On August 19–20, 2026, the PFIEV atthe Ho Chi Minh City Polytechnic Institute (IPHCMV), hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), welcomed Thibaut Skrzypek, representative of the French PFIEV consortium and head of international cooperation at the École nationale des ponts et chaussées, as part of the Building and Energy track.
This mission provided an opportunity to continue academic exchanges between the program’s Vietnamese and French partners. In particular, it included participation in the joint Franco-Vietnamese jury for final-year projects, interviews with students applying for dual degrees and internships in France, as well as several opportunities for discussion with the faculty.
A presentation bythe École nationale des ponts et chaussées (ENPC) was also offered to the students to introduce them to the institution, its degree programs, its research activities, and the various options for continuing their studies in France after the PFIEV program. The ENPC has been a founding member of the French PFIEV consortium since 1997 and has a long-standing partnership with the Vietnamese institutions participating in the program.
The mission also provided an opportunity to organize a seminar titled “Paris and Climate Change: Adapting the City, Buildings, and Infrastructure.” Drawing on Paris’s experience, the discussions focused on several challenges facing major cities: urban heat islands, adapting buildings to high temperatures, cooling networks, stormwater management, flood risks, and infrastructure resilience. Parallels were drawn with the specific challenges facing Ho Chi Minh City, particularly heat, flooding, and land subsidence.
Beyond technical solutions, the seminar highlighted the central role that future engineers will play in helping cities adapt to climate change, as well as the importance of strengthening Franco-Vietnamese cooperation in the areas of education, research, and academic mobility.
The PFIEV would like to extend its warmest thanks to the Faculty of Civil Engineering at HCMUT, the local program team, and all the students for their hospitality, their participation, and the quality of our discussions.
