Visiting German Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dirk Niebel and two German alumni push the button for the portal to go live.

Nhan Dan Online - The German Alumni Portal was officially launched in Hanoi on March 8 to connect Vietnamese and all those who have studied in Germany.

The German Alumni Portal (APD) at the address: www.alumniportal-deutschland.org is designed for German alumni to meet and establish relations with each other and with German organisations and agencies, as well as to seek co-operation opportunities.

The portal can also be a place for all German alumni to seek jobs, introduce their capacities and foster co-operation among agencies and individuals in the global scale.

Participants at the workshop.

Currently, more than 13,000 German alumni from 174 countries and 350 companies and organisations have registered at the portal.

There are various types of information, such as jobs postings, training opportunities, international events, etc. APD is an open portal for anyone who wants to seek links to German alumni.

Addressing at the portal launch, German Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dirk Niebel said that Vietnamese people who have studied in Germany are considered as ambassadors of co-operation between Vietnam and Germany. He also affirmed that: “This portal is very useful for members. On one hand, German alumni can establish network for themselves through the porter, and on the other hand, Germany can maintain good relations with key partners in economics, education and culture abroad as well as promote co-operation between Germany and Vietnam.”

The launch is part of a two-day workshop on ‘Career and Co-operation: Development of Renovation Network through the German Alumni Portal’ which was opened in Hanoi the same day by Inwent Capacity Building International office on the visit by German Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development, Dirk Niebel and to mark the German Year 2010 in Vietnam.

APD is a co-ordination programme funded by the German Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development with the participation of German organisations of Inwent, AGEF, the Alexander Von Humboldt Fund, Goethe Institute etc.

During the workshop, around 800 German alumni in Vietnam are joining discussions on various themes such as opportunities and co-operation prosperity between Vietnam and Germany, German economy in Vietnam, outlook for German alumni and education co-operation between Germany and Vietnam.

This is the first ever workshop held in for German alumni in Vietnam.

By Dieu Thuy