On Tuesday, July 23, Trinity Western University and Ha Tinh University signed a Proposal for Collaboration on the TWU campus. This proposal for collaboration was the culmination of years of relationship development between the Township of Langley and Ha Tinh City in Ha Tinh, Vietnam. 

In August of 2011, the Township of Langley and Ha Tinh City were paired together to undertake a two-year partnership program under the second MPED Demonstration Project on “Local Economic Development Strategic Planning for Cities/Towns.” The partnership program is funded and supported by the Canadian Federation of Municipalities, the Association of Cities of Vietnam and The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Trinity Western has been expanding its global footprint for the past decade. In 2011, key TWU faculty and staff launched the global education taskforce report. The taskforce laid out three pillars of the globally connected universities of the 21st century: diversity of the student body, interconnectedness of academic thought, and an inclusive pedagogical approach. The relationship between TWU and Ha Tinh University is timely, as TWU is more prepared than ever to both receive international students and to serve international learners and communities around the world. 

The agreement with Ha Tinh University will enable TWU to make a meaningful impact on learners in one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam. A preliminary outcome of the proposal of collaboration will see TWU sending a group of students to Vietnam in the summer of 2014 to serve in the City of Ha Tinh, and to provide English-language training to students at Ha Tinh University. Philip Laird, Ph.D., Associate Provost at TWU understands the impact this type of service project can have on areas like Ha Tinh, “This global project to Ha Tinh will help equip the people of Ha Tinh with the English skills they will need to compete globally,” he said.