Introduction to Soil Science in Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry (TUAF) - Vietnam

The class was part of an ongoing collaboration between UC Davis and various Vietnamese universities to provide technical assistance, education, training and materials to support Vietnam’s educational goals.   Each year Vietnamese faculty visit UC Davis for a quarter to audit courses and co-develop curricula for their home institutes. UC Davis professors then visit Vietnam to help teach the course. This particular course was co-taught by Dr. Hung The Nguyen, Director of the Department of Science Management and International Affairs, who received his PhD in Soil Science and Biogeochemistry at the University of Seoul, Korea.

Forty-five students from the 42nd group of the Advanced Education Program participated in the Soil Science class. The class focused on the principals of soil science and how they apply to the study of environmental resource management. Lectures were combined with videos and hands-on activities such as soil descriptions in the field.

The class went very well and the students learned a lot. The students asked many questions and were very engaged. Also, since the class for given in English, the students were able to learn new technical words for soils. The class could not have been possible without the continued support of the Advanced Education Program staff which included Ngoc Nyugen, Ha Huy Hoang, Bui Ngoc Son, and Duong H Viet . The guesthouse and food arrangement for the visiting teacher made for an overall pleasant experience and all went well.