Programme of Institutional University Cooperation (IUC) of the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR) with the Can Tho University in Vietnam

The programme also continued to successfully reach out to the wider Mekong Delta and thus attesting to its development relevance in ddition to the academic relevance aspired for. This continued to support Can Tho University in its mission as catalyst of regional development in the Mekong Delta. The CTU-IUC programme proves to be a success story as it combines successes in both the academic and regional socio-economic development fields. Most projects under the CTU-IUC programme have a strong regional development finality with contribution to regional development objectives explicitly incorporated in management plans, teaching programmes, research protocols, and the like. CTU has a long and recognized tradition of regional development centre and the VLIR supported IUC programme has further strengthened CTU in effectively realizing its commitments in this regard. This is proven by the multitude of outreach and extension activities, which in many if not most projects are integral part of the project design and implementation strategy. The development relevance of the programme and projects is proven by the many requests the supported CTU units receive from both the public and private sector for specific advisory, productive and other sources. Many spin-offs have resulted from the initial programme investments. Impact concerns of the programme and its individual projects and initiatives at the level of the households of the Mekong Region are explicitly ntegrated in project documents and research protocols,