OPENING CEREMONY OF ENGLISH ACCESS MICROSCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

On 2 December 2016, at the College of Machinery and Irrigation, the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the College of Machinery and Irrigation officially announced and awarded 27 full-year scholarships for 02 years of the English Access Microscholarship Program 2016 (English Access Microscholarship Program 2016) for students in Dong Nai Province who were learning vocational training but in difficult living circumstances, having good obedience, good transcripts and interest in learning English.

The Ceremony was held in the presence of delegates Ms. Mary Tarnowka – Consulate General of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Matthew Wall – Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Le Thi Kim Muon – Cultural Affairs Assistant of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Stephen Berlinguette – Representative of the United States Agency for International Development, Mr. Pham Van Cong – Deputy Director of Dong Nai Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Board of Rectors of College of Machinery and Irrigation, parents and 27 excellent students receiving scholarships of the Program.

The English Access Microscholarship Program, which has been officially launched in Vietnam since 2009, is part of many scholarship and exchange programs of the U.S. Department of State. The objective of the Program is to give disadvantaged students the opportunity to increase cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the United States, to raise awareness about common social development issues of the society, thereby helping them have more opportunities to succeed in their studies and careers.

After the success of the Program in the past 7 years, in 2016, the College of Machinery and Irrigation was selected as one of the vocational schools in Vietnam to participate in this Program. The College of Machinery and Irrigation is a public school directly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, located in Dong Nai province. Over the past 40 years of construction and development, the College has trained more than 100,000 local technical and social workers, contributing to building the industrialization and modernization of the country. In 2014, the College was approved by the Prime Minister as one of 45 public schools to focus on investing into a high quality vocational school by 2020 according to Decision No. 761/QD-TTg dated May 23, 2014. In order to integrate internationally and meet the criteria set by the high-quality school, the College has been implementing many solutions to improve the quality of training, including developing English proficiency for teachers and students, which is very interested by the College. Becoming one of the beneficiaries of the English Access Microscholarship is considered as a beginning in the roadmap for building and developing the English competence that the College is aiming for. 27 best students receiving the scholarship of the Program have gone through competitive testing and selection process under the supervision of the College and U.S. Consulate General representatives.

The entire content of the two-year 360-hour training program is designed based on the point of view of 4 educational pillars of UNESCO: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learn to be. In this program, students not only learn to improve English skills with native teachers, but also have the opportunity to learn about the country, people and culture of the United States, participate in useful practical field trips to expand community awareness and socio-economic development issues. In addition, they also participate in soft skills classes to help them confidently communicate in society.

After completing the course, students will receive a Certificate of Program Completion by the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam. In particular, they will officially become members of the U.S. Alumni community in Vietnam and globally. English Access Microscholarship Program is also a good opportunity for students to access valuable scholarship programs or study abroad programs in the United States in the future.