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Tien Khai – Head of Quality Assurance – Program Development; Associate Professor. Dr. Nguyen Phong Nguyen – Head of Scientific Management – International Cooperation; Mr. Truong Minh Kiet – Head of Marketing and Communication; Dr. Truong Dang Thuy – Director of JDP Doctoral Program.

The program was also honored to welcome leaders of Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking, Vietnamese-German University, Van Hien University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Saigon University of Technology, partners, lecturers, and alumni, especially the presence of lecturers and thirty generations of students and alumni of the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program along with their relatives, family and friends.

A 30-year journey: from the first decision to sustainable development

In July 1994, the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision No. 1843/GD-DT to allow Hanoi National Economics University and University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City to implement the Vietnam – the Netherlands cooperation project with the Netherlands Institute for Social Sciences Research (ISS) on graduate training in Development Economics. Since then, the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program (VNP) was officially established.

Up to now, after 30 years of training and development, the VNP Program has enrolled 30 Master’s courses and developed additional Master’s programs with DDP (Double Degree) and JDP (Joint Doctorate Program).

During that 30-year journey, many important milestones were marked and many proud achievements were gained. The main theme of the celebration is “Journey of Sustainability” – a long journey carrying the mission of nurturing talent with the goal of achieving sustainable development.

Congratulatory speeches from leaders

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Prof.Dr. Su Dinh Thanh – President of UEH – affirmed: “Vietnam – the Netherlands program is not only a place of quality academic training with an excellent team of lecturers, but also represents the close relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands. We have not only trained generations of high-quality human resources for the labor market but also actively contributed to the development of the country.” The professor did not forget to remind us: “From these remarkable successes, the VNP team should look to the future with confidence and pride. The more challenges we have, the more opportunities we have to demonstrate the strength and excellence of our program. I believe that with the spirit of solidarity and continuous innovation, we will continue to develop and leave a deep mark in the development history of UEH as well as the journey of training economic resources for the development of the country.”

Prof.Dr. Su Dinh Thanh – President of UEH – delivering the opening speech at the ceremony

Following that, Prof.Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort – Director of ISS – also expressed his pride as this was the first time he came to Vietnam right after being appointed and witnessed the great day of the VNP program, marking 30 years of close cooperation between the two schools in master’s and doctoral training.

Prof.Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort – Director of the ISS

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc presenting a souvenir to Prof.Dr. Ruard Ganzevoort

Deputy Minister of Education and Training – Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc spoke on behalf of his role as Deputy Minister and also a former student of the 2^nd course of the program: “Vietnam – the Netherlands Program is not only a regular educational project but also a program supporting the training of policymakers and implementers in the context that Vietnam’s economy was transitioning from a central planning mechanism to a market economy.” He did not forget to affirm that “The success of the Netherlands Program, VNP, over the past 30 years is not only the achievement of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and its partner, ISS, but also a typical example of innovation and international cooperation in the field of education and training.”

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Phuc – Deputy Minister of Education and Training – at the ceremony

30 outstanding theses – a testament to the talent and contribution of VNP students to the socio-economic development of Vietnam

With its mission as an economic research and training center, Vietnam – the Netherlands Program has actively contributed to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. Specifically, during VNP’s development journey, the program has successfully provided 30 master’s courses, equivalent to 663 master’s degrees. The research works of VNP students have shed light on many different aspects of the context of Vietnam’s complex socio-economic situation.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of VNP’s foundation, the program was proud to announce the Top 30 outstanding theses as a testament to the talent and dedication of VNP students to the socio-economic development of Vietnam over time. This was also VNP’s firm commitment to improving knowledge and promoting progress, promising a brighter and more prosperous future for the country.

Afforestation campaign for a sustainable future

The ceremony also summarized the campaign “Afforestation – For a sustainable future” that the VNP community has joined hands to implement in July 2023. With this campaign, the VNPers community and lecturers contributed 1023 trees equivalent to 255,750,000 VND. In the first phase of the campaign, the VNP team coordinated with GAIA Nature Conservation Center to plant 500 trees on an area of 1.25 hectares of forest in Dong Nai Nature and Culture Conservation Area, part of the Dongnai Biosphere Reserve.

The tree donation – afforestation campaign has succeeded in raising awareness of forest protection, creating a generation of VNPers who love nature and working towards the common goal of sustainable development to create resonant results for a greener and more sustainable Vietnam future.

Summary of 30 years of development journey and profound gratitude

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Nam – Program Director – delivered a closing speech to look back on VNP’s 30-year training and development journey. He compared the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program to a tree – The tree of life: “We have strong roots from our mission, goals and long history. We have strong branches and a team of quality, experienced teachers with modern methods. We have trained generations of highly capable students in the labor market. Those are the sweet fruits that the tree of life of the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program, over many generations of teachers, has cultivated, cared for, and nurtured. We hope that from that one tree, a forest of trees will be created in the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program, accompanying and contributing to the sustainable development of the country.”

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Nam – Program Director – delivering a closing speech

With emotion and pride, the program expressed deep gratitude to the leaders and partners who have trusted and accompanied the development of VNP. The honorary medals were awarded by Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Nam and Prof.Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai, representative of VNP, respectfully sent this message to the lecturers.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Nam and Prof.Dr. Nguyen Trong Hoai presenting medals to the lecturers

The celebration ended in an atmosphere of excitement and joy between guests and generations of students and alumni of VNP. Following the success of many years, the Vietnam – the Netherlands Program will continuously develop and leave a deep mark in UEH’s new journey as well as accompanying and contributing more to sustainable development of the country.

Additional photos of the celebration: