On the morning of January 3, 2025, Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communications Technology (VKU), University of Danang solemnly organized the program to celebrate the 5th anniversary of its establishment: 22 years of history and development.

Overview of the Anniversary Program

Attend the program:

• City Leaders: there were Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi – Vice Chairwoman of the City People’s Committee, Ms. Le Thi Bich Thuan – Director of the Department of Education and Training, Mr. Nguyen Quang Thanh – Director of the Department of Information and Communications.
• International Agencies and Guests: Mr. Kang Boo Sung, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Da Nang City; Mr. Lee Byung Hwa – Director; Ms. Kim Na Rae – Deputy Director of KOICA Vietnam Country Office; Mr. Hong Jong Pyo – Vice Chairman of Hanwha Life Group, Korea; Mr. Hwang Jun Hwan – CEO of Hanwha Life Vietnam.
• University of Danang: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu – Member of the City Party Committee, Director; Dr. Phan Minh Duc – Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the University Council; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Manh Toan – Vice Director; Rectors of member universities, leaders of units under the University of Danang.
• Organizations, Universities, and Domestic and International Enterprises: Professor Nguyen Thanh Thuy – President of the Club of IT Universities and Institutes in Vietnam (FISU); Dr. Nguyen Long – Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Informatics Association; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Bui Thu Lam – Vice Chairman and General Secretary of FISU Vietnam; Professor Somrerk Chandra-ambhorn – Vice Director of King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand; Professor Dr. Tran Xuan Tu – Director of the Institute of Information Technology (VNU Hanoi); Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Phu Khanh – Vice Rector of Phenikaa University; Dr. Ly Thien Trang – Vice Rector of the University of Technology, HCMC; Representatives of leaders of enterprises such as FPT Software Central Region, Nix Education; Leaders of high schools in Danang and Quang Nam.
• VKU: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Huynh Cong Phap – Rector; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh – Chairman of the University Council; Vice Rectors Dr. Tran The Son, Dr. Huynh Ngoc Tho; Former leaders of the University: Dr. Le Tan Duy – Former Vice Director of the University of Danang, Former Head of the Management Board of the College of Information Technology (University of Danang); Dr. Tran Tan Vinh – Former Rector of the College of Information Technology (University of Danang); Mr. Phi Dac Hai – Former Rector of the Vietnam-Korea College of Information Technology (Ministry of Information and Communication); along with leaders of departments, faculties, centers, and representatives of outstanding staff and students of the university.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Huynh Cong Phap, Rector of the University, delivered a commemorative speech for the 5th anniversary of the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology (January 3, 2020 – January 3, 2025): 22 years of history and development

In a solemn and emotional atmosphere, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Huynh Cong Phap highlighted the significance of the event, marking an important milestone in the university’s development history. It was an opportunity to summarize the proud achievements of the past five years, as well as a valuable occasion to revisit good traditions, appreciate the extraordinary efforts and great contributions of all generations of leaders, staff, and students of the University, and express gratitude for the good sentiments, support, and invaluable assistance of all levels of leadership, ministries, departments, localities, and partners of the University throughout 22 years of history and development.

The University was honored to receive congratulatory flower baskets from the Da Nang City Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee

VKU was established under Decision No. 15/QD-TTg dated January 3, 2020, of the Prime Minister, based on the merger of constituent units: the Information Technology College (CIT) – UDN, established in 2003; the Vietnam-Korea Friendship Information Technology College (VIETHANIT), under the Ministry of Information and Communications, with project initiation in 2004 and establishment in 2007; and the School of Information & Communication Technology under UDN, established in 2017, becoming the 6th member of UDN.

The University was honored to receive congratulatory flower baskets from the University of Da Nang

Immediately after its establishment, VKU faced a major challenge from the COVID-19 pandemic, which almost halted all activities for the first two years. At the same time, the revised higher education law came into effect with many changes in institutions and policies for the education and training sector. Moreover, differences in culture, management thinking, and working styles between the merged units, jobs, financial resources, school reputation, and lack thereof were also huge challenges.

The University was honored to receive congratulatory flower baskets from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Da Nang and KOICA Vietnam

However, with the drastic direction of all levels, the consensus and solidarity of the leadership, staff, lecturers, and students of the University, along with the support and assistance from the Vietnamese and Korean Governments, all levels, departments, localities, businesses, partner organizations, especially KOICA – Korea, VKU has gradually overcome all challenges, quickly stabilized and developed very strongly, proudly becoming a leading university in the country in training in the fields of information technology, communication, and digital economy, with influence and prestige in Southeast Asia and internationally after five years of establishment.

