SaigonNezumi.com

Well, I made it back from a short trip to Hanoi yesterday.  I was there to visit both the Fulbrighters and the VYLA students who will attend SPEA at IUB for the MPA program (acronyms galore…).  Horizon picked me up at the airport and I stayed at their dorm for the weekend.   My lawyer, Ms. Thy, arranged to have her fellow Fulbrighters give me a more positive impression of Hanoi on this trip.  I was quite happy actually especially with my personal tour guide…

Saturday night I got to try cha ca in Hanoi with the Fulbrighters and my friend, Jason Vu.  This was the first time I tried cha ca and I was quite impressed.  I got a new favorite dish now.

Since I was so busy, I forgot to take pictures.  I will on my next trip to Hanoi.

(Vietnam Airlines’ SKYTEAM Boeing 777 at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport)

(Cha ca with Fulbrighters)

(cha ca)

This news surprised me when Indiana University sent it to me last Friday night.  I had no idea Indiana University and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training were setting up the Vietnam Young Leader Awards program.  As the Vietnam Alumni Chapter Leader, I should have kept myself better informed.   This is an interesting article since I myself graduated with a Master of Public Affairs from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

I hope to meet some the the Vietnam Young Leaders Awards students before they depart for Bloomington this August.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Fifteen students from Vietnam will enroll this fall in the Master of Public Affairs program at Indiana University Bloomington through a new program co-sponsored by the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training.

The program, called Vietnam Young Leader Awards, will provide full scholarships for outstanding Vietnamese government employees. This marks the first time that Vietnam has taken part in a specific program to send young people to the United States for training in public policy.

“We look forward to welcoming these talented young professionals,” said Professor Michael Rushton, director of the Master of Public Affairs program. “The Vietnam Young Leader Awards program will extend SPEA’s engagement with a region that is growing rapidly in importance and influence.”

Vietnam has a fast-growing economy and a shortage of trained public leaders, and the Vietnam Young Leader Awards will create a flow of well-trained young people who can become leaders in government and society, said Anh Tran, an assistant professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs who was instrumental in creating the program. The initiative also will strengthen ties between Vietnam and the United States, he said.

For SPEA, the program will bring an international perspective to class discussions and activities. It will also expand the school’s global outreach, particularly in Asia, and contribute to the international alumni network of SPEA and Indiana University.

SPEA will support the program by charging Indiana resident tuition rates for the Vietnam Young Leader Awards students. The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training will pay tuition and other expenses.

The first class of Vietnam Young Leader Awards recipients will be selected this summer and will travel to Bloomington for an academic preparation program at IU. The students will enroll this fall in the two-year M.P.A. program, on schedule to graduate and return to Vietnam in May 2012.

About SPEA

The Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs is a world leader in public affairs and the environmental sciences and is the largest school of public affairs in the United States, each year awarding 500 bachelor’s degrees and 250 graduate degrees. In the most recent “Best Graduate Schools” by U.S. News & World Report, SPEA ties for second overall and is the highest-ranked public institution for graduate programs in public affairs. Six of its specialty programs are ranked in the U.S. News top 10.

?