In the first week of April Herzen University delegation headed by the rector Sergey Tarasov visited Vietnam. The main purpose of the visit was opening of the Open Education Centers. The centers will offer non-degree programs in Russian along with the similar short-term programs of Russian as a foreign language in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

On April 5, rector Sergey Tarasov and university officials took part in the Memorandum Signing Ceremony for opening of the Open Education Center in Hanoi. Herzen University’s partner within the project is Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association, which is the largest non-profit organization in Vietnam with representation in all major cities of the country. Another Memorandum was signed during the delegation’s visit to the University of Economics – Technology for Industries.

Among the highlights of the program of visit was a meeting in the Government of Vietnam. The meeting’s agenda concerned the issues of cooperation between Vietnam and Russia in education and science. Deputy Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Phúc and Deputy Minister of Education of Russia Denis Gribov attended the meeting. Rector Sergey Tarasov in his speech has emphasized the interest of learning Russian in Vietnam. In view of this favorable environment, the practical steps taken by Herzen University with support of the Russian Ministry of Education were relevant and well-timed. He has noted that during the delegation’s visits to the country’s universities, a lot of students had expressed their wish to continue their studies in Russia, but the lack of knowledge of the Russian language prevents them from fulfilling such a dream. An agreement between Herzen Univesity and Vietnam Youth Academy to open Russian language courses for the academy’s students and similar agreement with the Faculty of Russian Language and Culture of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi could help students to achieve their goal.

Preliminary agreements with educational organizations will help to promote the knowledge of the Russian language in Vietnam and to expand the geography of international relations of Herzen University promoting our academic programs and scientific expertise.