VGU is backed by a consortium of 37 German higher education institutions, including universities, universities of applied sciences, and members of the prestigious TU9 group (Germany's leading institutes of technology). Lead partners include Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (Electrical & Computer Engineering), TU Berlin (Global Production Engineering), TU Köln and Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (Computer Science), and University of Stuttgart (Master's programmes). VGU students earn German degrees, awarded by the German partner universities.

The Vietnamese-German University (VGU) was officially founded in 2008 under a partnership between the governments of Vietnam (Ministry of Education and Training) and Germany (Hessen state, BMBF Federal Ministry of Education and Research). VGU is the first state university in Vietnam with administrative and academic structures based on the German model. The new 50.5-hectare campus in Binh Duong was built with $200 million in World Bank financing and Vietnamese government counterpart funding. The campus features a 1,500-seat central library (architecturally and technically unique in Vietnam), state-of-the-art labs, science park, accommodation, canteen and sports facilities. VGU plans to expand to 5,000 students by 2030. Funded by the German Federal Ministry, Hessen state, DAAD and the World Bank.