Lifelong training: EM Normandie and the National Academy of Public Administration of Vietnam sign a cooperation agreement

On Monday 26 September 2022, EM Normandie Business School and the National Academy of Public Administration of Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement in the field of lifelong training for senior civil servants of the Vietnamese State. Supported by a delegation of senior officials, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Minister of Home Affairs, chose to go to Le Havre and to EM Normandie for her first trip abroad since the borders re-opened after COVID-19. 

By signing this agreement, Elian Pilvin (class of 1996), Managing Director of EM Normandie, and Nguyen Dang Que, Deputy Director of the National Academy of Public Administration of Vietnam, are laying the foundations of an exciting partnership covering the following areas:

• Lifelong training for senior state officials at regional and national levels in leadership, digital transformation and modernising the civil service;
• Joint scientific research activities and lecturer-researcher exchanges,
• Students and professor exchanges in other areas of expertise. 

This memorandum of understanding follows a long tradition of partnerships between EM Normandie and Vietnam that began in 2014. Two schemes have already been successfully developed in Vietnam. In 2020, EM Normandie unveiled its Bachelor’s in International Management in Hanoi in collaboration with the University of Transport and Communications (UTC). A year later the Master’s in Banking, Finance & Fintech, the first in the country and the second in Southeast Asia, welcomed its first students to Vietnam National University (IFI). The launch of these two courses has reinforced EM Normandie’s global dimension, which is already recognised by its EQUIS and AACSB accreditations. 

Furthermore, not only is the school supported by the State of Vietnam, but it is also very popular with regional leaders because it has already helped to train more than 200 senior local officials on various subjects, including public finance, e-government and sustainable tourism.  

The new EM Normandie campus, due to open in Ho Chi Minh City in 2024, aims to consolidate the school's presence in Vietnam. In line with local demand, the campus will provide prestigious lifelong training programmes in logistics and supply chain, as well as degree courses such as the Bachelor’s in International Management and the BBA in International Business. This new campus will be open to EM Normandie students, who will be able to enjoy all that Vietnam has to offer, as well as Vietnamese students in accordance with the local student admissions process. 

“We know how the rise in power of senior officials in areas of Leadership, digital transformation and the modernisation of the public service has become a big challenge for Vietnam, which, in recent years, has experienced major economic growth and digital transformation. The country has become a key power in East Asia, a truly Smart Nation. This is an important time for EM Normandie, which is built on strong values: a culture of excellence, global perspective, a hunger for innovation and pushing limits and the desire to become a pioneer in the field of SmartEducation. I am delighted that our strong ties are continuing to gain momentum” explains Elian Pilvin, Managing Director of EM Normandie.