In recognition of the need of job market, international requirement and for diversification of education programs, Ho Chi Minh city University of Transport (UT-HCMC) and Guildford College (GC), which have had a long traditional relation, have decided to work together on establishing a joint academic programme on Bachelor of Arts in the area of Business - Finance under the support of the Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education (PMI2) funding and the British Council.
UT-HCMC, GC, and Edexcel are those of programme partners. UT-HCMC is in charge of organizing, coordinating and managing activities; GC provides technical and academic support to the programme in Vietnam. GC is validated by the University of Surrey (UniS), one of the top 20 excellent institutions among a total number of 230 in the UK, to deliver BA degree in GC. Therefore, students who successfully finish the Top-Up programme in Guildford will be awarded a BA in Business Studies accredited by UniS.Edexcel is one of the UK's largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications. Students who have successfully completed 2 years or 3 years study will be awarded with the BTEC Higher National Certificate (BTEC HNC) and the BTEC Higher National Diploma (BTEC HND) respectively from Edexcel International.
The degree of BTEC HNC/HND is an official one recognized in over 130 coutries and the holders are allowed to go to their desired institution in UK or America, Australia, or Canada for their Top-Up BA year. The programme is strictly under quality control by Edexcel. Furthermore, students who have successfully completed 3th-year may opt for employment at international companies and organizations.
II. INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND COOPERATION PROGRAMME
The International Education and Cooperation Programme (IEC) which is under operation of the Department of International Relations, Research and Development - Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport, carries the duty of fulfilling the International Joint Academic Programmes with renowned Universities worldwide. Today, IEC has been effectively providing learners with great chances to be engaged in an international standard learning environment with reasonable cost and employment opportunities at the World’s leading organizations and companies.
It is believed that successful deployment of the projects will make its contribution to a new prosperous stage of the University in particular and Vietnam’s education and training system in general: renovation and enhancement of teaching skills; solidification and promotion of foreign languages knowledge, and professional skill and teaching methodology. Hence, it motivates lecturers to improve the quality of education and better the current curriculum; at the same time, provides the learners with excellent opportunities to participate in a dynamic learning environment equipped with modern facilities in which their exchanging and learning activities are impulsed to develop their activeness and creativeness; as a result, enable them to integrate and adapt to any other environments. In addition, the advantage of Vietnam-based campus will satisfy the community’s demand of education at international level, attract the investment for domestic education, and meet the social need of well-qualified human resource.
IEC is striving, as its long-term objective, to become one of the most prestigious International Education and Cooperation Center in Vietnam, and extend its scope of educational cooperation mode with developed countries, namely the UK, USA, the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, and so on.
The programs have been carried out:
- Maritime Human Resource Training and Development Program with STC Group – The Netherlands (Currently Maritime Training and Human Resource Center)
- The international Joint Academic Program on Business (Finance) with Guildford College and University of Surrey, UK
- The international Joint Academic Program on Marine Technology with Newcastle University, UK.
III. PARTNERS INTRODUCTION
1. Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport (UT-HCMC)
In 1988, a branch of Vietnam Maritime University was established in Ho Chi Minh City and provided its services on Maritime education and training at undergraduate level. On 26th April 2001, UT-HCMC, under the authority of Ministry of Transport, was founded under the decision No 66/2001/QD-TTg signed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister.
Today, UT-HCMC is one of the three leading universities in Vietnam providing education and training services in maritime and transportation industries. UT-HCMC is a specialized institution in the South of Vietnam that offers students with undergraduate and post graduate training programmes in Navigation, Sea Transport Economics, Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture, Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Telecommunication, Information Technology, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, of which Navigation and Sea Transport Economics are the two key majors of UT-HCMC.
In order to fulfill its duties and to raise up its position in training and research, UT-HCMC has put an immense emphasis on expanding international cooperation relationships, with a wide spectrum of academic activities including exchanging students and instructors, enhancing academic research, receiving advanced training and educational technology from developed countries in order to create favorable conditions for students and teachers, scholars in UT-HCMC in accumulating experience and sharpening capabilities.
UT-HCMC has obtained a lot of achievements in the field of International cooperations. The University has been setting up the close relationships with many universities in the world, namely Russian Academy of Science, Newcastle University, Woosong University, Dalian Maritime University, Rotterdam Shipping and Transport College, The Australian Maritime College, and some other Non-Governmental Organisations. It is a great honor that UT-HCMC is currently an official member of the Global Maritime and Training Association (Global MET), Japanese Science Promotion Society (JSPS) and International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU). The University is also a partner of Seafarer Training and Exporting Joint-venture with STC group, the Netherlands.
2. Guildford College of Further and Higher Education
GC is a largely State funded leading educational institution in the South East region of the UK. Founded 70 years ago, it has 3 main campuses to accommodate approximately 16,000 students. The International Centre for Education at GC welcomes more than 400 full-time and over 600 part-time international students from over 100 different countries each year. The College offers over 1,000 professional, vocational, academic courses in UK.
GC has a long tradition in the education and training of international students and of cooperation with international Universities. It has been successful in winning contract projects in Korea and China (under support of the PMI Fund, UK). Furthermore, it has been establishing franchise relationships with two Russian Universities, an Indian University and a High School organsation in China. It also has been dealing with the British Council, (of which it is an accredited institution in the UK) and other partners in Vietnam for over past 5 years.
Guildford College is validated and authorised by the University of Surrey (in top 20 universities in UK) to deliver the Top-up in Business Studies at GC. Once successfully completing the program, students are accredited with Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies by the University of Surrey.
3. Edexcel, the United Kingdom
Edexcel was formed in 1996 by the merger of the Business & Technology Education Council (BTEC), the country’s leading provider of vocational qualifications, and the University of London Examinations & Assessment Council (ULEAC), one of the major exam boards for GCSEs and A levels. Today, Edexcel is the UK's largest awarding body offering academic and vocational qualifications and testing to schools, colleges, employers and other places of learning, both in the UK and internationally.
Edexcel offers an impressive range of services, including:
· Curriculum and qualification development
· Training and support for teachers and examiners
· Exam setting
· Testing
· Marking and assessment
In 2008, Edexcel delivered 8.2 million exam scripts in over 85 countries. Its general qualifications taken internationally include GCSEs, AS and A Levels, IGCSEs and O Levels. The vocational qualifications include NVQ and BTEC from entry level to Higher National Diplomas (HND).
BTEC HND is recognized in over 130 countries worldwide, of which the holder can flexibly opt for his/her work application or for 1 year Top-Up study to full BA degree in various well-known universities in UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, and so on.
