Hanoi (VNA)🐈 – Six individuals were presented with Australian Alumni Awards 2023 in Vietnam in a ceremony in Hanoi on April 19. 

The awards honoured the achievements of those Vietnamese who have studied in Australia. It was a particularly fitting celebration during the 50th year of the Australia-Vietnam diplomatic relationship.  From more than 200 nominations, eighteen alumni were finalists and six of these received awards across six categories: Alumni of the Year, Business and Innovation, Women in Leadership, Social Action, Young Alumni, and Climate Action. According to the embassy, award winners were just a small portion of the many alumni who are leaders in their fields, contributing to Vietnam’s development and acting as ambassadors for the two countries’ bilateral relationship.   Chairman of the Vietnam - Australia Friendship Association, Professor Tran Van Nhung, who was a member of the Award Assessment panel, commented “I have the privilege of reading many award nominations which showcase significant contributions which are different but of equal importance to not only Vietnam’s development but also to the stability and growth of the region and the world. That made it very tough for us to choose the award winners.” Dr Vo Hoang Yen, winner of the Women in Leadership Award shared that her life was transformed by her studies in Australia, and she hopes that these awards show everyone what is possible and inspire even more people to take up studies.   Education is at the heart of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Vietnam. With the first scholarship in 1974, there are now more than 6,500 Australia Awards Scholarships alumni, contributing to the community of over 80,000 Australian alumni in Vietnam. Education supports Vietnam to have the skills it needs to grow and tackle emerging challenges and opportunities. It also helps the two countries understand each other better through friendships, travel and study.  With more than 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in Australia, Vietnam ranks fourth in the number of international students studying in the country. Educational cooperation contributes to the development of not only human resources of Vietnam and Australia’s economy, but also a strong cultural link, a bridge of friendship connecting people of the two countries. Previously, in December 2022, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with the government of Victorian state to organise the Vietnam - Australia Education Cooperation Forum in Melbourne, Australia. At the event, representatives of universities in Vietnam and Australia delievered speeches focusing on a number of topics, including partnership between enterprises and universities; enhancing capacity in higher education through lecturer and student exchanges, research collaborations and co-publishing; opportunities and challenges in the new transnational education model; quality assurance in higher education. Also at the forum, 12 Memorandum of Understandings (MOUs) on cooperation between universities of the two countries were signed, promising to open up a new stage for educational cooperation between training institutions of the two countries towards sustainability and long-term, contributing to strengthening the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Australia./.