From May 5^th to May 7^th, 2019, OCU delegation led by Professor Akihiro KUBO (Graduate School of Economy), Professor Norifmi Kawada and Specially Appointed Lecturer Le Thi Thanh Thuy (Hepatology Dept., Graduate School of Medicine) visited Hanoi Medical University (HMU) and several other academic organizations in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Hanoi Medical University is the best medical school in Vietnam and concluded MoU with our Medical School in 2010. Our Hepatology department has been actively conducting academic and research exchanges; Orthopedic department and Dermatology department have done training-exchanges, too. On May 5^th, researchers and former exchange students who have visited / studied in OCU got together at a restaurant in Hanoi and shared their updates.

On May 6^th, OCU delegation made a courtesy visit to HMU and met the President Ta Thanh Van, the Head of International Cooperation Department Tran Thanh Tung and several key persons including Ms. Nguyen Hai Thi Thanh who is one of the OCU graduates and now a lecturer in HMU. They exchanged updates on each university and discussed the possibility of further academic collaborations. After the discussion, the delegation visited research labs and university hospital, witnessed the dramatic progress in each field.

Besides HMU, OCU delegation visited Vietnam Japan University and Foreign Trade University as well as a few advanced hospitals and research centers.

At OCU, Vietnam is the third largest group of the international students following China and Korea. There is only two-hour time difference between Japan and Vietnam, and now direct flights from KIX airport are provided to Hanoi. These geographical advantages should make academic collaboration easier. Progress in the network-building is highly expected.