Vietnam, Finland intensify education cooperation

Finnish educational experts are always ready to share experiences and exchange expertise with the Vietnamese side in areas of mutual interest, Ambassador Marjaana Sall of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do in Hanoi on April 26.

The Ambassador added that Vietnam and Finland have a long history of cooperation, and 2023 is an important year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Finish Foreign Ministry’s Education Ambassador Marjiaana Sall speaks at the meeting. Photo: MoET

Expressing her impression of the education reform process in Vietnam, Marjaana Sall hopes that the Finnish side will work for long-term cooperation with the active participation of both Vietnamese and Finnish educational institutions.

Emphasizing the long-standing diplomatic relations between the two countries, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Huu Do thanked the Finnish government for many cooperation activities with Vietnamese educational institutions.

"Vietnam is implementing a fundamental and comprehensive renovation of education. Meanwhile, Finland is one of the countries with the highest quality of education in the world," said the Deputy Minister.

Therefore, he expressed his wish that Finnish educational experts will continue to support Vietnam in the general education program, strengthen cooperation in building teacher training programs, and share teacher evaluation standards with Vietnam.

Typically, it is worth mentioning Eduten Playground, which is an advanced education technology from Finland, which helps relieve Vietnamese students' pressure and brings them fun and love for the subject.

Eduten Playground enables students to learn in the most comfortable way with the highest efficiency and reduces teachers' workload, helping them to have more time for students.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Huu Do delivers speech at the working session. Photo: MoET

In the context of international integration in education, Do also wanted Finnish universities to share their experience in operation, management and training with Vietnamese higher education institutions.

The education official also suggested that the Finnish side support Vietnamese students during their studies in the host country.

During the working session, the Finnish delegation and representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) discussed issues related to university autonomy, high-quality human resources training, digital transformation in higher education, and postgraduate education.

On April 25, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Tan Dung held a working session with Education Ambassador Marjiaana Sall on vocational training cooperation between the two countries.

Dung said the Vietnamese government has always considered vocational training as a key area to improve human resources, and the government has approved a vocational training strategy for 2021-2030 to meet the diverse needs of the labor market.

Ambassador Marjiaana Sall said vocational education is a very popular choice in Finland, with about 50% of high school graduates choosing this path, as the country's vocational education program is based on practical needs and works in close cooperation with enterprises.

The two sides agreed to link Vietnamese vocational schools with Finnish enterprises in Vietnam.