Promoting educational cooperation and enhancing Vietnamese language teaching in Hungary

After a visit and work in Poland, a delegation of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) led by Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong visited and worked in Hungary.

Signing of cooperation agreement on highereducation

Here, the delegation had a meeting with Ms. Veronika Varga-Bajusz, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary.

Delegation of Ministry of Education and Training held talks with Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong, through the Secretary of State, thanked the Hungarian Government and people for providing scholarships to Vietnamese students over the years, contributing to helping Vietnam train high-quality human resources.

The Deputy Minister also expressed his joy and gratitude to the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation for closely coordinating with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training to complete negotiations and sign the Higher Education Cooperation Agreement between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Hungarian Ministry of Culture and Innovation for the period 2025-2027.

This agreement will create a legal framework to promote cooperation between higher education institutions of the two countries in training, scientific research and academic exchange. With the autonomy of higher education institutions, the Deputy Minister believes that in the coming time, the two sides will coordinate and cooperate more effectively.

The Vietnamese side hopes that, in addition to the maximum 200 scholarships as agreed in the signed document, the Hungarian side can receive more Vietnamese students to study in fields that Hungary has strengths in and Vietnam needs such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Agriculture and Food Technology, etc.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and Ms. Veronika Varga-Bajusz, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary signed a cooperation agreement on higher education.

Thanking Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and saying that educational cooperation with Vietnam is a very effective field of cooperation, the State Secretary hopes that in the future, the two sides will continue to find new and more effective forms of cooperation.

Hungary is a peaceful, safe country and is an ideal destination for foreign students to study. Therefore, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and the Secretary of State agreed that after the document was signed, both sides need to do a better job of introducing and promoting the education, culture and people of the two countries.

According to Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong, there are four factors that can attract more Vietnamese students to study in Hungary. These are that the two countries have a long-standing cooperative relationship of nearly 75 years and Hungary is a friendly and peaceful country; Hungary has strengths in many training fields that are not inferior to advanced countries such as the UK, the US, Australia, etc.; there are many internship and job opportunities for students; and reasonable training and living costs.

Educational cooperation is a bright spot in Vietnam - Hungary relations

At the meeting between Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and Mr. Péter Sztáray, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, the two sides exchanged orientations in implementing educational and training cooperation activities.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong held talks with Mr. Péter Sztáray, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong affirmed that educational cooperation is a bright spot in the comprehensive partnership between the two countries. Up to now , Hungary has trained more than 4,000 international students in Vietnam with qualifications in science, technology, and economic management, many of whom have become key leaders in Vietnam's political system, scientists in research institutions, universities, and successful businessmen in various fields.

The Deputy Minister affirmed that signing a new agreement for the SH scholarship program on this occasion is very timely so that Vietnamese candidates can register for the scholarship program to study in Hungary in 2025.

Agreeing with the discussions of Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Mr. Péter Sztáray affirmed that Hungary's viewpoint in expanding its foreign relations system with the whole world is equal, mutually beneficial and does not affect each other's interests. In which, it will continue to consolidate and further strengthen the cooperative relationship with Vietnam.

“Educational cooperation is an important pillar in the relationship between the two countries. Vietnam is the country with the largest number of students receiving scholarships from the Hungarian Government and also the country with the largest number of students taking courses in Hungarian. Vietnamese students have been, are and will be active in promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries,” said State Secretary Péter Sztáray.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and State Secretary Péter Sztáray signed a Cooperation Agreement on the Stipendium Hungaricum (SH) Scholarship Program for the period 2025-2027.

Within the framework of the talks, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and State Secretary Péter Sztáray signed a Cooperation Agreement on the Stipendium Hungaricum (SH) Scholarship Program for the period 2025-2027. By signing this Cooperation Agreement, the Scholarship Program granted by the Hungarian Government to Vietnam will continue to be implemented for the next 3 years, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese students and citizens to study abroad at undergraduate, master's and doctoral levels.

After the meeting between Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and State Secretary Péter Sztáray, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and the delegation had a meeting with Deputy State Secretary Miklós Lengyel about the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship.

