"By promoting culture, we develop tourism": St Petersburg University and Vietnam are building partnerships in tourism and cultural sphere

Minister Nguyen Van Hung expressed his gratitude to the leadership of St Petersburg University for the warm welcome and emphasised that it was very important to him to personally visit St Petersburg University in the year of its 300th anniversary.

St Petersburg University is a custodian of academic and scientific traditions, which plays an important role in education and training of highly-qualified personnel. The University has always been instrumental in producing professionals capable of solving complex challenges in various fields and a significant contributor to the development of world science.

Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

"We are highly appreciative of the efforts made by the Ho Chi Minh Institute at St Petersburg University and regard it is a tribute to our leader," Comrade Nguyen Van Hung said. He added that the visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam to St Petersburg University is timed to coincide with the 2024 Vietnamese Culture Days in Russia. 

Comrade Nguyen Van Hung also expressed concern about the insufficient number of Vietnamese students studying at universities in the Russian Federation. In this regard, he suggested that the Rector of St Petersburg University consider organising joint projects aimed at attracting Vietnamese citizens to study at Russian universities. According to the Vietnamese delegation, such initiatives can help to strengthen academic ties between the two countries and promote cultural exchange. 

Welcoming the guests, Rector of St Petersburg University Nikolay Kropachev, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed willingness to cooperate and suggested that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam help organising the work of a Russian language centre at a Vietnamese educational institution of general or vocational secondary education in order to prepare strong applicants for admission to Russian universities.

St Petersburg University is the most popular university in Russia among international applicants. This year, applications for admission from 140 countries have been received, and the competition among international applicants was 21 people per place. We take pride in the fact that our university is so popular. This gives us the opportunity to select the best applicants. Selection is based on the Russian language competence and the knowledge of the major core subject, and we would like more students from Vietnam to study with us.

Nikolay Kropachev, Rector of St Petersburg University

In addition, Rector Nikolay Kropachev came up with an initiative to open a new academic programme to train managerial personnel in the field of culture, tourism and sports with a Vietnamese component in the interests of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He noted that for this, it is necessary to organise a meeting with representatives of Russian and Vietnamese companies to find out the employers’ requirements to educate professionals capable of meeting market demands.

St Petersburg University has a rich experience in implementing programmes with a foreign component. Currently, there are over 500 such programmes, including: "Laws (with Advanced Study of the Chinese Language and the Law of the PRC)"; "Tourism Management (with Advanced Study of the Thai Language)"; "Asian and African History (with Asian/African Language Tuition)"; and many others.

The cooperation between St Petersburg University and Vietnamese partners is also possible through participation in the activities of the Councils of Academic Programmes as potential employers or as experts who formulate curriculum requirements and competencies of applicants, students and graduates. Members of Councils of Academic Programmes can also initiate the creation of new areas of training. Rector Nikolay Kropachev underlined that St Petersburg University and Moscow State University are the only universities in Russia that can determine their own educational standards and adjust them for each particular programme. 

"We can design an academic programme in tourism with the focus on management issues or a master’s programme «Tourism Management with a Vietnamese component». We can train managers for the cultural and sports industries. We are willing to support your initiatives," said Nikolay Kropachev. Rector Nikolay Kropachev also offered the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam Comrade Nguyen Van Hung to head the Council of such an academic programme. 

In response, Minister Nguyen Van Hung emphasised the importance of developing joint projects in the cultural field, allocating resources for the preparation of relevant literature and producing highly-qualified professionals who are aware of the international standards and national characteristics of the two partner countries. According to Comrade Nguyen Van Hung, these measures will contribute to enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation and raising the level of the cultural awareness. "It is extremely important that every graduate should be employed in the chosen professional field and contribute to the developing of the country’s economy. We believe that tourism should be developed on the basis of deep cultural knowledge, because by promoting culture, we develop economy and tourism," Minister Nguyen Van Hung emphasised. 

In response to the initiative, the Rector of St Petersburg University proposed to: use the opportunities available at the University for the development of cultural and educational projects; involve students in creative processes under the guidance of leading art experts; and organise joint sections within the framework of the Cultural Forum. 

At the end of the meeting, the parties highlighted the importance of establishing long-term relations, confirmed their willingness to cooperate, and agreed to send official proposals to the relevant agencies.

We appreciate your efforts and we are interested in developing partnership in the above areas. We will carefully study all your proposals and opportunities for cooperation. We are willing to provide assistance in organising a Russian language centre in Vietnam and agree that our students should learn your language at an appropriate level.

Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

During the visit, it was also agreed to sign a cooperation agreement to train personnel for Vietnam and implement the initiatives discussed at the meeting.

The visit programme featured a ceremony of laying flowers at the monument to the first president of Vietnam, Hồ Chí Minh, located on St Petersburg University’s campus, was held. Also, during the event, Sergey Andryushin, Vice-Rector for International Affairs at St Petersburg University, outlined the activities of the Hồ Chí Minh Institute.