Education
Vietnam plans to send 1,000 PhD followers abroad
  • | dtinews.vn | December 19, 2009 08:47 PM

Vietnam will increase the number of annual PhD scholarships to 1,000 for the 2010 intake in an bid to strengthen the capacity of local universities and academies.

Nguyen Xuan Vang (pictured), Director of the Vietnam International Education Department (VIED), made the announcement at a review meeting on the enrolment and training for officials who have won scholarships for overseas postgraduate study under the government scholarship scheme in 2009 in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec. 19.

The number of PhD scholarships have increased, from 520 grants in 2008 to 700 in 2009 and is expected to rise to 1,000 next year, Vang said.

This is part of the government plan to have 10,000 doctors trained overseas for universities and colleges across Vietnam . Next year, the government will provide 350 scholarships to undergraduate students, 30 others to graduate students to do their masters overseas and 30 fellowships.

Besides channelling scholarships provided by foreign governments according to bilateral cooperation agreements, the VIED has worked with international universities and foreign organisations to seek more scholarships for college and university lecturers to pursue higher study abroad.

Over the last nine years (from 2000 to 2009), Vietnam has sent 7,290 students to study overseas, including over 2,100 PhD followers, more than 1,600 masters and 695 fellows. The major destinations for Vietnamese government-sponsored students include France , Australia , the US , UK , China , Thailand and Japan .

The VIED is an international cooperation body of the Ministry of Education and Training.