VietNamNet Bridge – U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius said the U.S. will continue providing strong support for the Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) project.

An FETP class in HCM City - Photo: FETP

The U.S. will do all it can to support Fulbright University Vietnam and let people know the value of this institution because investing in this university means investing in the future of the young Vietnamese generation, Osius told the media on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark 20 years of the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP) in Vietnam on Saturday.

The FUV project is expected to cost US$70 million, with US$5.3 million for the first phase and US$20 million for the second phase.

U.S. Congress had approved funding for the second phase of the project, and the remaining US$44.7 million for the final stage will mostly come from sponsors.

There will be challenges for fund raising but they will be manageable. The ambassador said Congress approval for financing for the second phase of the project proves the importance of this university project.

The Trust for University Innovation in Vietnam (TUIV), an investment fund of FUV, has not revealed how much it has raised from donors and is still calling for more support from individuals and organizations in Vietnam.

The management of TUIV has eight members, including chairman Thomas J. Vallely and two Vietnamese members, Le Hoai Nam from Nomura Securities and Dam Bich Thuy from National Australia Bank (NAB).

Osius added FUV would build close cooperation relationship with all universities in the country to make it one of the best educational institutions here in the nation and the world as well.

When asked by the Daily what factors would make FUV successful, he said the FETP had been successful in Vietnam over the past 20 years and that strong partnership and commitments of Vietnam and the U.S. could contribute to its success.

Moreover, the university would be managed by an independent board comprising reputed educators and businesspeople.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung told the FETP celebration ceremony that the long-term development of FUV would hinge heavily on Vietnam’s human resources. In the long run, people holding key positions at FUV would be Vietnamese.

Huynh The Du, lecturer at FETP, said he hoped FUV would become a university of choice for the next generation of Vietnam.

According to Osius, Vietnam has more than 16,500 people studying at American colleges and universities, ranking eighth among the countries with the largest numbers of their nationals studying in the U.S.

SGT