iuFOR and Vietnamese universities collaboration: a path to internationalisation

The institute is resuming its research projects in Vietnam and collaborating with Vietnamese and international researchers on sustainable forest management and AI-based forest monitoring.

103
iuFOR members in Vietnam within the framework of the Erasmus+ BioEcoN project in collaboration with the Vietnam National University of Forestry. Photo: Irene Ruano/iuFOR

The University Institute for Research in Sustainable Forest Management (iuFOR) belonging to the University of Valladolid (Palencia, Spain), continues its robust international research and instruction work. The research group led by Ph.D. Felipe Bravo, Professor of Forest Planning at the E.T.S. de Ingenierías Agrarias on Palencia Campus, has carried out research projects in tropical forests in Vietnam for the last five years, in cooperation with Vietnamese Universities. These projects have a high impact, both locally and globally. After the shutdown imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, all the actions planned for these research projects are being resumed.

VirtualForest is an Erasmus+ project that seeks to develop tools and actions favouring the virtualisation of forestry education. This project is led by the iuFOR team, and counts as partners with universities and technology centres in Germany, Spain, France, and Vietnam.

Vietnamese researchers from Vietnam National University – Hanoi University of Science on a research stay at iuFOR in Palencia together with iuFOR members. From left to right: Ha My Linh, Doan Thi Nhat Minh, Felipe Bravo, Irene Ruano and Dang Kinh Bac.
Photo: Irene González/iuFOR.

In addition, two Vietnamese researchers are developing their Ph.D. theses at iuFOR, and one of them is currently at the Institute’s headquarters in Palencia. Their works are based on tropical forest conservation and measurements of carbon fixed in these ecosystems. These projects are part of the iuFOR research line on sustainable management of natural resources and climate change mitigation and various Vietnamese institutions collaborate, providing data and expertise in tropical forest management.

Finally, within the framework of the CARE4C project, between March and June 2023, the iuFOR will receive two visiting researchers working on artificial intelligence from the National University of Vietnam-University of Sciences (Hanoi). These researchers will be in Palencia for three months and will work together with the iuFOR research team to develop new projects focused on monitoring forests using artificial intelligence techniques that can be key to progress in the management and monitoring of forest natural resources. iuFOR, together with the joint initiative SMART Global Ecosystems between University of Valladolid and the company SNGULAR, is committed to continuing to lead innovative initiatives in this field.

Briefly, iuFOR is focused on generating relevant knowledge for environmental sustainability and its current projects have a positive global impact potential. The collaboration with researchers from the National University of Vietnam-University of Sciences (Hanoi) is a further step in the consolidation of iuFOR as an international benchmark in forestry research and sustainable management of natural resources.

More information

SOURCEiuFOR
Previous articleSpanish forests: key in fighting climate change and for corporate climate neutrality
Next articleFrom wood wisdom to wood values and beyond
iuFOR (University Institute for Sustainable Forest Management Research) is a mixed research and development unit between the INIA and the University of Valladolid, which is a forum for scientific and technical cooperation that carries out joint research activities, innovation, development, dissemination and technical support in the areas of forest management, silviculture, modelling, and biodiversity conservation.