Toshiba Sets Up Scholarship Programs to Promote Advanced Research at Vietnam's National Universities

15 March, 2005


Tokyo, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City—Toshiba Corporation of Japan today announced that it has established scholarship programs with the Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-Hanoi) and the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), Vietnam's leading institutes of higher education and the country's only national universities. Toshiba signed an agreement with VNU-Hanoi yesterday, in Hanoi, and with VNU-HCM today, in Ho Chi Minh City.

The scholarship programs will start in September this year, and offered to selected students following master and doctoral courses in the postgraduate schools at the universities. Toshiba hopes the programs will contribute to advances in science and technology in Vietnam.

Toshiba will provide each university with 1.6 million yen per year. Post graduate students selected for the program will each receive an annual scholarship of 100,000 yen, to be used for tuition fees and living costs. Eligible students in master's programs will be younger than 27, and doctoral program students will be under 30 years. The programs are mainly directed at students in science and technology courses, but students of humanities are also eligible.

Toshiba also intends to expand relations with VNU-Hanoi and VNU-HCM and to promote closer collaboration between business and academia. In this connection, the company's plans for the future include lectures in Vietnam by Toshiba scientists and engineers, an internship program at Toshiba in Japan for advanced researchers, an internship program for students at postgraduate school to study in Japan, and promotion of joint development and sponsored research.

Toshiba's increasing globalization of its R&D activities includes promotion of internship programs and joint development projects with academic institutions outside Japan. One of the longest established is the company's "Toshiba Fellowship Program", which offers post-doctoral researchers from EU countries currently working in UK universities and research institutes the opportunity to undertake research at Toshiba's corporate R&D Center for up to two years.

In 2004, Toshiba also initiated an internship program with Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), one of Hungary's leading institutes that promote opportunities for graduate students to gain experience of working in industry.

Vietnam, with its population of more than 82 million, the second largest in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, has maintained high annual GDP growth of approximately 7% in recent years.

Commenting on the agreements, Mr Makoto Azuma, Corporate Senior Vice President of Toshiba Corporation, said, "Vietnam is a highly promising future market, not least of all because of the well known skills and diligence of the Vietnamese people. Vietnam is also a home to abundant skilled manpower. Toshiba is pleased to encourage highly skilled, talented students in a wide range of courses, and aims to build a bridge between Japan and Vietnam in coming years. I hope that these scholarship programs with Vietnam's prestigious national universities will contribute to Vietnam's further development and enhance our businesses there."

Prof. Dao Trong Thi, President of VNU-Hanoi, said: "This program marks an important improvement in the co-operative linkage between Toshiba Corporation, a prestigious company of Japan, and Vietnam National University, Hanoi, a leading university of Vietnam, thus enhancing the close relationship between business and universities. Vietnam National University, Hanoi highly appreciates Toshiba's investment initiative in Vietnam's high-qualified human resources especially VNU's students. This scholarship program helps create favorable conditions for VNU's students to study better and to approach modern technologies, advanced organization and management methods of prestigious enterprises such as Toshiba Corp. This program will build the bridge between trainers and employers of talented people. Furthermore, students satisfying the strict criteria of the program will be a vivid proof of VNU's training quality. Besides, it means that Toshiba's investment policy is not only socially, economically meaningful but also culturally valuable to promote Vietnam-Japan relationship."

Prof. Nguyen Tan Phat, President, VNU-HCM, also commented on the program: "In order to fulfill its mission of providing qualified human resources for the country, VNU-HCM has initiated and developed close links with both domestic and international business. We highly appreciate the support of Toshiba Corporation, a world leader in high technology, and believe that the scholarship program not only encourage talented young Vietnamese but also open up new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between VNU-HCM and Toshiba Corporation".

Through these long-term relationships with VNU-Hanoi and VNU-HCM in a wide range of studies, Toshiba aims to cultivate and foster highly skilled and talented students. The company will continue to enhance its relationship with Vietnam and to promote its presence there.

About Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Corporation is a leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products and power systems. The company's integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as an innovator in advanced components, products and systems. Toshiba has more than 161,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of US$53 billion (FY2003). Toshiba has two subsidiaries in Vietnam: Toshiba Vietnam Consumer Products Co., Ltd., which manufactures color TVs, and Toshiba (Vietnam) Home Appliances Co., Ltd., which market white goods.

About VNU-Hanoi
In 1993, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) was established by amalgamating the University of Hanoi (established in 1956), Foreign Language Teachers' Training College (established in 1967) and other leading universities in Hanoi. VNU has become one of the largest multidisciplinary higher educational and research centre in Vietnam and holds a special position in the system of tertiary education in Vietnam. At present, VNU consists of 4 member colleges (College of Science, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, College of Foreign Languages and College of Technology), 3 affiliated faculties (Economics, Law, and Education), 3 schools ( School of Business, School of Graduate Studies and International School), and a number of institutes, research and training centres.

About VNU-HCM
Established in 1995 through merging existing prestigious universities in Ho Chi Minh City, VNU-HCM is one of Vietnam's two national universities. Its mission is to become a high-quality multidisciplinary center for training and research, playing a key role in the Vietnamese higher education system and keeping pace with other universities in the region and beyond. Currently, the university comprises 4 member universities (the University of Technology, University of Natural Sciences, University of Social Sciences & Humanities, International University), Institute for Environment & Resources, Faculty of Economics, and a number of other affiliated centers. The present student population of VNU-HCM is over 36,700 full-time students, more than 3,300 master's degree students and 360 doctorate students.


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