On 13 March 2019, Prof. Trinh Minh Thu – President of Thuyloi University held a reception to welcome H.E. Mrs. Elsbeth Akkerman, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands to Vietnam and Dr. Umans Laurent – First Secretary Water Management and Climate Change
Group photo
President Trinh Minh Thu highly appreciates the contribution of Dutch partners in the development of TLU for the past 20 years. Major partners such as TU Delft, University of Twente, IHE UNESCO and Deltares, among others, have collaborated with TLU in joint research programs and capacity strengthening projects which widely benefitted TLU’s staff, lecturers and students in many ways.
Prof. Trinh Minh Thu presented souvenirs to the Ambassador Elsbeth Akkerman
In particularly, the project “Capacity building in Coastal Engineering” funded by the Government of Netherlands (1999-2009) completed successfully with 9 PhDs and many MScs obtaining their degrees in the Netherlands and currently working very well. Some of the trained faculty members have become the top experts in coastal engineering in Vietnam. Thanks to the project, Faculty of Coastal and Marine Engineering was newly established with related course materials and advanced research labs.
After that, the project “Capacity building in Integrated Water Resources Management in the context of climate change under NICHE program” (2012-2016) also achieved the general and specific objectives. Three international masters’ degree programs in Integrated Water Resources Management, Coastal Engineering and Management and Disaster Management were opened. The project also gave support to implementation of Strategy Development in the area of international integration and research capacity, invested in the development of TLU library, internet system, and equipment in coastal field survey.
In addition, the close relationship between TLU and the Netherlands partners was manifested in the establishment of Vietnam - Netherlands Water and Environment Center (Joint Venture between TLU and TU Delft). Also, TLU has received technical assistance from the Netherlands in other large-scale projects such as the Sea dike project (2008-2010) and the GIS application in disaster management (2010-2012).
After 20 years of cooperation, the visit of H.E.Mrs. Elsbeth Akkerman, who begun her term as the Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam in August 2018, once again affirmed the strategic partnership between TLU and the Netherlands. Both the Ambassador and the TLU President expressed their strong belief in the future achievements of the continued relationship.
A few photos of the delegation on the campus tour:
Discussion about the activities of VinWATER
Visiting the laboratories