Addressing the awards ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan spoke highly of Samsung’s assistance to Vietnam’s education sector, saying it has contributed to developing the relations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK), particularly in the education sector.

Samsung Vina’s General Director Park Je Hyoung said that the scholarships are practical financial assistance to the winners, and show that the company and the RoK attach great importance to the development of educational and cultural relations with Vietnam.

Launched in 1997, the Samsung scholarship programme aimed to provide scholarships to Vietnam’s best students whose studies are related to the RoK or encyclopaedic and natural knowledge.

Since then the company has granted 1,084 scholarships worth about US$220,000 to Vietnamese students. In 2007 alone, 112 students from 15 universities across the country received the company’s scholarships.