22 April 2015
The University of South Australia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Hue University of Sciences in Vietnam on April 23 to support greater collaborations and exciting opportunities for students of urban planning.
The MOU will underpin a three week study tour for students at UniSA which has also garnered federal funding under the New Colombo Plan, supporting opportunities for more students to take up the important study abroad experience.
The MoU is also the starting point to build the partnership with Hue into a fully-fledged research and education collaboration.
Employment, Higher Education and Skills Minister Gail Gago will witness the MOU signing as part of her week long higher education mission to Vietnam.
She says the agreement is another example of the key role higher education is playing in building international networks for the State.
“This agreement is a fine example of how South Australia is paving the way for international collaborations in research and teaching, while building lasting relationships,” Gago says.
“It will underpin a two week study tour for students at UniSA and is the starting point to build the partnership with Hue into a fully-fledged research and education collaboration.
“This MOU will facilitate invaluable learning opportunities for local UniSA students and will provide a future path for Vietnamese students and academics to come and work and study here in Adelaide. These shared experiences and the relationships that will be forged will benefit both cities.”
UniSA Senior Lecturer, researcher in urban geography and leader of the urban planning practicum to Vietnam, Dr Matthew Rofe says the MOU is an umbrella for the development of a range of academic and student engagements that will advance our understanding and expertise of urban regeneration and the development of sustainable cities in a global context.
“The design and construction of cities and urban communities can never be studied in isolation from culture, geography and the economic and social history of a place,” Dr Rofe says.
“Being confined to thinking about urban planning issues as they relate only to a local Australian context is not enough for today’s planning graduates.
“UniSA has always provided opportunities for urban planning students to learn in new cultural contexts originally in Malaysia and now in Vietnam.”
The course will give students complete immersion in Hue city so they can explore planning issues within an entirely new context. Students work with planning professionals and government and university representatives in Vietnam and most closely with staff and fellow students at the Hue University of Sciences.
“As a rapidly developing Asian country Vietnam’s planning issues are quite different from anything our students would have tackled in a real world context here,” Dr Rofe says.
“The political system is different, the population challenges are unique and the planning and development problems are different.
“Students come away from an international experience like this not only with a broader, more mature understanding of their professional field in a global context, but also with friendships and cultural insights that will last a lifetime.
“The MOU we have signed with Hue University of Sciences is a foundation for broader engagement between our two institutions and is an example of UniSA’s commitment to providing students both real world learning opportunities and education in an international context.”
Media contact: Michèle Nardelli office: +61 8 8302 0966 mobile: 0418 823 673 email: michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au
