Bradford College

College Attracts International Media Interest

A film crew from Vietnam TV jetted into the UK to visit Bradford College to gain an insight into skills training and industry links in a UK Further Education institution.

Take a look at the TV footage....

Ha Thu Hang and Nguyen Vu Hai from Vietnam TV, accompanied by Vu Hai Dang, a British Council representative, visited various programme areas across the College to film and interview staff and students about college life and skills gained at college.

The visit was arranged as a result of existing high profile and inspiring partnerships between Bradford College and Nguyen Tat Thanh University in Ho Chi Minh City and the Vocational College of Agricultural Mechanics (VCAM) near Hanoi in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Government has placed demands on its education centres to deliver a higher level of teaching and has invested in a five-year project, in which it is hoped international partnerships with institutions such as Bradford College will help the centres to improve quickly and achieve their targets.

As education in healthcare is a priority in Vietnamese colleges, the film crew focused especially on Bradford College’s high achieving Ophthalmic Dispensing Department and interviewed students about their time at the College and the opportunities open to them after completion of their courses.  They also interviewed the College's Vice Principal, Kath Oldale, about her views of skills students gain by coming to the college.

The visit by Vietnam TV strengthens the long-term links between the College, the city of Bradford and Vietnam, building on its strong reputation and educational partnerships and also follows the recent announcement of the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding with the National Olympic Committees of Vietnam to host their Pre-Games Training Camps next July.

The film crew then headed off to London to film Vietnamese participants in the WorldSkills 2011 competition, the world's largest international skills competition, with young people from across the globe competing to be the best of the best in their chosen skill.

Joanne Wallace, Head of Collaborations & Partnerships comments: “We are thrilled that the British Council in Vietnam selected Bradford College as an exemplar to showcase vocational skills education in the UK to Vietnam. Excerpts from the day will be included for a national broadcast and the British Council will also be using content for their own publicity purposes. Next week Michele Sutton will sign a contract with the Vietnam Olympic Committee in Hanoi in the presence of the British Ambassador to Vietnam, Antony Stokes, as well as perform the opening ceremony for the first group of Ophthalmic Technicians at our partner institution in Ho Chi Minh City”.