VinUni Principal: 'Students will create many extraordinary values'

Professor Rohit Verma believes that with an international standard training environment and existing knowledge base, the first batch of students will make many valuable contributions to life.

After 5 years working at VinUni University, Professor Rohit Verma shared about his past journey and future plans of VinUni.

- What convinced you to come to Vietnam when VinUni was still just an idea of Vingroup ?

- Before coming to Vietnam, I was the Director of the Institute for International Cooperation at Cornell University (USA). Cornell has been to many places in the world to teach, research and support the development of academic centers but has not been present in Southeast Asia. Therefore, when Vingroup proposed to cooperate in opening a university, we saw this as an opportunity. The proposal from Vietnamese enterprises was very strong, clearly affirming that Vietnam must have a world-class university. In addition, there were very important letters of introduction from the Ministry of Education and Training , the Vietnamese Embassy in the US and commitments from Vingroup.

Vingroup’s proposal was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as opening a brand-new university was quite a unique proposition. After working with them, I thought that participating in the project was a way to leave a mark. So I decided to step into the project.

Professor Rohit Verma – President of VinUni University — Professor Rohit Verma, President of VinUni University. Photo: *Vingroup*

- What are your advantages and challenges after 5 years as Principal of VinUni?

- The biggest advantage we have is the investment from the founder Vingroup, building infrastructure, promoting operations and especially supporting scholarships and finances for students. The second is strategic cooperation with two universities in the top 20 in the world, Pennsylvania and Cornell. The third is the support from the Ministryof Education and Training, the academic community and the Vietnamese government. As a result, we have world-class facilities, invite the best lecturers and recruit the best students.

Along with that comes the challenge. We have to convince students that VinUni is worthy of being their first choice. Instead of studying abroad with its geographical distance and high cost, students will be able to study according to international standards in the country. With exchange programs, students can go abroad in their 3rd or 4th year to experience and integrate into the world. For international students, we mention the quality of Vietnam's outstanding development and rich culture, encouraging them to come and study.

VinUni has not graduated any students yet. We are just starting our research, it is difficult to prove to the world what we can do. It will take time for VinUni students and lecturers to create extraordinary values.

VinUni students will start graduating next year. We have to make sure they will find the best jobs when they enter the labor market or find the best universities if they want to study further.

Professor Rohit Verma (second from left) with Dr. Le Mai Lan (third from left) - Chairman of VinUni Board of Directors, and faculty members of the school — Professor Rohit Verma (second from left) with Dr. Le Mai Lan (third from left), Chairman of VinUni Board of Directors and faculty members of the school. Photo: *Vingroup*

- What are VinUni's achievements after 5 years of operation?

- We evaluate our achievements from different perspectives. First, as an organization. VinUni started with only about 10 people in 2018. To date, we have about 175 members including lecturers and staff from about 20 countries around the world. The school also owns modern infrastructure such as libraries, lab systems including medical simulation centers, supercomputer laboratories, anatomy rooms and smart health centers.

We now have international recognition. In 2023, VinUni has 7 different categories ranked 5 stars by QS after just over 2 years of training.

But the greatest achievement comes from the students. VinUni students have won many international awards in programming and blockchain competitions. Since this year, some students have been accepted into universities such as the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and the University of Technology Sydney under the cooperative program. They have also begun to make an impact on the community by founding clubs, developing special projects, taking on community service jobs, and supporting the less fortunate. We are proud of our students.

Professor Rohit Verma with VinUni students. Photo: *Vingroup*

- What is VinUni's development plan for the next 5 years, sir?

- We have created a foundation for infrastructure, faculty, students and training programs. But there is still a lot of work to do to put VinUni on the list of the world's leading universities.

In the next 5 to 10 years, we will continue to improve the reputation and quality of our training programs, add new majors, expand our scale... We have to prove why VinUni is worth investing in. For students and parents, we have to convince them why we need a world-class university in Hanoi. For businesses, we have to prove that VinUni students are among the best to hire. This needs to be demonstrated by actions and explaining why VinUni is special.

Professor Rohit Verma believes that there is still a lot of work to do to put VinUni in the list of the world's top universities. — Professor Rohit Verma in a talk. Photo: *Vingroup*

In general, VinUni is a true start-up environment, you have to solve many problems at the same time. When you have a big dream, you have to fight for it. Moreover, our mission is to create young people who create change, so first of all, we professors also need to change and equip ourselves with such a spirit.

Yen Chi

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