The University was honored to receive a congratulatory symbol from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thailand

Inheriting many great achievements and good traditions of the 22 year of history and development, in the past five years, VKU has achieved many great and very proud achievements in all aspects:

1. Established a philosophy and working culture for the University as a guiding principle throughout all activities and goals, aiming to develop staff and comprehensively train learners according to the “Morality – Intelligence – Physical health – Aesthetics” criteria, fostering lifelong self-learning and self-research skills, the ability to quickly adapt to changes of the times, and a spirit of always being ready to serve and dedicate to life and humanity.
2. Connected, inherited, merged, and promoted many great achievements and valuable traditions of predecessor units to build a rich tradition and solid history for the University’s strong, sustainable, and long-term development.
3. Built a strong internal solidarity, with a team of ethical, intelligent, and capable leaders and managers, along with a team of professionally skilled, dedicated, and service-minded staff. The proportion of Doctors and Associate Professors has increased to 41% of the total lecturers, compared to only 30% in the first year of establishment. Nearly 100% of the University and unit leadership are proficient in at least 1-2 foreign languages, and most have graduated from prestigious foreign universities, which is a prerequisite for the University’s integration strategy and aspiration to reach international stature.
4. VKU has affirmed its position and prestige and become one of the universities with the highest entrance scores in the country. The average entrance score has increased by 6 points compared to the first year of establishment. Specifically, for the last 3 consecutive years, almost all 16 enrollment codes have been from 24-27 points (i.e., 8.0-9.0/10 per subject), attracting good and excellent students from all over the country.
5. Expanded and developed majors and student scale: in 2025, VKU has 20 majors and specializations for enrollment compared to only 3 training majors in the first year of establishment. Notably, VKU is a pioneering university with 100% of students writing/defending their graduation theses in English, strongly developing bilingual Vietnamese-English, Vietnamese-Japanese, and Vietnamese-Korean bachelor and engineering programs, pioneering in training and researching strategic global fields such as semiconductor microcircuits, artificial intelligence, and fintech. The student scale has reached 7,000 students compared to only 1,500 students when it was first established.
6. VKU’s training quality has been affirmed; the rate of students finding employment within one year is over 95%. Many students have achieved high awards in major and prestigious national and international competitions in various fields of programming, scientific research, start-ups, innovation, culture, sports, and beauty. Many VKU alumni are currently holding important positions in large domestic and international organizations and businesses.
7. Expanded and strongly developed a network of cooperation partners, promoting international cooperation: VKU has built a network of more than 200 strategic partners, signed 80 MoUs, including many very effective and practical collaborations, contributing greatly to VKU’s success, such as KOICA, Hanwha Life, CFK, KMUTNB Thailand, Nix Education, FPT Software, Nam Long Group, the Institute of Information Technology – VNU Hanoi, Phenikaa, and many other partners. In particular, VKU successfully proposed a 7.7 million USD ODA project funded by KOICA-Korea and secured funding from businesses to fully sponsor more than 100 students and lecturers for internships and international exchanges in the past year and implemented many major activities.
8. Affirmed its pioneering, key, and active role in initiating, chairing, and participating in associations, communities, and organizing major activities such as the Southeast Asia Scientific and Innovation Community (ACIR), FISU, the Informatics Association, the Radio and Electronics Association, the E-commerce Association, the French-speaking community AUF, ASEAN IVO, hosting the Central – Highlands Informatics Olympiad, and major international diplomatic and cultural activities such as the 30th anniversary of Vietnam-Korea diplomatic relations and Korea Game Week.
9. Regarding science and technology, VKU has focused on developing scientific research and technology transfer. The number of international publications has consistently increased over the years, tripling in 2024 compared to the first year of establishment. The eSTI Institute of Digital Science and Technology has been established with modern and convenient facilities and creative research spaces, providing excellent conditions for lecturers and students to conduct research. VKU is also one of the few universities in Vietnam that pioneered and successfully organized the CITA Workshop 13 times, establishing a reputation in the domestic and international research community, the ASEAN Workshop on Research in Informatics and Sciences (AWRIS), as well as hosting many major international scientific conferences such as ICCCI, ATC, and ACIIDs.
10. Average income per capita has increased nearly 2.5 times, and scholarship funds for learners have tripled compared to the first year of establishment. Regarding infrastructure, VKU has planned and renovated the school campus to be spacious, green, clean, and beautiful, truly a pedagogical environment, a space that inspires and transmits positive energy to staff and students for work, research, and study. Investments have been made, and funding has been secured for the construction of the Semiconductor Microcircuit – Smart Technology Research Center (VKU-SSTH), the Fintech-Hub Training, Research, and Innovation Center, new technology research laboratories, the KLass Korean Language Teaching Room, and many other major items and projects.

