ELCA contributes to establish new relations between the EPFL and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Since 2006 already ELCA has been supporting the existing long-term relationship between EPFL and HCM-UT which has led to the formal agreement between the two academic institutions signed yesterday in Hanoï in the presence of the President of the Swiss Confederation, Pascal Couchepin and the H.E. Vice-Prime Minister Dr. Nguyen Thien Nhan, Minister of Education of Vietnam.

ELCA has been present in Vietnam since 1998 and is today one of the key employers for IT engineers in Ho Chi Minh City. Since the beginning of its cooperation with Vietnam it has been a core issue for ELCA to promote the knowledge exchange and intercultural communication between Vietnamese and Swiss employees which has helped manage IT-projects on highest quality levels and has been a key factor in the company’s successful off-shoring strategy.

Another central part of this strategy has been the promotion of a regular exchange not only of ELCA employees but also of prospective employees at student level in both countries, which is one of the reasons why ELCA received the SOFI recognition award in 2006.

Together with the existing scholarship programme which ELCA has been promoting since 2006, the long-term engagement between the two universities have now led to a next level of this mutual desire to promote further international cooperation between Switzerland and Vietnam and have been instrumental in the elaboration of the present agreement between Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCM-UT) and the EPFL. The agreement will enhance the academic relationship between the two institutions, which include joint research programs, seminars and conferences.


Since the opening of Vietnam in the late 1980’s, the country has known a tremendous transformation achieved in particular through a new economic model called “Doi Moi�? (renewal). The continuous efforts in reducing poverty and adopting international trade and manufacturing standards have made Vietnam one of the prime investment destinations in the world.

This rapid economic growth together with a young and increasing population is meeting the limits of the traditionally strong education system. It is in this dynamic context that the importance of this agreement between the two countries is to be seen: It aims to be a valued contribution towards the sustained and stable socio-economic development of Vietnam in the coming decade.

Press release regarding the Vietnam trip of the President of the Swiss Confederation: http://www.edi.admin.ch/aktuell/00705/00724/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=20391


About EPFL
EPFL, the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, is one of Switzerland’s two Federal Institutes of Technology. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva, EPFL brings together a campus of more than 10,000 people and offers 13 complete study courses in Engineering, Basic Sciences, Architecture, and the Management of Technology. It is one of the world’s most international universities, with more than a hundred nationalities represented on campus and 50% of the teaching staff originating from abroad. In addition to excellence in education and research, EPFL has a strong commitment to technology transfer. A start-up incubator, coaching services, study programs in entrepreneurship, and innovation programs all serve to stimulate the links between lab and business. The Science Park on campus is home to more than 100 enterprises and numerous investors.

ELCA company profile
ELCA, an independent Swiss company, is a leader in the fields of software development, systems integration and business consulting. ELCA employs around 500 highly qualified staff. The head office of the company is in Lausanne, whilst it also maintains branches in Zurich, Geneva, Bern, London, Paris, Madrid (near-shore development) and Ho-Chi-Minh City (off-shore development). The majority of the shares are held by the managers and employees of the company.
ELCA ‘s engagement to manage IT-projects on highest quality levels in Vietnam is also reflected in the successful achievement of a CMMI Level-3 assessment of its engineering processes according to the CMMI Model (Capability Maturity Model Integration) in May 2007.


Contact:
Christian Hunziker, Marketing & Sales Director
christian.hunziker@elca.ch
Tel. 044 456 32 11