Here, the two sides discussed and agreed on cooperation activities in the coming time to promote and diversify cooperation activities between the two countries such as promoting exchanges, developing the teaching of Vietnamese language and Vietnamese studies in Hungary and Hungarian language and Hungarian culture in Vietnam; restoring Hungarian language training at Hanoi University; building Vietnamese studies faculty at some Hungarian universities; enhancing exchange activities between leaders of training institutions of the two countries through the Vietnam - Hungary university rectors' forum; promoting the promotion of education in the two countries.

Hope Vietnamese students preserve and promote the beautiful image of the country.

During the visit to Hungary, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and the delegation visited and worked at ELTE University. This is one of Hungary's leading universities in training and is also one of Hungary's oldest universities with nearly 400 years of age. Currently, the University has nearly 40,000 students, including more than 4,000 foreign students, of which 95 are Vietnamese students currently studying here. With more than 100 training programs entirely in English, this is a great advantage for the University to attract many international students.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong visits ELTE University

Prof. László Borhy, Rector of ELTE University, said that the university has a Vietnamese Language Department and this is the only university in Hungary with a Vietnamese language department. The university is planning to upgrade the Vietnamese Language Department to the Vietnamese Studies Department.

Assessing this as the right direction, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong said that with the establishment of the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, the school will not only teach Vietnamese but also teach about Vietnamese culture, country and people. The Deputy Minister also assigned Hanoi University to closely coordinate and support ELTE University in this work.

At ELTE University, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong and the delegation met with Vietnamese students studying there. After listening to their reports on their studies and listening to their sharing on some issues related to their studies and living, the Deputy Minister highly appreciated their “courage, daring to overcome their comfort zone, conquering themselves”, daring to accept challenges to create a new comfort zone for themselves, larger and with more opportunities.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong talks with Vietnamese students studying at ELTE University

The Deputy Minister also shared and encouraged the students to try to overcome the difficulties of living far from their families, overcome homesickness to strive to study well, achieve high results, respect the laws and regulations of the host country to preserve and promote the beautiful image of the country and people of Vietnam.

Continue to promote the preservation of culture and language of Vietnamese people abroad

In order to learn about the situation of teaching and learning Vietnamese in the Vietnamese community in Hungary, the delegation visited and worked at the Budapest Vietnamese Language Teaching Center. Also receiving and working with the delegation were representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in Budapest.

Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc Thuong talks with children studying at the Budapest Vietnamese Language Center

The center was established in 2010 with two main functions: teaching Vietnamese and connecting the community. Currently, the center has 9 Vietnamese classes with 70 students. After 14 years, the center has grown from 1 class with 1 teacher to 3 classes with 8 teachers participating in direct and online teaching. Every year, the center recruits new students.

In addition to teaching Vietnamese, the Center annually organizes the "Vietnamese Language Festival" and the VIETCAMP Summer Camp for Vietnamese youth living here. The Center also actively participates in the Forum for Preserving Vietnamese Language held in European countries. From 2022, the Center will respond and actively participate in the "Vietnamese Language Honor Day" with a variety of activities and ways of organizing and participating. At the time of the delegation's visit, the Center was launching the "Vietnam in Me" contest for Vietnamese children living in Hungary.

Delegation from the Ministry of Education and Training presented gifts to the Budapest Vietnamese Language Center

Speaking with the delegation of the Ministry of Education and Training, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, Director of the Center, expressed his wish to receive attention from within the country so that teachers can participate in training courses on Vietnamese teaching methods, and hoped that state management agencies would work with the Hungarian side to make Vietnamese a foreign language taught in schools for students, both Vietnamese and Hungarian, to have the opportunity to choose to study.

Sharing with the teachers at the Center and representatives of the Community, Deputy Minister Pham Ngoc also acknowledged and thanked the creativity, enthusiasm and spirit of overcoming difficulties as well as the great love of the people for the homeland, the Vietnamese language and culture. Appreciating the organization, the form of the class and the very correct teaching methods, through many different activities of the Center, the Deputy Minister hoped that the people would continue to overcome difficulties, continue to promote and better organize the preservation of the culture and language of Vietnamese people abroad.

During their visit and work in Poland and Hungary, the delegation of the Ministry of Education and Training visited and worked with the Vietnamese Embassies in the two countries. Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassies in Poland and Hungary also accompanied and participated in all activities with the delegation.

Source: https://moet.gov.vn/tintuc/Pages/tin-tong-hop.aspx?ItemID=9991