At the beginning of the meeting, Prof. Dr. Guy Le Thiec - Rector of the School of Arts, Literature, Languages and Humanities (Aix-Marseille University) gave an overview of the history of development, scale and training and research strengths of the school. He said that Aix-Marseille University is currently the largest university in the Francophone bloc, with about 80,000 students and 19 research institutes, 12 graduate schools and more than 350 international cooperation partners. In particular, the School of Arts, Literature, Languages and Humanities (Faculté des Arts, Lettres, Langues et Sciences Humaines - ALLSH) located in Aix-en-Provence is one of the largest and oldest units, gathering about 16,000 students and 26 teaching departments. In addition to the majors of linguistics, anthropology and sociology, ALLSH also stands out with its strengths in teaching and researching ancient languages such as Latin, Greek, Arabic, Babylon, etc., demonstrating the rich humanistic and academic tradition of AMU. Vietnamese language and culture are also among the programs taught at ALLSH.
Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, expressed his deep impression of Aix-Marseille University during his recent visit, emphasizing that the School of Arts, Literature, Languages and Humanities of Aix-Marseille University is an ideal academic environment for social sciences and humanities, gathering a diverse team of lecturers, students and research units. Since 2014, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Aix-Marseille University have signed a Framework Agreement. Since then, the two universities have signed many cooperation agreements and implemented very effective activities: exchanging lecturers and students; organizing many international scientific conferences. Typically, in July 2024, with the support and cooperation of Aix Marseille University, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities successfully organized the International Scientific Conference “Archives in the 21st Century: Scientific Knowledge or Information”, and published the book “Archival Science and the Digital Transformation in Vietnam. Legal and Practical Issues for the 21st Century” published by Nomos Publishing House. These are very valuable opportunities for scientists and lecturers of the University to exchange academic knowledge with international experts to improve their expertise and research capacity.
Principal Hoang Anh Tuan expressed his hope that the two schools would continue to promote cooperation in all areas of strength for both sides, especially in building a joint training program in postgraduate Archival Studies in the coming time, and affirmed his strong support for cooperation projects between faculties and departments of both sides.
In the exchange session, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Phuong Ngoc - Vice Rector of Aix-Marseille University, introduced more about the school's outstanding training programs, including master's programs on "International Negotiation" and "Asian Languages and Cultures". She said that Vietnamese language and culture have been taught by ALLSH at graduate and doctoral levels, and expressed her desire to expand exchange programs for Vietnamese and French students. In the field of archiving and preserving documents, Prof. Nguyen Phuong Ngoc introduced the valuable resources at the French National Overseas Archives Center, especially the nearly 9,000-page file related to Nguyen Ai Quoc's activities in France, which has now been digitized and published online. She expressed her hope that Vietnamese lecturers, researchers and students can access and effectively exploit this archive in historical and cultural research.
At the meeting, representatives of the leaders of the training units of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities such as: Faculty of Oriental Studies, Institute of Journalism and Communication, Faculty of Anthropology and Religious Studies, Faculty of History, Faculty of Linguistics, Vietnamese and Vietnamese Studies, Faculty of Psychology and Faculty of Philosophy introduced key training and research fields as well as proposed specific cooperation: implementing joint research projects on history and cultural heritage of Vietnam - France, archaeology, language, journalism, communication, psychology, philosophy, Southeast Asian studies, area studies, etc.
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the School of Arts, Literature, Languages and Humanities (Aix-Marseille University) agreed to promote cooperation programs: academic exchanges, lecturers and students, organizing research projects, collecting and translating archival documents about Vietnam overseas, as well as coordinating the organization of international conferences in areas of mutual interest. First of all, the two sides will soon promote the opening of a master's program in Archival Studies and Digitization; short-term classes in collaboration with the University of Aix Marseille and the French National Archives Center Overseas.
The working session strengthened the long-term cooperative relationship between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Aix-Marseille University.
The delegation of Aix-Marseille University had a working session at the Department of Archival Science and Office Management, University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