These achievements are a testament to the power of solidarity, the wise vision of leaders at all levels, the valuable support from the Vietnamese and Korean Governments, ministries, departments, localities, especially KOICA, the University of Da Nang, and strategic partners. But above all, they are the result of the tireless dedication of generations of VKU leaders, staff, lecturers, and students throughout the years.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi – City Party Committee Member, Vice Chairwoman of the Da Nang City People’s Committee, delivered a congratulatory speech.

Congratulating VKU on its 5 years of establishment and development, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi praised VKU for not only training highly specialized students but also equipping them with innovative skills and the ability to apply technology in practice, meeting the demands of the modern labor market. She suggested that VKU further promote training in key technology fields such as semiconductor microcircuits, artificial intelligence, fintech, and blockchain to provide high-quality human resources for the city’s and the country’s key industries, strengthen cooperative relationships with international partners, not only in training but also in research and technology transfer, and build a humane, professional, and friendly learning environment where each student can develop not only their knowledge and career prospects but also their character and life values.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu – City Party Committee Member, Director of UDN, delivered a congratulatory and directive speech

Delivering a congratulatory and directive speech, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Vu congratulated the university’s faculty and students on this important event, a memorable milestone marking the first 5 years of the journey of establishment and development; an opportunity to reminisce about the memories of the difficult and challenging but also very proud “everything is difficult at the beginning” years; and to draw valuable lessons to guide VKU’s development forward. Orienting the next 5 years as a period of breakthroughs and acceleration, the Director of UDN suggested that the University’s leadership focus on: (1) Focusing on developing staff, especially lecturers with doctoral degrees or higher; (2) Strengthening teaching and learning management to achieve the goals of good teaching, good learning, and good scientific research, contributing to improving training quality; (3) Continuing to promote international cooperation and strengthen university-business cooperation, especially with Korean partners; (4) Focusing on building a safe and healthy learning and living environment for students to study and develop comprehensively; (5) Innovating university governance associated with digital transformation towards serving learners, VKU must be a pioneer and a bright spot in digital transformation for UDN; (6) Promoting the role of mass organizations in building a working environment of solidarity, democracy, discipline, and professionalism, with increasingly higher incomes so that everyone has the opportunity to express their own value, find motivation to contribute and grow, and work together to build VKU to develop further, contributing to the overall development of UDN.

Mr. Lee Byung Hwa – Country Director of KOICA Vietnam, delivered a congratulatory speech

Speaking at the event, Mr. Lee Byung Hwa congratulated VKU on its achievements over the past 5 years. VKU is a symbol of ODA educational cooperation between the two countries, playing an important role in training high-quality human resources for the Central region. He expressed hope that in the future, VKU will become a leading IT research and training center, while also training talents to serve the global market and be a symbol of friendship between the two countries and peoples.

The University was honored to receive Certificates of Merit from the Chairman of the Da Nang City People’s Committee

The University was honored to receive Certificates of Merit from the Vietnam Informatics Association

On this occasion, the University was honored to receive Certificates of Merit from the Chairman of the Da Nang City People’s Committee for its achievements in training and providing human resources, contributing to the socio-economic development of Da Nang City (Decision No. 2942/QD-UBND dated December 31, 2024); and Certificates of Merit from the Vietnam Informatics Association for its positive contributions to the cause of training high-quality human resources in IT and Communications (Decision No. 192/QD-HTH/2024 dated December 16, 2024).

The University presented flowers to express gratitude to the city leaders, the University of Da Nang, and KOICA Vietnam

The University expressed gratitude to the former leaders of the University throughout the years

The University presented symbolic gifts of gratitude to the strategic partners of the University over the past 5 years

Hanwha Life (Korea) presented scholarships

Representatives of generations of alumni presented flowers to express gratitude to their teachers

The 5th Anniversary of the Vietnam-Korea University of Information and Communication Technology is not only an opportunity to review a proud journey but also a milestone marking solid steps forward on the path of development, affirming the University’s leading position in the country. VKU’s 22 year of history and development is a vivid testament to the spirit of solidarity, creativity, and tireless dedication of generations of leaders, staff, lecturers, and students. At the same time, the achievements are the result of valuable support from the Vietnamese and Korean Governments, ministries, departments, localities, and domestic and international partners. With a solid foundation, continuous efforts, and the aspiration to reach further, VKU will continue to promote its role as a high-quality human resource training center and a center for creative research, contributing to promoting the development of the information technology, communication, and digital economy sectors, not only in Vietnam but also in the region and the world.

Center for Learning Resource and Communication

Some pictures:

69 Views