From May 8 to May 14, 2024, a delegation from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trieu Van Cuong, Vice Minister of Home Affairs and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, visited and worked at Monash University, University of Canberra, Crawford School of Public Policy (Australian National University), School of Government (Victoria University of Wellington), University of Waikato, and New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. The visit aims to discuss potential cooperation in joint Master’s training programs, training for public leaders and managers of ministries, branches and localities, and cooperation in training for lecturers. The working sessions were supported by H.E. Mr. Pham Hung Tam, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand, and staff from the Vietnamese Embassies in Australia and New Zealand.
At the working sessions, Vice Minister Trieu Van Cuong introduced the Australian and New Zealand partners to the functions and tasks of the Ministry of Home Affairs, its role in state management regarding training public servants for the Government, and the tasks of NAPA in implementing training policies for public servants. He emphasized the increasingly important role of NAPA in the face of administrative reform, digital transformation and international integration. In his part, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Chien, NAPA President, highlighted the urgent need to improve the capacity of public leaders and managers and to build high-quality administrative human resources to meet the requirements of the new, volatile and challenging context. He also shared specific and practical cooperation proposals with Australian and New Zealand partners. Initial discussions were also held on the planning and budget estimates for implementing cooperation activities in leadership and management training.
On May 8, Prof. Matthew Gillespie, Vice Provost (Academic Affairs), Monash University, welcomed and worked with the delegation. The Director of the Master’s program in Public policy and the Manager of the Leadership Development program also attended the session. At the meeting, both sides identified cooperation directions focusing on joint Master’s training and leadership training. The collaboration in leadership training will involve developing programs that meet the actual needs of Vietnamese participants. Regarding cooperation in Master’s training, based on Monash University’s introduction of its existing Master’s programs, NAPA will select suitable programs and coordinate with Monash University to research specific regulations in each country and realize a cooperation plan for joint Master’s training programs awarded by Monash University at NAPA. Both sides also agreed to organize faculty exchange programs and committed to continuing discussions to soon sign a cooperation agreement to implement further cooperation activities.
The delegation working with Monash University.
On May 9, the delegation was received at the Crawford School of Public Policy (Australian National University) by Prof. Paul Burke, Deputy Director of the School and the leaders of the Southeast Asia Economics Research Department and the leaders and managers of the School’s Master’s training program and leadership training program. Emphasizing many similarities between the two training institutions in terms of functions, tasks and missions in training public servants for the Government, both sides agreed to promote cooperation in faculty exchange. NAPA will invite faculty members from the Crawford School to teach at the Academy’s training courses in both face-to-face and online formats and to collaborate in information sharing through forums. Additionally, the Crawford School of Public Policy is ready to accept NAPA lecturers to pursue doctoral studies at the School. As a training institution with extensive experience in training public servants, the Crawford School is willing to collaborate with NAPA in developing leadership and management skill training programs for Vietnamese public servants.
The delegation at the Crawford School of Public Policy (Australian National University).
On May 10, the delegation worked with the University of Canberra (UC), represented by Mr. Chris Gartner, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University, Mr. Uwe Dulleck, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Business, Government and Law, along with program directors for the Masters of Public Policy and the executive leadership training programs. Mr. Uwe Dulleck introduced the history of the formation and development of UC, located in the political capital of Australia, which carries the mission and tradition of training and developing a high-quality public service workforce operating in a multicultural environment. He also highly appreciated the traditional friendly relationship between the two training institutions, noting many effective cooperative activities already implemented, and expressed a desire to elevate the cooperation to a new level through practical and long-term collaborative activities. Both sides agreed to renew the cooperation agreement before the current agreement expires at the end of 2024, focusing on the following areas: 1/ Promoting the development of a joint Master’s program in public policy and public governance, delivered by both lecturers from UC and NAPA, with degrees awarded by UC; 2/ Co- organizing short-term training courses for Vietnamese public leaders and managers in Australia or inviting UC experts to teach in Viet Nam; 3/ Organizing training courses for Vietnamese female leaders and young leaders to study and research at UC.
The delegation at the University of Canberra (UC).
The delegation at the School of Business, Government and Law, UC.
On May 13, the delegation worked with the School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington, represented by Mr. Karl Lofgren, Head of School; Mr. Roger Shew, Director, International, and Ms. Tania McGowan, General Manager, Programs. Both sides agreed to collaborate in developing leadership and management training programs based on the actual needs of Viet Nam. They also plan to organize training courses at NAPA and invite lecturers from the School to teach either directly or online. Additionally, they agreed to co-organize international workshops and seminars on topics of mutual interest.
The delegation at the School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington.
On May 14, the delegation had a working session with Ms. Sharon Calvert, Director of the International Office and Ms. Nguyen Lam Giang, Regional Engagement Lead – South East Asia from the University of Waikato. Both sides agreed on a plan to collaborate in developing a joint Master’s training program, organizing short-term training courses, inviting experts from the University of Waikato to teach in Viet Nam, or combining domestic and international short-term training programs. They also discussed the potential for organizing training programs for female leaders in Viet Nam. Moreover, the two sides agreed to draft a cooperation agreement to be signed during the visit of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato to Viet Nam by the end of June 2024.
The delegation with the representative of the University of Waikato.
As part of the business trip, the delegation also had a working session with the New Zealand Ministry of Interior Affairs. At the meeting, the delegation learned about the digital transformation process, strategies for building New Zealand’s digital public service with its achievements and challenges, and the role of the Ministry of Interior Affairs as the national coordinating agency in the digital transformation process. Both sides also discussed potential cooperation in enhancing digital transformation capabilities for leaders and managers, focusing on innovative thinking and skill development to overcome challenges and better meet the needs of citizens.
The delegation at the New Zealand Ministry of Interior Affairs.
The delegation at the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia.
The delegation working with H.E. Mr. Nguyen Van Trung, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand.
