The signing ceremony was attended by Trần Quốc Cường, Member of the Party central committee and secretary of the provincial Party committee; Mùa A Sơn, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party committee; Lê Thành Đô, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee; and Lò Văn Phương, Member of the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council. The delegation from Thái Nguyên University was led by Prof. Dr. Phạm Hồng Quang, Chairman of the University Council.

Emphasizing the importance of establishing the Thái Nguyên University branch in Điện Biên, comrade Trần Quốc Cường stated: “For Điện Biên to achieve breakthroughs, education and training must be the starting point- especially higher education- not only to build high-quality local human resources but also to attract talent from across the country and from neighboring countries to Điện Biên”. He requested both parties to have open discussions, clarify key issues, and begin implementation right after the MoU is signed, with necessary steps to start this May.

Phạm Hồng Quang and Hoàng Văn Hùng, Director of Thái Nguyên University, committed to cooperating with Điện Biên to build a high-quality and reputable branch that meets training needs in Điện Biên and nearby provinces. For sustainable development, both sides can start with plans to train and develop a local teaching staff in Điện Biên. They also discussed strategies to attract students to higher education in the province, promote innovation, ensure financial sustainability for higher education, and build an educational ecosystem from general education to vocational and higher education.

Chairman Lê Thành Đô expressed agreement with Thái Nguyên University’s proposals, particularly regarding training, retraining, and improving the qualifications of teaching staff. He shared that the province would continue to encourage and support lecturers with master’s degrees to pursue doctoral studies and would facilitate annual training for local officials at the branch once it becomes operational. Regarding student recruitment, he noted Điện Biên has favorable conditions due to education support policies for ethnic minority students. The province is also cooperating with northern provinces of Laos to provide undergraduate and college-level training for their students. Moreover, the provincial people’s committee has submitted a resolution to the provincial people’s council on attracting high-quality human resources, including university lecturers.

With goodwill from both parties, the People’s Committee of Điện Biên province and Thái Nguyên University officially signed the MoU. They agreed on the policy of establishing the Thái Nguyên University branch in Điện Biên. Thái Nguyên University will lead and coordinate with Điện Biên to develop a proposal for the establishment of the branch, to be submitted to the Ministry of education and training. The branch will be built on the foundation of the existing Điện Biên Education College. Both sides are committed to preparing the necessary financial resources, infrastructure, and qualified staff for the branch.

Accordingly, the Thái Nguyên University branch in Điện Biên will be a multidisciplinary training institution. Based on current resources and workforce needs, from 2025 to 2026 the branch will initially offer programs in teacher education (primary education, early childhood education); tourism and management (tourism and travel service management or tourism); and language and culture (Vietnamese language and Vietnamese culture). During the 2026 - 2030 period, other programs will be added when conditions permit. Điện Biên province will allocate all land and assets of the Điện Biên Education College and Điện Biên Medical College - totaling 5.34 hectares - to Thái Nguyên University as the branch headquarters.