By: Kristina Jesinkey, International Coordinator, International Relations Office

Now back after a week spent in Hanoi, Vietnam where I have met with international coordinators at Hanoi Medical University and Hanoi Children’s hospital. I have also attended meetings within the TRAC (Training and Research Academic Center) network, a STINT-financed network where five Swedish universities participate. The aim of the network is to establish a sustainable infrastructure for collaborative research and higher education involving Swedish and Vietnamese partners with the aim to strengthen scientific, administrative, clinical and policy making capacity and promote evidence-based health policy recommendations.

KI has some ongoing student exchange in Hanoi and it was therefore very interesting to see how “my” counterparts work with international issues. Here we are very fortunate in being able to offer our students and teachers some kind of economic support when going abroad. Nothing like that is available to the Vietnamese students unless they can get external funding via a partner university through for example Linnaeus-Palme or Erasmus+ international credit mobility. We discussed new exchange possibilities, maybe with the nursing program they have that is entirely given in English.

Hanoi is a bustling city with crazy traffic – cars and motorbikes everywhere, but fantastic. And; fantastic food! I had a few hours off one afternoon when I visited the “Temple of Literature”, the first Vietnamese university founded in 1070 – makes all Swedish universities seem very young.
Turtles at the Temple of Literature

Vietnamese Christmas decorations