National Conference entitled: “Thai Nguyen University in Connection with Socio-Economic Development of the Northern Midland and Mountainous Region.”

On December 23, Thai Nguyen University (TNU) organized the 2025 National Scientific Conference under the theme “Thai Nguyen University in Connection with Socio-Economic Development of the Northern Midland and Mountainous Region.”

Photo: An overview of the conference.

Attending the conference were Dr. Bounpone Kephengla, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Viet Nam; Assoc. Prof. Trinh Hoai Thu, Deputy Director General of the Department of General Education, Ministry of Education and Training; Dr. Nguyen Le Hung, Deputy Director General of the Department of Science, Technology and Engineering, Ministry of Science and Technology; Mr. Hoang Viet Minh, Deputy Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission of Lao Cai Province; representatives of Party Committees and People’s Committees of communes and wards; and representatives of provincial departments, agencies, and enterprises in Lao Cai Province.

Photo: Delegates attending the conference.

Representing Thai Nguyen University were Dr. Nguyen Van Tao, Secretary of the Party Committee; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Hung, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of TNU; Dr. Nguyen Hong Lien, Vice President of TNU and Director of the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province, Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thanh Ha, Vice Chair of the University Council, former leaders of TNU in different terms; representatives of the Office, the Party–Mass Organizations Office, functional departments, member universities; Dr. Vu Thi Binh, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province; representatives of affiliated and subordinate units; and scientists.

Photo: Assoc. Prof. Hoang Van Hung, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Thai Nguyen University,

delivered the opening remarks.

In his opening speech, Assoc. Prof. Hoang Van Hung emphasized that the conference was held at the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its establishment. This is not only an important milestone for the Branch, but also an opportunity to review and affirm a representative model of higher education development closely linked to local and regional socio-economic development.

Photo: Delegates attending the conference.

According to Assoc. Prof. Hoang Van Hung, the Northern Midland and Mountainous region is a development space of particularly strategic importance to the country, integrating factors of national defense, security, cultural ecology, and border trade economy. The region has great potential in agriculture and forestry, border-gate economy, eco-tourism, green economy, and knowledge-based economy. However, in practice, the region still faces many major challenges, especially in the quality of human resources, science and technology capacity, and the level of innovation and digital transformation applied to economic development. In this context, there is an urgent need for new development drivers, in which higher education, science and technology, and innovation play a key role. Universities are not only institutions for human resource training, but must also become centers for knowledge dissemination, policy linkage, and connections among localities, enterprises, and communities, thereby directly contributing to regional socio-economic development.

For Thai Nguyen University—a regional, multidisciplinary university entrusted by the Party and the State with the mission of serving the development of the Northern Midland and Mountainous region—TNU affirms that its own development must be closely linked with that of the region; the effectiveness of training and research must be measured by the value of contributions to localities and people, especially ethnic minority communities.

Over 31 years of formation and development, Thai Nguyen University currently comprises seven member universities, one college, three campuses, a School of Foreign Languages, and an International School, along with various training, research, science-and-technology transfer, and innovation centers. With an enrollment scale of over 110,000 students across nearly 350 academic programs and a workforce of 3,700 staff members (including 203 professors and associate professors and more than 1,000 PhDs), TNU has trained and supplied hundreds of thousands of scientific and technical professionals, teachers, doctors, and managers for the region, and has implemented numerous research and technology-transfer programs in economics, agriculture, healthcare, education, industry, natural resources and environment, tourism, and sustainable development.

In the current period, Thai Nguyen University has identified three major orientations to continue accompanying the socio-economic development of the Northern mountainous region: linking human resource training with the socio-economic development needs of each locality and sub-region, with a focus on high-quality human resources for high-tech agriculture, green economy, digital economy, border-gate economy, and sustainable tourism, promoting scientific research, technology transfer, and innovation with localities and enterprises as the core of application, considering practical issues of the Northern mountainous region as the University’s “research problems”; and accelerating university digital transformation to build Thai Nguyen University into a digital and green university, as well as a regional center for innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to the implementation of major Party and Government policies on science and technology development and national digital transformation.

At the conference, delegates, scientists, and experts presented and discussed many key topics, including: the role of higher education in the sustainable development strategy of the Northern Midland and Mountainous region (with reference to the role of Thai Nguyen University); the development strategy of the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province in alignment with TNU’s mission to promote regional linkages and support socio-economic development in the new period; the regional university model—challenges and mission in promoting regional connectivity and expanding development space; and the exploitation of indigenous resources and local knowledge for sustainable development of the Northern Midland and Mountainous region. The presentations, exchanges, and discussions helped clarify the role, mission, and social responsibility of Thai Nguyen University toward the region, and offered important insights into models of linkage, cooperation, and sustainable development in the new phase.

The conference served as an important forum for scientists, administrators, local authorities, and enterprises to analyze theoretical and practical foundations of the role of regional universities in economic development; share models and experiences in linking training, research, and technology transfer with regional needs; and propose solutions and policy recommendations to enhance the role of Thai Nguyen University in sustainable, inclusive, and knowledge-based regional economic development.

Photo: The Director of the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province signing a memorandum of cooperation with Bao Yen Commune, Lao Cai Province.

Photo: The Director of the TNU- Campus in Lao Cai Province signing a memorandum of cooperation with Cam Duong Ward, Lao Cai Province.

On this occasion, the Thai Nguyen University- Campus in Lao Cai Province signed Memoranda of Understanding with localities in Lao Cai Province to strengthen the connection between the University and local authorities, and to promote the role of Thai Nguyen University in accompanying and supporting the sustainable development of the Northern Midland and Mountainous region in the new period.