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New investment to boost international economic development effort

HEEAP MOU Aug 2012

U.S. and Vietnamese government, industry and education leaders recently signed an agreement in Hanoi to increase investment in the Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program administered through ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

Posted on August 24, 2012

ASU, Intel expanding alliance with government, education and industry leaders to strengthen business ties with Vietnam

Intel Corp., Arizona State University and the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in partnership with other government agencies, industry and universities and colleges in Vietnam are intensifying efforts to modernize higher engineering education in the country.

The parties recently signed a memorandum of understanding for a commitment for a combined investment by Intel and MOET of more than $10 million over five years to boost the Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP).

The estimated target investment from current and future industry and government partners for the HEEAP expansion is $40 million.

The program seeks to accelerate economic development by providing a more highly trained workforce in Vietnam to meet the growing needs of global high-tech industries. Ultimately, HEEAP promises to strengthen education and research collaborations, as well as business ties, between Vietnam and the United States.

HEEAP was established in 2010 with funding support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Intel. It is administered through the Office of Global Outreach and Extended Education in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Jeffrey Goss is the director of the office.

“After only two years, the HEEAP project has achieved enough measurable impact to warrant these new commitments from Intel, MOET, USAID, and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs,” Goss says. “The resources provided by the new investment open the opportunity to scale the current project by a factor of five and to add a leadership institute.”

MOET Vice Minister Bui Van Ga says the Vietnamese government “is very pleased with the outcomes of the HEEAP project to be strong partners to rapidly upgrade our higher education system.”

To date the program has brought more the 100 faculty members from Vietnam’s universities and colleges to ASU for training in advanced methods for teaching engineering.

In addition, HEEAP started a scholarship program focused on bringing more women into engineering and technology fields.

In the next phase of the project – called HEEAP 2.0 – to be carried out from 2013 to 2017, the program will train hundreds of additional faculty members each year at ASU and in Vietnam, and establish a Distance Learning Network that will enable students across the country to take courses online simultaneously.

HEEAP 2.0 will also improve instruction in English for Vietnamese engineering students and promote the involvement of more women in engineering and technical fields.

In addition, Vietnamese engineering programs will be brought into compliance with requirements set by leading higher education accrediting organizations –  specifically ABET (the Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology) and CDIO (Conceive, Design Implement, Operate).

The investment will provide funds to build teaching laboratories and train instructors to use the facilities effectively. There will also be upgrades of the data systems used by the engineering education programs in Vietnam colleges and universities.

It will also enable HEEAP to rapidly scale up its training program for administrators at Vietnamese college and universities through the program’s higher education leadership institute.

Since its start, the program has been joined by other industry partners Siemens, Honeywell, Danaher and Cadence. The companies have provided equipment, simulation and software tools and training of faculty on these systems.

With the additional funding, HEEAP expects to add at least 12 new industry partners within the next five years.

For more information about HEEAP, visit http://heeap.org.

Media Contact
Joe Kullman, [email protected]
(480) 965-8122
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

About The Author

Joe Kullman

Joe Kullman is a science writer for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Before joining Arizona State University in 2006, Joe worked as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers and magazines dating back to the dawn of the age of the personal computer. He began his career while earning degrees in journalism and philosophy from Kent State University in Ohio. Media Contact: [email protected] | 480-965-8122 | Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Communications

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