Innovation

For more than a decade we have studied the challenges confronting Vietnam in higher education and science. We believe that the Task Force on Higher Education and Society’s link to study of higher education in developing countries provides a valuable analytical framework for considering both the nature of the problem and potential solutions. Today we are active participants in a dialogue with Vietnamese and international stakeholders regarding strategies for creating new Vietnamese institutions of higher learning.

We believe that institutional innovation—the development of public institutions that are responsive to the heavy demands of modern society—is a necessary component of Vietnam’s continued development. This conviction underscores our commitment to the Fulbright School as an independent, self-sustaining institution of higher learning that enshrines the core principles of excellence including autonomy, merit-based selection systems, and academic space. At the same time, we observe that the established paradigms of academic exchange through which international universities engage with the world are incapable of supporting the creation of new institutions of higher learning that Vietnam requires.

Our experience developing the Fulbright School in an environment without an established tradition of independent institutions has meant that on many occasions we play the role of “systems integrator,” identifying new avenues through which international institutions—especially but not exclusively universities—can engage with Vietnam.

An overview of the challenges facing Vietnamese higher education and science is available here.