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ASU-Intel collaboration earns Secretary of State award


Intel, ASU collaborative project
December 12, 2012

Intel Corporation has received the U.S. Secretary of State’s 2012 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) for a collaborative project involving the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and ASU’s Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP). Secretary Hillary Clinton presented the award for the efforts of Intel Vietnam at an event in Washington D.C., Nov. 28.

Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel, accepted the award in front of a crowd that included members of Congress, Intel’s Vietnam team and representatives from partnership organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Portland University and ASU. He explained the importance of the outreach efforts to help the Vietnamese people transition from a primarily agricultural country to a modern, knowledge-based economy.

“On education, Intel is helping to train the next generation of highly skilled workers by partnering with USAID and Arizona State University to help eight Vietnamese universities and colleges improve their science and engineering programs,” said Clinton during her remarks at the awards ceremony.

Clinton emphasized the importance of this award and how the work of companies such as Intel are investing in and creating jobs for people in communities around the world to help solve some of the regional and global challenges we face.

“With the knowledge and resources provided by Intel combined with ASU’s commitment to research and academic achievement, the Intel-ASU partnership is a force of innovation and technological excellence that will have a significant local, national and global impact,” says ASU President Michael M. Crow.

During the awards ceremony, Clinton noted that Intel has been a proud partner with the USAID, Portland State and ASU to lead the way in improving educational opportunities in Vietnam.

See the full text of Clinton’s remarks from the awards ceremony.

“The ACE award is a hallmark recognition to Intel for giving back to the community where we live and do business, for ‘creating a future in Vietnam,’” said Sherry Boger, general manager of Intel Products Vietnam. “We are a role model with a positive story to share about how we are creating well-paid jobs in Vietnam, transforming education nationally, leading in renewable energy, empowering Vietnamese students in the form of scholarships with an added focus on women, and passionately giving back in the form of volunteering.”

HEEAP recently completed the first phase of the project, which has enabled more than 150 faculty members at Vietnam engineering schools to be trained in new instruction methods, both at ASU and in Vietnam. The next phase, HEEAP 2.0, will extend the reach of and create new opportunities for faculty through leadership development, distance learning, curriculum projects, and other scholarships and fellowships. Additional partners are being brought on board and new goals are being set to enhance the program and increase impact.

“We are delighted by this recognition of our collaborative and productive partnership with Intel and successful execution of phase one of training the engineering faculty, as well as expansion of our efforts in HEEAP 2.0,” said Sethuraman “Panch” Panchanathan, senior vice president of OKED. “This project is an example of how universities and multinational corporations who share a commitment to innovation, knowledge production and economic growth can work together to create real impact.”

Since the launch of the HEEAP program, the number of women engineering faculty has increased, students are engaged with other faculty, and teaching skills have improved, according to Jeffrey Goss, director of HEEAP in ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

“We are reaching new heights and pursuing new endeavors to continue to teach and enable students and faculty in engineering in Vietnam,” says Goss.

With a new combined investment form Intel, USAID and the Vietnamese government, more than $20 million in new investments will now focus on an expansion to support the rapid modernization of the university partners.

This week HEEAP is launching a new leadership development program in Vietnam where participants will engage in a variety of different activities that prepare them for transitioning a vision into assessment, as well as succession planning for current and future leaders. Read more about HEEAP.