28 Vietnamese students arrive at Portland State

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090623/UPDATE/90623023

June 23, 2009

The Associated Press

PORTLAND — Intel has brought 28 top science students from Vietnam to Portland State University for two years of all-expense-paid engineering studies.

The students have agreed to work at Intel’s plant near Ho Chi Minh City for at least three years after graduating.

Portland State has close ties with Intel and is in its third year of trying to strengthen ties with Vietnam.

Intel said about 400 applied for the 28 slots.

Intel spokesman Bill MacKenzie said Portland State’s relationship with the Vietnamese university system was an important factor in choosing PSU for the $2 million scholarship program.

Santa Clara-based Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) will sponsor the $2 million program that helps train Vietnamese engineering students in Portland. The students could eventually hold high-level positions at Intel’s largest global assembly and test site, being built in Ho Chi Minh City.

The money, which averages out to more than $80,000 per student, will cover the full cost of summer preparation coursework, two academic years of out-of-state tuition, room and board and a monthly stipend.

The Vietnamese students will essentially complete the last two academic years of their engineering degree at PSU before returning to Vietnam in June 2011.