Participating in the delegation of Peking University are professors, scientists, researchers and lecturers in the fields of Vietnamese language, international relations and regional studies led by Prof. Ninh Ky (Vice President of Peking University).
Receiving the delegation, on behalf of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, there were Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of the University), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Thanh Nam (Vice Chairman of the University Council, Head of Training Department) and leaders of a number of functional departments and training units in the university.
Rector Hoang Anh Tuan warmly welcomed and thanked the delegation of Peking University for visiting the school during the days approaching the traditional Tet holiday of Vietnam and China, and affirmed: “The University of Social Sciences and Humanities especially values cooperative relations with universities and research institutes in China, especially the most prestigious university such as Peking University. In the past time, through the connection of scientists, the two schools have had a number of successful cooperative activities. And recently, a very important event, on December 9, 2024, at Peking University, the Vietnam - China Higher Education Cooperation Seminar took place with the participation of leaders of the two Ministries of Education, functional departments and many leading universities of the two countries. On this occasion, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities officially signed a cooperation agreement with Peking University and Beijing Foreign Studies University on training and research in the fields of social sciences and humanities, exchange of lecturers and students, and promotion of strengthen cooperation in Chinese and Vietnamese language training. Today's visit of the Working Group further affirms the determination to realize the cooperation orientations that the two sides have signed.
Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan (Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities) introduced the strengths of the University and the possibility of cooperation between the two units.
On behalf of the Peking University delegation, Professor Ninh Ky expressed his deep gratitude for the warm welcome and enthusiastic and effective support of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities so that the delegation could organize a working trip to Vietnam quickly and smoothly despite the extremely busy Tet holiday. Introducing Peking University, Professor Ninh Ky shared: Peking University is the leading university in China and ranked 17th in the world according to QS Rankings 2024. Currently, we have about 50,000 students (including students, trainees and postgraduates). The majors that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities trains are also available at Peking University and are ranked top in Asia and in the world rankings. In particular, the Vietnamese language major of the Foreign Languages Institute started training at the undergraduate level in 1949, being the first university in China to open a Vietnamese language major. Therefore, I see that the two schools have many opportunities to cooperate, share resources, and support each other in many areas: training, research, and international publishing. Joining our delegation are leading experts who have in-depth research on regions around the world, as well as the relationship between China and countries and regions: Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe; and experts in Vietnamese linguistics and cultural exchange between Vietnam and China. The two sides can openly discuss to jointly come up with specific and feasible cooperation contents and implement them immediately in 2025.
Professor Ninh Ky (Vice President of Peking University) expressed his hope that the two sides will carry out many effective and substantive cooperation activities.
At the meeting, representatives of VNU-USSH training units shared important information about successfully implemented activities between the University's faculties and units under Peking University, and proposed some contents that could promote cooperation in the coming time.
Associate Professor Dr. Dang Hong Son (Head of the Faculty of History) shared: “The University of Social Sciences and Humanities is one of the universities with the best training in Archaeology in Vietnam. Archaeology started in the 60s of the last century, and a Chinese professor, Professor Le Van Chung, came to teach Archaeology at our Faculty of History. I hope that through today's cooperation, we can further promote cooperation between the two universities in the fields of archaeology, history and cultural heritage.
Currently, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities is making efforts to build a repository of Vietnamese cultural documents overseas. I understand that currently, some documents written by Chinese and European historians about Vietnam are being stored in mainland China, Taiwan, and some European countries. Therefore, we hope that your school will create conditions for researchers from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to be able to go to the Beijing University library to investigate, research, and search for ancient documents written about Vietnam. These are very valuable documents serving the study and research of students as well as scholars at home and abroad when studying Vietnamese history and culture, as well as diplomatic relations between countries in the region during the ancient and medieval period.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thu Hien (Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Literature) emphasized: “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China. This is a very important milestone, so I really hope to cooperate more deeply in all fields. I know that the Vietnamese Department of Peking University is one of the earliest departments established in China. And training in Vietnamese language and culture is also a strength of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Therefore, the two schools can cooperate according to the "2+2" model: sending students studying Vietnamese at Peking University to study at VNU-USSH or VNU-USSH students to study the same majors at the other school and have their credits recognized. In the field of literature, it is a fact that Vietnam is still the country that translates the most Chinese literature, but on the contrary, China understands very little about Vietnamese literature. Therefore, I really hope that we can join hands to introduce, promote, and spread the value of Vietnamese literature. "The cultural values and classic literature of Vietnam and China come to readers in the two countries and friends around the world."
Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa (Head of the Department of Chinese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies) shared: “In the past years, VNU-USSH often sent students to Beijing for short-term exchanges and Beijing students also came to the Faculty of Oriental Studies, VNU-USSH for social internships. However, recently this activity has been interrupted due to objective conditions. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity, the two schools can restore this activity because creating conditions for students of the school to exchange and study abroad, especially at universities in the region: China, Korea, Japan, Thailand, ... is highly valued by the school's leadership".
Representative of the Faculty of International Studies, Dr. Vu Thi Anh Thu (Deputy Dean) also affirmed that she appreciates this valuable cooperation opportunity to jointly implement training activities, exchange students, lecturers, and academic exchanges between the two leading units of Vietnam and China. Dr. Anh Thu further emphasized: “In the process of researching Vietnam and international relations, we are particularly interested in the research works of Chinese scholars on Vietnam and the relationship between the two countries, especially the original documents currently stored at the archives of Peking University and China. We hope that in the coming time, the two sides will coordinate to exploit this source of documents directly and effectively.”
Fully agreeing and appreciating the specific cooperation proposals of the representatives from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Professor Tran Minh (Director of the Foreign Languages Institute of Peking University) affirmed: “The University of Foreign Languages is currently implementing short-term training courses for foreign students and trainees of about 2-3 weeks on Southeast Asia, international relations; summer classes on Oriental culture and literature research or regularly organizing academic forums for students and postgraduates. We welcome the University of Social Sciences and Humanities to send students, trainees and postgraduates to participate in these training activities. In the field of scientific research, the Beijing Forum is held annually in November, we can completely organize a separate session for the two schools to discuss issues of mutual interest. At the same time, we are ready to connect and support Vietnamese scholars to be able to access and exploit original documents stored at Peking University or the archive center. The research works of lecturers and researchers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities can be translated into Chinese for publication in journals in China and vice versa.
Regarding the 2+2, 3+1 training model (in the fields of linguistics, regional studies, cultural studies, etc.), Professor Ninh Ky completely agreed and affirmed that it is a feasible proposal and the two sides can implement it immediately in the 2024-2025 school year. "In 2025, promoting people-to-people exchanges and celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China, we really hope that the cooperation between the two schools will become more substantial and effective" - Professor Ninh Ky expressed.
At the end of the working session, President Hoang Anh Tuan once again sincerely thanked the delegation of Peking University for taking the precious time to work with the University and sharing valuable information, and emphasized: “International exchange is an important premise to create sustainable and strong development for higher education institutions. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities has high expectations and is committed to mobilizing all resources to promote practical and effective activities to bring practical values to students. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities currently has the Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, which is one of the few most prestigious scientific journals in Vietnam. We hope to receive research works from professors at Peking University in all fields of Social Sciences and Humanities, especially studies on Vietnam from original Chinese documents.”
Representatives of the two sides exchanged souvenirs after the meeting.
The delegation of Peking University took a photo with leaders and staff of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on the occasion of visiting the University.
