The Institut de la Francophonie pour l'Informatique (IFI), French for the "Computer Science Institute for the

Francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

", is a

graduate school Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It was created and funded by the

Agence universitaire de la Francophonie The ''Agence universitaire de la Francophonie'' (AUF; ) is a global network of French-speaking higher-education and research institutions. Founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1961, as the ''Association des Universités Partiellement ou En ...

(AUF) in 1993 following a request from the Vietnamese government for the training of high-level Vietnamese engineers and college professors in computer science. The countries and regions funding the project are

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, Belgium;

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, Canada;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

; French-speaking

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

; and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. In November 2023, the Institute celebrated its 30th anniversary. IFI recruits its students in Vietnam and other French-speaking countries, typically requiring a university degree or equivalent following baccalaureate studies. For top students, scholarships have been made available. Professors at the member universities of the AUF (such as ENST Paris,

Université catholique de Louvain UCLouvain (or Université catholique de Louvain , French for Catholic University of Louvain, officially in English the University of Louvain) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university and one of the oldest in Europe (originally establishe ...

, UQAM, etc.) come to IFI to give lectures. All courses are conducted in French. Usually, the final internship then takes place abroad (Europe or Canada) in industries, universities or research laboratories. Research internships are often used as a bridge toward a PhD. Industrial internships are taken by those who seek the profile of a project leader in software development. IFI is considered one of the best graduate schools in computer science in Vietnam. About one third of its students continue their PhD in foreign universities; many become professors or founders of software companies in Vietnam.

References

External links

Official WebsiteStudent's Magazine
Universities in Hanoi Francophonie {{Vietnam-university-stub