September 2025, Hanoi and Saigon
Going to Vietnam is always a great pleasure for me, and, this time round, it was as the Head of international and European affairs at CNRS Mathematics-Insmi.
I already had the opportunity to go to Hanoi to give a two-week course ten years ago, and some of the students I taught on this occasion were welcomed for a year or for a shorter stay in France right after, so that they were able to complete their Vietnamese scholarship with an international trip.
This time, the trip was devoted to the change of direction at the IRL CNRS-FVMA, created three years ago. Thanks to the investment of Ngo Bao Chau as Director, and Le Minh Ha and Marc Peigne as Deputy directors, the lab has become a cornerstone of the French-Vietnamese cooperation, in a very short time. We are proud and honoured to now welcome Phan Thi Ha Duong as the new Director of the lab and this is the occasion to warmly thank her again. The association with VAST and VIASM is at the highest level, and all the energy given to surround the cooperation at Master’s level is bearing fruit, both in Saigon and in Hanoi. It really was a pleasure and an honour for me to meet representatives of prestigious Vietnamese institutions such as HNUE, HUST, USTH, VAST, VIASM, VNU Hanoi and Saigon HCMC, as well as people at the embassies of France and Great Britain, and at the IRCTM Unesco Centre of Mathematics.
Frédéric Hérau
26 august, typhon Tajiki. Chaos in Ha Noi
I had the pleasure to take part in the visit organized to mark the change of directorship at IRL FVMA in September 2025. As Program Manager for the Institute, this was the first time I was given the chance to visit one of the International Research Laboratories attached to CNRS Mathematics.
The week spent in Vietnam became much more than this, as it mixed institutional moments taking place at several universities in Hanoi and Saigon, and at VIASM, with scientific moments at VIASM and VAST.
I was very impressed by the quality of the talks, the beauty of the buildings and the relaxed but very professional organisation of all events and meetings, and wish to thank everyone involved there for their dedication. I was very pleased to attend the ceremony where Phan Thị Hà Dương became Director of FVMA, with Marc Peigné staying on as Deputy Director, and pleased to be able to see Ngô Bảo Châu and Le Minh Hà again.
But, to finish on a more personal note. The visit took place and was slightly disturbed by some heavy rain and flood in the city. This was THE opportunity for me to wear one of the local, colourful plastic raincoats worn by so many people and I would like to thank Marc Peigné for his welcome on the first morning with plastic raincoat presents in hand ! Marc was actually a great guide everywhere we went and I remember with fondness coffee with egg, chatting in a taxi for 3 hours surrounded by flooded roads, and one of the best Phos I ever had in Saigon.
Thank you so much to all for your wonderful hospitality, I am definitely planning a return to Vietnam to see more sights, but will not forget to pop by and say hello to the great FVMA team in Hanoi !
Céline Montibeller
Coincidence … or a new type of cooperation?