The eighth annual Vietnam Education Foundation Conference was held on the University of Arkansas campus Jan. 3-5. This conference was attended by more than 200 Vietnamese students and post-doctoral researchers. It featured speeches by Vietnamese dignitaries and distinguished lecturers, leadership workshops, and team-building activities. Findlay Edwards, associate professor of civil engineering, was instrumental in bringing this conference to the university and organizing the events.

The Vietnam Education Foundation, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, brings Vietnamese graduate students and post-doctoral researchers to study and pursue professional development at universities and research institutes across the United States. In addition, the foundation offers U.S. professors the opportunity to teach at Vietnamese universities either on-site or via videoconferencing.

The idea for the Vietnam Education Foundation originated with Vietnam veterans in the U.S. Senate, including John McCain and John Kerry, and the organization was established by Congress in 2000 with the purpose of strengthening the relationship between the United States and Vietnam through educational exchanges. The foundation’s board includes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner.

The Vietnamese ambassador to the United States, Le Cong Phung, gave welcoming remarks at the conference, speaking about the developing strategic partnership between the United States and Vietnam, and emphasizing how far the relationship between the two countries has evolved since the 1970s.

“It seems that military cooperation [between Vietnam and the United States] is increasing in favor of the interests of the two nations, in favor of the interests of regional security and stability, in favor of peace in the world,” said Ambassador Phung. He also called for further U.S. investment in Vietnam, especially in the area of education, citing a plan by the Vietnamese government to see 2,500 Vietnamese students earn doctoral degrees in the United States by the year 2020. “We need our people to be well-trained and well-educated, enriched by experience and knowledge, and we look toward the United States,” he said.

The Vietnamese guests were welcomed to Fayetteville by Mayor Lioneld Jordan and Dan Hendrix, president and chief executive officer of the Arkansas World Trade Center. Other speakers at the conference included Stephen Maxner, chair of the Vietnam Education Foundation’s board of directors; Ang Ngoc Chu, the Vietnamese vice minister of science and technology; Jack Buffington, former chief engineer of the U.S. Navy; Ngo Bao Chau, professor at the University of Chicago and recent recipient of the Fields Medal; Don Soderquist, former chief operating officer of Walmart; and Joe Tye, CEO of Values Coach Inc.

A panel of U.S. professors, which included Quyen D. Chu, associate professor at Louisiana State University; Findlay Edwards; and James F. Cremer, professor at the University of Iowa, shared their experiences teaching in Vietnam. The visiting students also participated in leadership workshops, a sport tournament and a gala reception.

Terry Martin, associate dean of the College of Engineering, spoke at the closing reception for the conference, saying that “at the U of A, we value our relationship with Vietnam, and we are grateful for the opportunity that the Vietnam Education Foundation has given us to develop and strengthen this relationship. We hope to see more VEF Scholars and Fellows on our campus in the future, and we look forward to continuing our work with Vietnam for the benefit of both our countries.”