Sydney Vietnam Academic Network
Impacting lives through collaborative research and education
June 2024 Newsletter
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| Welcome to the Sydney Vietnam Academic Network’s Newsletter
Featuring some of our current research projects, achievements,
opportunities, news and events
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Sydney Vietnam Institute Launch and Symposia
The Sydney Vietnam Institute will be officially launched in June with a series of events, including opening ceremony and gala dinner hosted by Professor Mark Scott AO, University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and President, and the Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposia 2024.
The Symposia, held across two events in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in person and online, will bring together senior university leaders, researchers and academics from Australia and Vietnam to showcase the breadth and quality of our multidisciplinary research collaborations, explore new opportunities for cooperation, and strengthen existing relationships and forge new ones.
This year’s theme is ‘Strengthening partnerships in research and innovation’. As well as presentations on collaborative research excellence and impact in areas such as sustainable agriculture, Vietnamese heritage, coffee and pepper production, and health including reducing breast cancer and combatting drug-resistant tuberculosis, there will also be a roundtable on ‘Growing high-quality research partnerships in Vietnam’ and a panel discussion on developing the next generation of research leaders.
The Symposia are organised by the Sydney Vietnam Academic Network and supported by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre.
To register to attend the Symposia online:
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Professor Greg Fox appointed as SSEAC Interim Director
Congratulations to Sydney Vietnam Academic Network (SVAN) Director Professor Greg Fox, who was appointed as Interim Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) starting on 1 April 2024. Professor Fox has led research in Vietnam for more than 15 years, working closely with local partners to combat tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance and chronic lung disease. He has had a close association with SSEAC for many years, including through SVAN. “I am thrilled to take on this leadership role at SSEAC and am looking forward to working with the team to forge even stronger academic partnerships across Southeast Asia,” Greg said.
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Upcoming visit by senior delegation from HUST
On 27 June 2024 a senior delegation from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), led by the Chairman of the University Council, will visit the University of Sydney. The purpose of the visit is to understand the governance and organisational structure at the University and to discuss opportunities for collaboration in education and research between the University and HUST, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence.
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| From third left: University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Mark Scott AO, Executive Director of the Sydney Vietnam Institute Professor Thu-Anh Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Chairman Mr Phan Van Mai, Consul-General of Vietnam to NSW, Queensland and South Australia H.E. Mr Nguyen Dang Thang and Consul-General of Australia to Ho Chi Minh City Ms Sarah Hooper with delegates from the University and Ho Chi Minh City. Image: Fiona Wolf, University of Sydney
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Chairman Mai visits the University of Sydney A delegation of government officials from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, led by Chairman Mr Phan Van Mai, visited the University of Sydney in May to sign two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs). The first, an MOU signed by the University and the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) Department of Health, will explore opportunities for cooperation in medical science, chronic and infectious diseases, and other areas of medicine and health. A second MOU signed between the Net Zero Initiative and the HCMC Institute of Development Studies will explore collaborations in developing, translating and enabling societal adoption of technologies and systems to deliver global decarbonisation.
Professor Thu-Anh Nguyen, Executive Director of the Sydney Vietnam Institute, also attended the signings. “The University of Sydney Vietnam Institute will realise our vision for sustainable, mutually beneficial cooperation across all levels of higher education and research engagement,” Professor Nguyen said. The MOUs follow the establishment of the Sydney Vietnam Institute in 2023.
Read more about the visit here.
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SAPPHIRE project announced The Sydney Asia-Pacific Partnership for Health Innovations and Resilient Ecosystems (SAPPHIRE) Consortium has been awarded $11 million over four years for research on communicable disease control in Vietnam, Cambodia, Fiji and Kiribati. The Australian Government announced the funding on 7 April 2024, World Health Day, as part of six new initiatives to strengthen health systems across the Pacific and Southeast Asia under its Partnerships for a Healthy Region program.
Co-leads of the SAPPHIRE project include Professor Joel Negin, Professor Greg Fox and Associate Professor Justin Beardsley. In Vietnam, the grant will support a program of research including community-based screening for tuberculosis, prevention of antimicrobial resistance in the health and agricultural sectors and efforts to support the scale-up of chronic disease prevention. They will also work with Dr Alvin Teo to reduce tuberculosis transmission in Cambodia.
