A new partnership between the University of East Anglia (UEA), the British Council and universities in Southeast Asia will give graduates the analytical and technical skills to support industries across multiple sectors. 

The project, ‘Enhancing the employability of students in the new digital transformation world’, aims to build more inclusive, internationally connected higher education and TVET systems.  

The British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme awarded a UK-Viet Nam Partnerships for Quality and Internationalisation grant to UEA, the Vietnamese universities of Phenikaa and Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh city, and the Korea University of Information and Communication Technology. 

The project will facilitate the development of higher education partnership programmes as well as a diverse, sustainable, and integrated network between the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Korea. The partnerships will enhance teaching and research quality, innovation, and knowledge transfer. 

As an emerging economy with a strategy to develop science and technology, Vietnam is opening its doors to welcome international technology enterprises.   

The pandemic has also prompted a global surge in major digital transformation projects, giving rise to increasing demands for highly qualified graduates.  

Vietnam currently has 64,000 digital technology enterprises, adding 5,600 enterprises since 2020. The growth has created significant demand for graduates in ICT subjects such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, data science, the internet of things/5G, cloud-edge computing and web applications development.  

Prof Gerard Parr, Head of School of Computing Sciences at UEA, said: “The University of East Anglia has been at the forefront of research and innovation in the ICT sector. Students are prepared for careers with a detailed understanding of industry requirements, and this knowledge will form the framework from which Vietnamese institutions can provide an enhanced education and produce industry competitive graduates.” 

The project will deliver programmes and activities towards: 

• Developing necessary employability skills for ICT students to help them access appropriate job opportunities in the field. 

• Improving Vietnamese ICT training programmes towards internationalisation and experiential learning 

• Creating a platform of communication and knowledge/experience exchange among UK and Vietnam’s higher educational institutions, technology businesses