Durham College (DC) has signed a five-year contract with Agriteam Consulting Ltd, to work with Vietnam’s Hau Giang Community College (HGCC) to develop a technical vocational program in the sector of post-harvest production. Funded by the Government of Canada, the partnership sees DC’s School of Science & Engineering Technology and Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFÉ) working with HGCC to share its expertise with programs in the areas of food and pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food sciences.

Four high-level officials from HGCC recently travelled from Hau Giang Province, Vietnam on a one-week study tour to observe DC’s facilities and gain a deeper understanding of DC’s post-harvest programs and best practices in curriculum development.

“It was an honour to host the rector, vice-rector and dean from HGCC,” said Mark Herringer, executive director, International Education. We’re looking forward to many more opportunities for both institutions to work together as DC shares its experiences combining the areas of science and technology with post-harvest production. As we’ve discovered, when you bring together multiple disciplines it leads to innovative solutions that help our partners, employees, students and wider community flourish.”

In addition to working with HGCC to address its specific needs, the project team will also be lending its expertise to assist in developing a new program model that can be adapted for use at the national level in Vietnam. Two other Canadian colleges are also taking part in the project, having partnered with additional Vietnamese institutions. Work will be ongoing until September 2019.