The forum provides a platform for dialog and discussion with Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and representatives of universities in Taiwan on bilateral exchanges and cooperation in education matters, and a bilateral working meetings between ministerial officials. Important issues discussed included enhancing the cooperative Vietnamese Elites Study in Taiwan 500 project (VEST-500); joint Taiwan-Vietnam overseas degree programs; cooperation in Mandarin Chinese Teaching; and recognition of the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL). The forum was conducted in both Mandarin and Vietnamese to ensure good communication and understanding between all participants, and a full exchange of views.

The full day forum was followed by two-day visits of universities and campuses giving participants from Vietnam an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the range and quality of Taiwan’s higher education in their particular areas of interest. Two different tours were arranged. Group A focused on agriculture, technology, and software design, and visited four universities: National Pingtung University of Science & Technology; Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences; National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality & Tourism; and I-Shou University. Group B, focused on technology, tourism, and cultural & creative industry, and visited five universities: Southern Taiwan University of Science & Technology; National Chi Nan University; Chaoyang University of Technology; Mingdao University; and I-Shou University.

This forum and the associated activities enhances the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation in the education arena, and further collaborative partnerships between universities, and this in turn contributes significantly to nurturing a pool of highly educated highly skilled people who in due course will make a strong contribution to both economic and social development.