Poland and Vietnam signed an agreement on higher education and scientific research during Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's visit to Vietnam on October 24-26, according to Poland’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The agreement increases the number of study places available to citizens of both countries from 20 to 50 annually, officials said.
Up to 10 places per year may be allocated to education conducted in a language other than Polish.
The ministry said this was the first arrangement of its kind in Poland’s international agreements on academic cooperation.
The agreement also provides for expanded exchanges of students, doctoral students and researchers, as well as joint research projects, innovation development and knowledge transfer.
Science and Higher Education Minister Marcin Kulasek said the agreement would give new impetus to Polish-Vietnamese academic and research relations.
He said the increased number of study places would help students develop skills and build lasting networks that could lead to scientific, economic and social projects.
Poland’s government delegation also discussed plans for a Polish-Vietnamese research station. The Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) plans to open the facility in the second half of 2027.
The station would support scientific cooperation between Poland and Vietnam and potentially other Southeast Asian countries.
It is expected to work with the University of Warsaw, the AGH University of Science and Technology in the southern city of Kraków and the Polish Geological Institute, as well as other Polish and Vietnamese scientific institutions.
At a meeting of the Polish-Vietnamese Joint Commission for Scientific and Technological Cooperation, achievements by Polish researchers were presented in areas including artificial intelligence, strategic digital technologies, quantum and space technologies, robotics, autonomous systems, green transformation and modern energy.
Both countries identified clean energy, environmental technologies, innovation and technology transfer as priorities, alongside artificial intelligence, strategic digital technologies, quantum technologies, biotechnology, biomedical sciences and pharmaceuticals.
The sides also discussed launching joint calls for Polish-Vietnamese research projects and preparing a memorandum between Vietnam’s National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) and Poland’s National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) on organising coordinated calls for joint projects.
The delegations also highlighted the role of Polish language and culture courses, funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), in strengthening links between citizens of the two countries.
On Monday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said after meeting his Vietnamese counterpart, Le Minh Hung, in Hanoi that the two countries had agreed to elevate their relations to a strategic partnership.
(sp/gs)
Source: PAP