UEF Co-Organizing the Luminary International Conference on Sustainable Development

From February 3 to 4, the 8th Luminary International Conference took place in Malaysia, gathering nearly 150 scientists, scholars, and experts from seven countries and territories, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Taiwan, and the United States. The program was co-organized by the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) in Ho Chi Minh City, alongside the Lumina Foundation (Philippines), UTAR (Malaysia), De La Salle University (Philippines), and many other universities.
 
This year's conference was themed “Global Innovations in Sustainable Earth through Research, Technology, and Education,” focusing on discussions about sustainable development solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective, linking academics, technology, and education in the context of globalization.

International Academic Impact

Within the framework of the 8th Luminary Conference, 134 researchers and experts participated, including 10 keynote speakers, 16 coordinators, and 16 academic supporters. The program featured 57 scientific papers covering all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, highlighting the depth and current relevance of the issues discussed.
 
The Luminary international conference, over its eight years, has connected more than 1,000 international scholars, becoming a prestigious academic forum for sharing knowledge, research trends, and innovative solutions aimed at global sustainable development.

 
At UEF, this spirit is embodied by integrating sustainable development thinking into the educational curriculum. For instance, the Project Design course encourages students to be creative and implement projects linked to the SDGs from their early university years.
 
In addition, Professor Duu Sheng Ong, former Vice-Rector of Multimedia University (Malaysia), emphasized the role of flexible education as a key to sustainable development in the new era, allowing students more control over their learning pathways, formats, and schedules, rather than being limited to traditional models.
 
UEF's Co-Organizing Role and Expertise Contribution
 
As a co-organizer, UEF not only contributed to building academic content but also coordinated 4 out of the 16 thematic discussion sessions at the conference. Accordingly, Associate Professor Pham Huy Cuong, Dean of the Faculty of English, coordinated sessions on “Teaching, Learning Barriers, and Student Engagement” and “Culture, Identity, Language, and Society.” 

The active and in-depth participation of UEF's departmental leaders contributed to leading multifaceted academic dialogues, connecting Vietnamese researchers with the international scholarly community, and opening up many opportunities for cross-border research collaboration in the future.

Within the framework of the conference, UEF and UTAR signed a cooperation agreement with agreed content aimed at expanding learning opportunities for students and promoting academic research by faculty and researchers from both institutions. Collaborative activities include undergraduate and postgraduate student exchanges, faculty-researcher exchanges, sharing academic materials, coordinating international research, co-organizing academic conferences, and providing internship and career-experience activities that offer mutual benefits.
 
With its role as a co-organizer of the 8th Luminary International Conference, UEF continues to affirm its commitment to the internationalization of education, positively contributing to global academic forums and disseminating values of sustainable development through education, research, and community engagement.