From January 14 to 15, 2025, Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) coordinated with University of Tasmania to organize a series of exchange activities, academic exchanges and visits to urban food supply systems for a delegation of lecturers and students from the University of Tasmania (UTAS, Australia) under the UniGo Program. The Department of Economic Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA, supported the coordination of program activities at VNUA and the visiting sites. The delegation from the University of Tasmania (UTAS) consisted of 36 teachers and students led by Dr. Duong Nam Ha.
The UniGo Program at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) was designed to support students studying in Australia to learn about research issues as well as the cultures of other countries. This was a study and experience program that helped Australian students explore life and culture in countries around the world to enhance global cooperation.
UTAS faculty and students at VNUA
Learning and studying about agriculture and urban food systems
On the afternoon of January 14, 2025, the UniGO delegation of UTAS visited the Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA, to listen to the sharing about the training and research activities of Dr. Nguyen Huu Nhuan, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA, shared research information with the topic "Digital transformation in Vietnamese agriculture: A case study at Tu Nhien Cooperative" and received great attention from UTAS lecturers and students.
Visiting and working at the Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA
After visiting and working at the Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA, the UniGo delegation of UTAS joined the Uni Tour to visit the campus of VNUA. UTAS students visited and learned about research activities and digital technology applications in beekeeping at the Tropical Bee Research and Beekeeping Center, VNUA.
Visiting the Tropical Bee Research and Beekeeping Center, VNUA
In addition, the UTAS delegation visited and learned about the facilities, modern learning and research environment as well as the proud development history of VNUA.
UTAS students visit the VNUA's Traditional Room
On January 15, 2025, the UniGo delegation of UTAS visited and learned about the urban food supply system and culture of Vietnam. The delegation visited a series of typical locations in the urban food supply system such as traditional markets, Trau Quy market, a destination that clearly reflected the culture of traditional Vietnamese markets, supermarkets, small supermarkets and food stores in Vinhomes Ocean Park Gia Lam Urban Area (Hanoi) and Ecopark Urban Area (Hung Yen). There, the delegation shared about the development of the Winmart+ supermarket system, the Aeon supermarket system and small food stores adapting to changes in urban lifestyles in new urban areas in Vietnam.
Visiting markets and supermarkets in the food supply system for urban areas
In the afternoon of the same day, the UTAS students had the opportunity to visit the Bat Trang Ceramic Museum where unique ceramic products were preserved and displayed to learn about the history and unique manual production process of this traditional craft village.
Learning about Bat Trang Ceramic Village
Connecting for a sustainable future of cooperation
In addition to research and study activities, UTAS students also participated in sports exchanges, table tennis, badminton, learned about Lunar New Year culture with the English Club of the Faculty of Economics and Management, VNUA and explored cuisine in the university area.
UTAS’s UniGo program not only provided students with practical experiences and in-depth knowledge, but also helped Australian students explore Vietnamese culture and was an opportunity to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the University of Tasmania and VNUA. The annual activities continued to open up many opportunities for cooperation in research and training between the two universities in the future.
This program also demonstrated VNUA's commitment to promoting internationalization of education and improving training quality, meeting the globalization trend in the fields of agriculture and sustainable development.