Thai Nguyen University Explores Cooperation with the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre and Shanghai Normal University (China)

On 21 July, Dr. Nguyen Van Tao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of Thai Nguyen University (TNU), welcomed and held a working session with a delegation from the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (TEC) and Shanghai Normal University (China) to discuss opportunities for cooperation in education, scientific research, and academic exchange.

Photo: Overview of the working session.

The delegation was led by Assoc. Prof. Zhu Xiaohu, Head of the Southeast Asia Programme at the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (TEC), and included Assoc. Prof. Zhang Jilong, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Education, Shanghai Normal University.

Also attending the meeting were representatives from TNU's Department of Science, Technology and International Affairs, Department of Academic Affairs and Student Management, University of Education, School of Foreign Languages, and International School.

Photo: Dr. Nguyen Van Tao, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President of Thai Nguyen University, delivers his welcome remarks.

In his welcoming address, Dr. Nguyen Van Tao expressed his pleasure in receiving the delegation and introduced the development, educational scale, strengths, and strategic orientation of Thai Nguyen University. As one of Vietnam's three regional universities, TNU serves as a major center for higher education, scientific research, and technology transfer in the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region.

Dr. Tao emphasized that international cooperation is a key pillar of TNU's development strategy, contributing to the enhancement of educational quality, research capacity, and global engagement. He noted that the University has established partnerships with numerous higher education institutions and research organizations worldwide and places particular importance on expanding collaboration with Chinese partners.

Recognizing the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre's significant role in advancing teacher development globally, as well as Shanghai Normal University's strong reputation in teacher education and research, Dr. Tao proposed three priority areas for future cooperation:

• Expanding academic collaboration and developing international education programmes;
• Strengthening joint research and international projects;
• Promoting faculty and student exchanges, as well as academic and cultural activities.

During the meeting, representatives of the delegation introduced the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre, highlighting its four core functions: providing global teacher training services, developing professional standards, conducting research, and serving as a resource management center for teacher education. The Centre maintains an extensive network of partnerships with international organizations and leading universities worldwide.

The delegation also presented an overview of Shanghai Normal University, one of Shanghai's leading universities, recognized for its excellence in teacher education while maintaining strong academic programmes in social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, engineering, and the arts.

The two sides agreed that Vietnam and China share many commonalities in culture, education, and the demand for high-quality human resources, creating favorable conditions for long-term cooperation. Several potential areas of collaboration were discussed, including Chinese language education, STEM education, teacher training and professional development, joint scientific research, and the co-organization of international academic forums and conferences.

Photo: Dr. Nguyen Van Tao presents a commemorative gift to the delegation.

Coming to the conclusion, Dr. Nguyen Van Tao affirmed that the discussions had opened up promising opportunities for practical cooperation between Thai Nguyen University, the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre, and Shanghai Normal University. He highly appreciated the delegation's proposals and expressed his hope that all parties would continue to strengthen communication and translate these ideas into concrete initiatives, including faculty and student exchange programmes, credit recognition, and the implementation of joint international projects in the near future.

Photo: Delegates pose for a group photograph.

The meeting contributed to strengthening educational cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and China, while laying a solid foundation for Thai Nguyen University to further expand its international partnership network, enhance the quality of education and research, and advance its internationalization strategy in the years ahead.