SUMS Delegation Visited Our Vietnamese Partner Institutions
SUMS President Dr. Kohei Shiota headed a delegation to our partner hospitals and universities in Da Nang in the central and Ho Ci Minh, the main hub of southern region, Vietnam. This was the tour to sign and renew the partner agreements, pay courtesy call and discuss to set out opportunities for research collaboration and other academic engagements. Three faculty members of SUMS, Dr. Yoshihisa Suzuki, Special Contact Professor at Plastic Surgery, Professor Aiura, Department of Culture and Medicine and Mr. Sukegawa, International Liaison Office joined this delegation.
Tuesday April 9, we visited Da Nang hospital (DNH) to see Dr. Le Duc Nhan, the hospital director and attended the signing ceremony for a partnership agreement. DNH is the key hospital in Central Vietnam, as well as the largest referral center in the city. At the meeting with Dr. Nhan, we talked about Prof. Suzuki’s project for clinical research of regenerative therapy for spinal cord injury in collaboration with DNH and discussed how to engage in closer cooperation and promote the project.
On the next day, Wednesday April 10, the delegation visited the University of Da Nang (UDN), the public multi-disciplinary higher education institution that is officially accredited by Vietnamese government to have a talk with Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu, the UDN president. The both presidents reached a consensus on the policy on the exchange program for students and researchers, and promised to advance the procedure for an agreement. We are making a plan for a personnel exchange program and a student training for this academic year.
Thursday April 11, the delegates visited Cho Ray hospital (CRH) and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP). Based on the partnership agreement signed in 2006, CRH and SUMS have built strong relationship, providing technical training and exchanging opportunities for faculty members at our cardiovascular surgery, radiology and nursing. Our medical students also participated training programs at CRH. The delegates met Dr. Tran Minh Truong, the vice director and Dr. Huynh-Le Phuong, the chief of neurosurgery to exchange ideas to proceed the collaboration in Dr. Suzuki’s regenerative therapy project for clinical research of spinal cord injury and agreed to have further talk by responsible staff members. Ms. Kawata and Ms. Nakajima, SUMS head nurses, joined the tour to give a presentation at the symposium to be held next day, Friday 12. Our president and the delegation were invited as chief guests to the gala dinner at the night before the symposium and had a pleasant talk with Dr. Nguyen Van Khoi, the CRH director and Dr. Tran Minh Truong, the CRH vice director.
In the afternoon of 11 April, we attended the signing ceremony for a partnership agreement at UMP. Many UMP graduates have earned PhD at SUMS graduate school under the first agreement concluded in 2008. We had decided to enter into a new agreement to reinforce our partnership for mutual prosperity. Dr. Tran Diep Tuan, the UMP president, and Dr. Tran Thien Trung, the dean of the faculty of Nursing and Medical Technology, who visited SUMS last March, presented the ceremony and discussed how to enhance our cooperation, such as mutual exchange program for nursing students.
On their final day in Vietnam, Friday 12, we participated an international symposium at CRH to listen a presentation of Ms. Kawata and Ms. Nakajima, SUMS head nurses. In the evening, we had the first-time reunion for SUMS graduates in Vietnam at the Hotel Equatorial, Ho Chi Minh City. About 10 alumni, who are doctors and researchers at CRH and UMP, enjoyed good company as they gathered to reminisce and reacquaint themselves with each other.
Everyone in Vietnam showed us warm and gracious hospitality in this tour. We deepened engagement, strengthened existing relationships in every meeting, and had productive and inspiring discussions. Each partner institution in Vietnam are striving for excellence in education, research and clinical practice. We will continue to develop frameworks for reciprocal personnel exchange and successful collaboration in education, research, clinical science and other fields with these institutions.