The SAPPHIRE Vietnam-Cambodia projects will be launched in Hanoi later this year.
Read more about the projects here.
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Energy security vs food security: A balancing act Professor Tiho Ancev (School of Economics) is leading a new project that was awarded funding under the University’s International SDG Collaboration Program. The ‘Solar vs agriculture: Land use, economics and policy’ project will investigate how to optimally determine land areas where solar photovoltaics (PV) may replace or co-exist with agriculture. The project is a collaboration between the University of Sydney, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hue University, Institute of Energy, Vietnam, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology. Researchers will use economic and spatial data analysis to map land uses based on case studies in Australia, China and Vietnam to determine areas where the social costs of installing solar PV are the lowest in terms of forgone agricultural productivity. “The research findings will critically inform the transition towards Net Zero while ensuring that food security is not compromised,” Professor Ancev said. Congratulations to Professor Ancev and the team!
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Workshops and seminars in Vietnam
Associate Professor Minh-Ngoc Tran of the Business and Innovation Node will be visiting and giving a seminar at the University of Economics and Law, Ho Chi Minh City, on 17 June 2024.
He is also organising a Summer School on Mathematical Statistics and Machine Learning from 24 to 30 July at the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics (VIASM) in Hanoi. Funded by the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training, this annual Summer School series aims to introduce researchers and advanced students in Vietnam to modern and foundational topics in mathematical statistics and machine learning. Registrations close on 15 July 2024. More information and registration details are available here.
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Save the date! FMH Global Health Research Showcase
The inaugural FMH Global Health Research Showcase will be held on 1 August 2024. This Showcase will bring together our academic community working internationally, leading research that addresses significant global health challenges. The event aims to build collaborations between global health researchers, explore new opportunities for international research funding and create a community of ethical global health research practice.
The half-day program is an opportunity to hear from senior global health researchers about the current global health landscape, learn about opportunities for international research by early and mid-career researchers, and engage with partners working across the world, including from Vietnam, Fiji, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and beyond. The academic program is jointly led by the Maternal and Child Health Network, Sydney Vietnam Academic Network, the Sydney Institute of Infectious Diseases and the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre.
When: Thursday, 1 August 2024, 1:00pm to 5:45pm
Where: Michael Spence Building (F23), Patyegarang Precinct (Camperdown Campus)
Registrations open in early June – stay tuned!
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Call for abstracts and EOIs: FMH Networks EMCR Symposium
The 2024 FMH Networks EMCR Symposium celebrates the diverse and innovative work of emerging health and medical researchers from across the Faculty of Medicine and Health and the University. This three-day event offers a full program of presentations, interactive sessions and career-building workshops aimed at early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs), as well as social mixers and networking opportunities. The FMH Networks, which includes SVAN, will each host a research showcase session highlighting current projects and collaborations in their related disciplines and fields.
EMCRs! Submit your abstract or EOI for an opportunity to present your research project at the Symposium.
Download the Abstract & EOI Submission Guidelines (PDF) for eligibility details, submission requirements and FAQs.
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Key dates:
- Abstract & EOI submissions: close Sunday 16 June 2024, 11:59pm
- Outcome notifications: Monday 29 July 2024
- Symposium Days 1 and 2: Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 November, Susan Wakil Health Building, University of Sydney, Patyegarang (Camperdown)
- Symposium Day 3: Wednesday 27 November, Baludarri (Westmead), venue to be confirmed
More information on the Symposium is available here.
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CLINICAL TRIALS IN VIETNAM
Several new tuberculosis (TB) clinical trials will be implemented in Vietnam this year, in a partnership between the University of Sydney (Professor Greg Fox), the Sydney Vietnam Institute (Professor Thu-Anh Nguyen) and the Vietnam National Tuberculosis Program (Dr Dinh Van Luong).
- The Sydney Vietnam Institute has joined in the ACTG network PHOENIx (MDR-TB) study, which will start recruitment in Vietnam in July. The study aims to compare the efficacy and safety of delamanid versus isoniazid for preventing confirmed or probable active TB among high-risk household contacts of adults with MDR-TB. The University of Sydney will implement this project as a part of a multi-country grant provided by the United States National Institutes of Health.
