Honorary Doctorates awarded to two Professors of the University of Toulouse Le Mirail

(Photo: Jackie Chan/USSH)

Professor Daniel Weisberg

Having previously served as Director of the Francophone University Agency for Asia-Pacific (AUF) in Hanoi, and later as Deputy Director for International Relations at the University of Toulouse Le Mirail, Professor Daniel Weisberg has made significant contributions to education and science in Vietnam and the region.

Professor Daniel Weissberg contributed to the development and implementation of bilingual education policies from grades 1 to 12 in the region. Under Professor Weissberg's leadership, the AUF Asia-Pacific Office established a system of over 60 new majors in French, with more than 50 of them implemented in Vietnam. Specifically at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, majors such as Clinical Psychology (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities), International Cooperation Law (Faculty of Law), Nuclear Physics, and Chemistry (Faculty of Science) have provided students with modern knowledge and advanced training methods.

At the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in addition to the French-Vietnamese bilingual Bachelor's program in Clinical Psychology, the university also offers three Master's programs in Hotel Management, Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology, and Public Policy and Enterprise Management (MAPE) with the support of the University of Toulouse Le Mirail and AUF. These collaborative training programs have proven highly effective in terms of quality and sustainability in Vietnam.

As the Director of AUF in the Asia-Pacific region, Professor Daniel Weissberg has facilitated international cooperation between Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) in general, and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) in particular, with dozens of French-speaking universities worldwide. Thanks to this, USSH has been actively and effectively participating in the Forum of Rectors of French-speaking Universities in the Asia-Pacific. Many international cooperation programs have been signed and effectively implemented, including numerous international scientific conferences, notably:Dien Bien Phu - 50 Years in Retrospect(2004);100 years of training and research in social sciences and humanities(2005);Creating socio-economic activities to serve local sustainable development – ​​The case of the Northwest region and Son La (2010)...Through the interregional research cooperation program between Midi-Pyréées (France) and Son La province of Vietnam, Professor Daniel Weissberg has promoted the search for numerous field research scholarships for Vietnamese students with a total value of hundreds of millions of VND.

Professor Daniel Weisberg has directly supervised the training of eight doctoral students for Vietnam in general and for Vietnam National University, Hanoi in particular. All of these dissertations focus on discovering, preserving, and promoting the value of Vietnam's heritage, identity, and landscape.

In the field of development studies on Vietnam, Professor Daniel Weissberg has also left a significant mark, serving as the head of the research program on building medium-sized cities in Ho Chi Minh City (1997-2000) and the research program on coffee production and rural development in the Central Highlands. Currently, Professor Daniel Weissberg is a key member of the community development research group in Son La with the theme ""Community-based tourism cultural center".

Professor Odette Lescarret

Professor Odette Lescarret, former Chair of the Professional Council of the University of Nîmes, former Member of the Council of Psychology Experts of the University of Toulouse Le Mirail, the University of Montpellier III, and the University of Nîmes, was involved in establishing and leading the Master's Program in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology at the University of Toulouse le Mirail. She has made significant contributions to the development of training, research, and practice in clinical psychology in Vietnam. It can be said that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, has become the first institution in the Asia-Pacific region to offer training and research in clinical psychology with a distinct "school of thought" character, thanks to the important contributions of Professor Odette Lescarret.

As president of the Association for the Advancement of Education and Psychology in Southeast Asia (ADEPASE), Professor Odette Lescarret has contributed to the formation of a child psychology framework characteristic of Vietnamese culture, while also promoting the application of psychology practice in schools in Hanoi, and assisting the Vietnam Academy of Educational Management in developing and implementing a Master's program in child psychology.Intervention for individuals requiring special education., with financial support from the French Embassy.

In 1995, as the head of the Master's program in Practical Psychology of Children and Adolescents at the University of Toulouse le Mirail and President of the National Association of French Psychologists (ANOP), Professor Odette Lescarret came to Vietnam at the suggestion of child psychiatrist Dr. Nguyen Khac Vien to carry out collaborative activities in the practice of caring for and educating people with the National Institute for Educational Development Research, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), and the University of Pedagogy...

In 1997, the Professor decided to choose the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) to promote the signing of the first cooperation agreement. From here, a network of French-speaking universities in many countries around the world was established and actively participated in training and scientific research in the field of clinical psychology.

Since 1997, with the support of AUF and the French Embassy, ​​Professor Odette Lescarret, along with faculty and staff of the Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), has implemented numerous collaborative activities in science and training to meet the needs of the university and Vietnam, including many prestigious international conferences such as:Children, Culture, Education(2000); “Children, Youth and Assistance(2003) and “Rural areas in transition"(2006). In addition, Professor Odette Lescarret actively proposed ideas and gradually built and successfully implemented two French-language clinical psychology training programs at the university level (in 2001) and a Master's Program in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology, which has been running from 2007 to the present.

As a leading expert in developmental psychology and social psychology, Professor Odette Lescarret has directly supervised numerous master's and doctoral students in psychology for Vietnam in general and Vietnam National University, Hanoi in particular. Nearly half of the doctoral students in psychology trained in France who are currently working in Vietnamese institutions are doctoral graduates supervised by Professor Lescarret.

Professor Odette Lescarret (on the left) andProfessor Daniel Weissberg(Photo: Jackie Chan/USSH)