Project

Supporting integration in agricultural curricula of climate change concerns at Universities

The project aims to strengthen the education and research offer at Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF), Hanoi University of Agriculture (HUA), Hong Duc University (HDU) in order to contribute to the sustainable development of the agricultural sector in Vietnam by ensuring a sufficient influx of highly qualified human resources with a special focus on adaptation and mitigation to climate change.

Vietnam is among the five most vulnerable-to-climate change countries. The government of Vietnam is committed to protecting the environment. It has made a climate change action plan (2008-2020) for the agriculture and rural development sector.

Agricultural universities play a key role in supporting sustainable growth of agriculture in Vietnam as they provide human resources for both the authorities and the private sector.

The curricula of HUAF, HUA and HDU are not oriented towards the development of skills and competencies that are in demand. They need to strengthen their capacity to be able to offer solutions for and advice on complicated issues in a rapidly changing natural, social and economic environment.

Objectives

The specific objectives of the participating universties are to:

  • strengthen management and organisational capacity in order to lead the revision and innovation of education and research programmes in response to climate change impacts and other relevant developments in the agricultural sector.
  • deliver education and training programmes on farming systems that are responsive to climate change mitigation and adaptation and labour market needs in the agricultural sector.
  • strengthen their capacity to develop and implement applied research programmes seeking solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in different agro-ecological zones with a special focus on horticulture, aquaculture and agroforestry.
  • set up a collaboration network to exchange resources and information and to improve jointly the quality and relevance of interdisciplinary education and research in the field of farming systems with a focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation and sustainable agricultural development.