- The FLIRT Trial received Ministry of Health (MOH) Vietnam approval in May and will start in 2024. The study, which was the top ranked grant application in the NHMRC’s 2021 Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies scheme, will evaluate the effectiveness of an antibiotic treatment for isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis in Vietnam, Australia and Canada.
- Two trials under the TB Trials Consortium are at the last stage of MOH approvals. ASTERoiD will assess the new regimen for treatment of latent TB infection using six weeks of daily rifapentine. CRUSH-TB, a phase 2C trial, aims to assess the efficacy and safety of several regimens based on novel agents in the treatment of drug-sensitive TB disease.
- In 2024, the Sydney Vietnam Institute will also join in a multicentre trial to assess the effectiveness of M72 vaccine for TB patients, which promises to be a new hope for TB elimination around the world.
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Jeffrey Neilson conducting livelihood interviews in the Central Highlands
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Jeffrey Neilson: Sustainable livelihoods and environmental research in Vietnam
Jeffrey Neilson is Associate Professor of Economic Geography in the School of Geosciences. His research interests are diverse, encompassing food security and sovereignty, the global coffee industry, the global cocoa-chocolate industry, agrarian reform movements, sustainable livelihoods and environmental governance.
He is currently working on two projects in Vietnam. The first is an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) funded multi-partner project due to be completed in 2025. The project aims to improve the sustainability, productivity and economic value of coffee and black pepper farming systems and value chains in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. “My contribution to the larger ACIAR project seeks to understand how processes of agrarian change are affecting rural livelihood outcomes in the Central Highlands, and how these processes are impacting sustainability and the experience of poverty alleviation by different groups,” Jeffrey said, reflecting on his fieldwork in Vietnam. He talks more about this project and research partnerships in Vietnam in this SSEAC Stories podcast.
Jeffrey is also a senior researcher on a new five-year project, ‘Climate Change Mitigation in Agroforest Landscapes through Sustainable Sourcing Policies (CAFSUS)’, funded by the Danish International Development Agency (Danida) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. A key aim of the project is to assess the impacts of a 2023 European Union deforestation regulation (EUDR) that prohibits imports of commodities associated with deforestation such as coffee. As the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, Vietnam will likely be significantly affected by the EUDR. The study will examine the coffee industry in both the Central and Northern Highlands of Vietnam. The project is a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen, University of Sydney, National Economics University in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and the Development and Policies Research Center, Vietnam.
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Welcome to new Vietnamese PhD students
SVAN welcomes two new PhD students from Vietnam researching tuberculosis to our network in 2024.
Nguyen Thi Mai completed her master’s degree in Bioscience and Biotechnology at Sejong University (Seoul). Before commencing her PhD, Mai coordinated two TBTC-funded clinical trials on the treatment of latent TB infection and the development of short-course regimens for the treatment of pulmonary TB at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Vietnam. Her primary research interests include infectious diseases, knowledge synthesis, epidemiology, diagnosis testing and policy advocacy. Mai’s thesis research examines diagnostic testing for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
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Duy Trinh-Hoang is a TB survivor. He has a background in social science and is currently pursuing a PhD with the School of Public Health. His research focuses on using social science methods and theories to understand community responses to and participation in infectious disease care and research, and to inform person-centred care delivery and health policies. His thesis is ‘Local (sense-) making of health policies: An ethnographic case study of policy formulation and implementation addressing tuberculosis infection in Vietnam’.
We wish them all the best on their postdoc journey!
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Member special offer! Online Vietnamese language classes
Interested in learning Vietnamese in a friendly and supportive group environment? Academics across the University have been participating in an innovative online Vietnamese language program with our in-country language partner, Tieng Viet Oi. Classes are held twice a week online with expert teachers from Vietnam, and are available at beginner, intermediate and advanced level. This is a fantastic way to build confidence in your speaking and listening skills and gain insights into Vietnamese culture.
SVAN members and affiliates of the University of Sydney have access to up to 20 hours of subsidised classes. Fee support is based on group class attendance rate, so why not apply with another budding Vietnamese speaker. The classes are run in collaboration with the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre.
Email Sydney-Vietnam.network@sydney.edu.au to express your interest.
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Join the Sydney Vietnam Academic Network to share your projects and hear about the latest news, events and grant opportunities tailored to research on and in Vietnam.
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