On December 1, 2021, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director, Ann Marie Yastishock, visited Industrial University of HCMC (IUH) and met with representatives from IUH’s Board of Rector.
As an educational body paving its path toward excellence, IUH is amongst the most dynamic technical universities in Vietnam. IUH pays much attention to enhancing professional quality of the administrative and teaching staff, investing the best facilities in teaching, learning and action research and providing high quality training services for thousands of students nationwide. IUH has taken advantage of USAID’s support to work towards world-class models for international accreditations, integrate faculty development programs as well as project-based learning, initiate Smart Factory Lab and Stimulation Rooms, and forge shared-value partnerships with BUILD-IT Alliance industry partners. With USAID and BUILD-IT support, IUH has made remarkable accomplishments in the process of developing and improving the university's modern education system through a wide variety of activities over the past 6 years.
During the visit, IUH took the opportunity to highlight with the Mission Director key exemplary achievements in each core area through leveraging BUILD-IT from 2015 through 2021 as well as showcasing the Industry 4.0 Smart Factory Lab. IUH and BUILD-IT have had an exciting 6-year partnership with a wide variety of activities and outcomes, including: Strategy Development and Enhancing Capacity to Exercise Autonomy in Key Areas, Quality Policy and Commitment to Strengthen Program Quality, Faculty Development Sustainability with Institutionalization of BUILD-IT CFT/MTT Model, Active Engagement in BUILD-IT Applied PBL Programs, Academic Corporate Partnership. Notably, in the framework of partnership between IUH, Siemens and USAID BUILD-IT, the university opened the Automation Lab namely “4.0 Smart Factory Lab.” By bringing state of the art factory technology to the IUH 4.0 Smart Factory Lab, the IUH-Siemens partnership provides students with experience working on real industry-based use-cases and digital enterprise applications through all product phases, design, execution, and service including virtual production and process management and improvement as students learn to build, create, and invent solutions and value for Vietnam. Every year, approximately 1,000 students from the Mechanical Engineering Faculty, 400 students from the Electrical Engineering Faculty, 300 students from the Electronic Engineering Faculty, and 500 students from the Information Technology Faculty are trained. The lab is supported by USAID’s BUILD-IT program, along with investments by industry and IUH. This experience highlighted the strong cooperation among BUILD-IT, IUH and industry partners that not only resonate with IUH but also bring practical value to the university’s students as IUH graduates quickly find their places in the workforce and are highly valued thanks to their practical application to the learning process.
“I’m grateful that BUILD-IT and IUH have had strong partnership and it’s held our community together and continued to make meaningful contributions to IUH and our students. I look forward to seeing the further growth of the collaboration between BUILD-IT, IUH and the industry partners in the coming years, as well as continuing our good work.” – Said Ms. Dam Sao Mai, IUH’s Vice Rector, as she expressed the university’s appreciation to USAID/BUILD-IT support and the wish to strengthen the collaboration with BUILD-IT Alliance even further.
During the visit, Ms. Yastishock shared that all activities should aim to improve the environment to address climate change issues. Responding to that, Vice Rector Dam Sao Mai shared that IUH committed to be a green innovation university, encouraging students and faculty to work on green projects and to attend the green innovation activities.
About USAID BUILD-IT
By modernizing technology and engineering higher education in Vietnamese universities, the BUILD-IT Alliance is helping Vietnamese model universities produce graduates with the skills that Vietnam’s increasingly sophisticated economy demands. BUILD-IT leverages diverse government, industry, and academic partners to directly link higher education to the needs of the private sector. The Alliance builds strategic leadership skills to help the university’s own leaders advance university autonomy, improve program and instructional quality, and form lasting partnerships with the private sector. BUILD-IT supports women’s participation in technology and engineering programs through leadership forums, academic initiatives, and scholarships.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University was ranked the #1 Most Innovative University in America by U.S. News & World Report for seven consecutive years since 2014. With over 100,000 students, ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but rather by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves.
