Division of International Development Studies (IDS) of Faculty of International Studies was founded on December 22^nd, 2014. To support the development of this bachelor’s program, Irish Aid (Ireland) provided a 2016-2017 sponsorship for the project “Cooperation to build capacity in USSH in key areas of International Studies in the context of rapid development” co-implemented by Faculty of International Studies and Faculty of Food Business and Development of University College Cork (UCC), Ireland according to their official memorandum of understanding.

Up to now, the project has done several activities to develop the curriculum, textbooks and improve the capacity of lecturers for the Division such as holding the international conferences “International cooperation for rural development in Vietnam: the linkage between policy and reality” (November, 2016) and “Urbanization and development: opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in the 21st century”, translating and compiling some specialized materials, conducting scholar exchanges, and holding field trips for lecturers of the two universities in some provinces in Vietnam.

Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh speaks at the ceremony

In the academic year 2018-2019, the Division of International Development Studies received the first batch of students. Speaking at the ceremony, Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh extended his congratulations to the professors, lecturers and especially students of the Faculty of International Studies.

USSH is proud to be the first institution in Vietnam to offer this program. Before, Faculty of International Studies only had three divisions, International relations, European studies and American studies. With the introduction of the Division of International Development Studies, the Faculty made a big change in the academic awareness of international studies. This field is well developed in the world as it is currently pursued by many universities, with abundant books, textbooks and research projects. The training of this major has to combine both theoretical and practical lessons, as students have to dissect the similarities and differences between Vietnam’s development and that of other countries.

Ambassador Cáit Moran speaks at the ceremony

The Rector reminded that, in 2016, during a state-level visit to Vietnam, the President of Ireland mentioned this partnership in his official speech. In the coming time, USSH and UCC would continue to discuss the possibility of developing a master’s program on IDS, and opening up an independent major at bachelor’s level. Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh hoped the lecturers and students at the new Division would do their best to prove its validity and importance to the present and future of Vietnam.

On behalf of the Embassy of Ireland to Vietnam, Mrs. Cáit Moran expressed her gratitude towards Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh and the Vietnamese colleagues for their efforts in the project since three years ago. The project was aimed at connecting Vietnamese and Irish universities in promoting International Development Studies, which marked the beginning of the two universities’ partnership.

As Mrs Cáit Moran said, IDS is a particularly relevant to Ireland as international development is central to its foreign policy. Since Ireland established its embassy to Vietnam 13 years ago, Vietnam had been its central and prioritized partner. The Vietnam-Ireland close relations were reflected by the mutual concerns of their governments on poverty reduction and promoting social equality. As one of the first steps of reducing poverty and reversing inequality is providing good policies, universities are ideal locations that provide evidence-based data to clarify the context of potential policies. Universities need to create cross-border relations in this process as had been done between USSH and UCC.

Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh sends Ambassador Cáit Moran a banquet of flowers

To the first students majoring IDS, Ambassador Cáit Moran said they should feel proud and optimistic about their upcoming career, as they would be able to seek employment at such organizations as non-governmental organizations, the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations. By the time they graduate, sustainable development will have become an extremely important issue in the world, as prescribed by the 17 sustainable development goals set forth by the UN until 2030. She hoped with the efforts made by Faculty of International Studies, IDS would gradually become an independent major with a significant position among other fields of social sciences and humanities.   

From left to right: Dr. Le The Que, Prof. Vu Duong Ninh, Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh and Mrs  Cáit Moran

The new student take a group picture with the delegates