Happy New Year 2024: Multicultural Day for International Students at VNU Hanoi

Saturday - December 30, 2023 20:10

On the evening of December 28, 2023, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) organized a program to meet international students and celebrate the New Year 2024.

This is an annual event of Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU), aiming to provide the international student community in particular, and VNU students in general, with opportunities to interact and strengthen solidarity and friendship. The meeting also allows VNU leaders to directly listen to the thoughts, aspirations, and shared experiences of international students from many countries around the world studying at VNU's training units.

Attending the program were Vice Director of VNU Hanoi Pham Bao Son; Head of the Cooperation and Development Department Nguyen Thi Anh Thu; Director of the Student Support Center Vu Van Thang; Secretary of the Youth Union Hua Thanh Hoa; President of the Student Association Tuong Van Thuan, along with representatives of the leadership of training units within VNU Hanoi.
Speaking at the program, Vice Director Pham Bao Son expressed his joy at meeting and interacting with international students studying and researching at Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). In 2023, VNU continued to maintain stability, successfully achieving its goals in each area of work, affirming its role as a leading multidisciplinary university in Vietnam, and increasing its indicators and rankings internationally. This year can also be considered a successful year for VNU, with many policies supporting lecturers, scientific staff, and students being issued, creating motivation and contributing to attracting highly qualified scientific staff to work at VNU. “These successes are due in no small part to the contributions of you – the international students of VNU,” he shared.
Vice Director Pham Bao Son also expressed his hope that the international student community at VNU would join hands with the Vietnamese student community to develop the VNU student community with its own style and identity, contributing to creating a positive impression of a traditional educational institution of the country. He also expressed his hope that through this community, VNU will become known to international friends and will be a destination for students from all over the world in the not-too-distant future.
In recent years, the internationalization of higher education has become a policy of the Party and the State, with attracting international students considered one of the important factors in enhancing the internationalization level of higher education institutions, contributing to building reputation and influencing the ranking of higher education institutions on international rankings. According to statistics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) currently has about 2,000 international students studying short-term and long-term courses at its training units. VNU always values and pays great attention to international students, because when they come to VNU, they will become "ambassadors" contributing to the continuous enhancement of VNU's prestige and brand in the international community.

At the ceremony, Okabe Chikara from Japan, a fourth-year student in the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, on behalf of international students studying at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, expressed gratitude to the Board of Directors, staff, and lecturers of Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In 2023, Okabe Chikara's group won first prize in two Vietnamese public speaking competitions for international students from the North and the whole country. “During that time, I received a lot of attention from everyone and had many opportunities to practice Vietnamese language and culture, such as being an MC for several programs, participating in Vietnamese public speaking competitions, and playing a character in the VTV4 television program 'Hello Vietnam',” Okabe Chikara shared.
After six years of studying and living in Vietnam, Okabe Chikara always feels satisfied and proud of her decision to study at Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU). “The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, has a tradition of nearly 65 years of teaching Vietnamese to foreigners. With a 55-year history of the Department of Vietnamese Studies and Vietnamese Language, where I studied and experienced life, it is truly a leading and reputable institution in Vietnam for honoring and promoting the Vietnamese language and culture.” Okabe Chikara also expressed her hope that international students at VNU will have a good time studying and create many beautiful memories in Vietnam, and that the international student community will be ambassadors promoting the friendly and hospitable Vietnamese culture and people in their homeland and to friends around the world.

Also within the framework of the program, representatives of the leadership of Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vice Director Pham Bao Son and Head of the Cooperation and Development Department Nguyen Thi Anh Thu presented 27 gifts to Vietnamese students with disabilities and those in particularly difficult circumstances living at Me Tri Dormitory. These gifts were sponsored by Rang Dong Light Bulb and Thermos Flask Joint Stock Company and other benevolent individuals to share, encourage, and support the students before the New Year 2024.
Here are some photos from the ceremony:

At the ceremony, international and Vietnamese students brought many vibrant and colorful artistic performances to the year-end party.

Representatives of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, along with faculty, staff, and students from Vietnam and abroad, raised their glasses to celebrate the New Year 2024.