Winning a scholarship to study abroad in Indonesia, Dang Thi Ngoc Lan never expected that the 18-month trip would help her earn two master's degrees at the same time.
Ngoc Lan, 26, returned to Vietnam in January with a master’s degree in Sustainable Development Management from Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, and the University of Agder, Norway. The program combines business subjects with knowledge and experience from environmental science and engineering.
"The journey I went through was like a dream. I did not expect the trip to open up valuable learning and experience opportunities," Lan said, adding that she had hesitated about winning a scholarship to Indonesia nearly three years ago.
Dang Thi Ngoc Lan. Photo: Character provided
Ngoc Lan was the first valedictorian of the International Development Studies major at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, in 2019 with an average score of 3.74/4.0. At that time, because she had no intention of continuing her studies, the Muong girl from Ba Vi, Hanoi, worked for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in microfinance and disaster prevention.
Everything changed when Lan happened to read information about the Master's scholarship in Sustainable Development Management in March 2021. This is the first course of the cooperation program between the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ASEAN University Network (AUN), Gadjah Mada University and the University of Agder.
According to Lan, the two fields she works in are both related to sustainable development. Microfinance helps achieve many sustainable development goals such as poverty reduction, social security and environmental protection, while disaster prevention aims to reduce risks for vulnerable people. Recognizing that this industry will be very important to businesses and has good job opportunities, Lan decided to apply.
Knowing the deadline was less than a week away, Lan still went to work, prepared documents, asked for letters of recommendation from university lecturers, and wrote an essay. Thanks to her IELTS 7.0 certificate, Lan was able to submit her application at the last minute.
A month later, she was named among 23 Southeast Asian students to receive a full scholarship worth about $17,000. But Lan was hesitant because she did not know much about Indonesian education, the scholarship was modest, and the Covid-19 pandemic was still complicated. Her friends advised her to look into other scholarships, but her family objected because they wanted her to continue with a stable job.
Dr. Le Lena, lecturer at the Faculty of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, is one of the few people who encouraged Lan to go to school.
"I advised Lan to join the program, because it would give her more opportunities. If she didn't try, she wouldn't have any other opportunities," Ms. Lena recalled.
Lan’s program in Indonesia is two years long but was designed to be compact so that students can complete it in 18 months. Because of the pandemic, Lan had to study online for the first semester. This semester usually lasts six months and includes foundational courses in business, finance, and statistics. Because the program was shortened, Lan studied for two months.
At that time, Lan was still working. The project at her office was in its final stages, so she had to attend many big conferences, while still having to study in class and do homework.
"Many days I did homework until 2am. My brain was always tense. I wanted to give up because it was too stressful," Lan said.
During that difficult time, her old teacher was always there to listen to Lan share. "I encouraged my students that they were on the right track and needed to stay calm during their studies," said Ms. Lena.
Ngoc Lan (second from the bottom row from the right) and friends at Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia. Photo: Provided by the character
In January 2022, Lan went to Indonesia to study at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta City. This is the oldest and largest university in Indonesia with 55,000 students. Of which, the School of Economics and Business, where Lan studies, is ranked by QS in the group of 201-250 best business schools in the world.
During the first few weeks, she struggled with the language and cultural barriers. Not knowing Indonesian, Lan spent 3-4 days going around asking for documents and signatures from local officials to rent a place to stay.
In class, Lan also struggled with communication. Lan said that although she got IELTS 7.0, her speaking skill was only 6.0. During her time working at the NGO, she mainly used English to write reports and emails, and rarely communicated on a daily basis.
"I know English, but the first time I entered an international learning environment, my friends were so good that I was shocked and didn't dare speak for fear of being judged for not having good pronunciation," Lan shared.
After participating in many cultural exchange activities, she gradually became bolder. Lan had to go to school all week, complete essays for each subject and group assignments. In particular, the essays required a lot of information, scientific basis for each argument or data, forcing her to read a lot of English documents.
What makes Lan feel excited is that in addition to the theoretical lessons in class, students get to do a lot of field trips. For example, when learning about marine resource management, the whole class has to wake up early in the morning, climb cliffs with the teacher overlooking the coast, observe and analyze waves, wind direction, terrain, planning and their impacts.
Lan also went to an owl conservation center in the suburbs or to the area near the national forest to learn about people's lives and how they farm.
After 6 months of study in Indonesia, students must write a research proposal in preparation for an internship and thesis. Students with good proposals are considered for further study at the University of Agder, Norway.
Lan wrote about the factors that influence the intention to re-borrow of microfinance clients in Vietnam. According to Lan, when she first worked for an NGO, she realized that poor people had difficulty borrowing from banks because they did not have collateral, and microfinance organizations provided opportunities for them. But when the re-borrowing rate of customers decreased, the organization also had difficulty surviving and developing sustainably. Therefore, Lan wanted to find out the reasons to help microfinance organizations improve the situation. In July 2022, Lan returned to Vietnam for a month to survey and collect data.
The proposal was accepted, allowing Lan to continue receiving funding to study in Norway. She was able to attend seminars, training sessions and internships at the University of Agder Business School. Her thesis based on the research proposal was awarded a first class honours in Norway and an honours in Indonesia, earning her two master’s degrees.
In her spare time, Lan went to see the aurora borealis, then went to Sweden and Denmark to attend the Halloween festival, and went to France to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
"I never dreamed I would see the aurora or set foot in so many countries," Lan said.
Ngoc Lan went to see the aurora borealis in Norway, October 2022. Photo: Character provided
Looking back on her study abroad journey, Lan said that she not only learned about her major but also broadened her horizons and opened her mind to look at problems from many perspectives. Therefore, she believes that those who want to study abroad should take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way.
In the near future, Lan will work at a Korean aircraft engine manufacturing company. Lan believes that this company focuses on sustainable development with many clean energy development projects in Vietnam, which is in line with her career orientation.
Dawn
Source link
Comment (0)