Some Western countries want to send students to study in Vietnam, why?

Một số nước phương Tây muốn đưa sinh viên đến Việt Nam học tập, vì sao? — Parents and students learn about study abroad opportunities in New Zealand at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City organized by the country's government .

Becoming an internationaleducation destination in Southeast Asia is one of the goals that Vietnam's higher education sector is aiming for, especially in the context of many neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore increasingly attracting international students. On the other hand, some countries such as New Zealand and Australia are also operating many programs to bring local students to Vietnam to learn about Asian people and culture.

Full funding to Vietnam

Speaking to Thanh Nien on the sidelines of the New Zealand Education Festival held last weekend in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Ben Burrowes, Acting Executive Director of International Affairs at Education New Zealand (ENZ), said that Vietnam is the only country that has received investment from all of New Zealand's education segments among its key markets, from English centers, high schools, pilot schools to university education facilities...

Not only is he excited to welcome Vietnamese students, Mr. Burrowes said he also wants to see more New Zealand students coming to Vietnam. To promote this, ENZ is running the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia (PMSA) program, which sponsors New Zealand undergraduate and postgraduate students to Asian countries to participate in short-term, full-time courses or to do internships and research for a specified period of time.

“We want to encourage more students to come to Vietnam instead of just choosing China or Singapore. This two-way movement helps New Zealand citizens receive more value. Because, when you come to a place where you are a minority, you will learn how to behave, how to feel welcome, as well as learn more about different cultures and perspectives, serving the future journey,” ENZ leaders said.

According to ENZ, since 2013, 3,685 New Zealanders have travelled to Asia and Latin America through the Prime Minister’s Scholarships for Asia. In Asia alone, local students can choose one of the following destinations: China, Singapore, India, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand or Vietnam with a minimum program duration of 6 weeks.

Foreign students support Vietnam

In Australia, the government launched the New Colombo Plan (NCP) in 2014, an initiative to help Australian students gain deeper knowledge and understanding of Asia and strengthen people-to-people links. The NCP has two types: a scholarship program of up to 19 months for regular courses, language, internships and mentoring; and a flexible exchange program for shorter regular courses, language, internships, research, etc.

In Vietnam, the NCP program has been implemented since early 2014, the Australian Embassy in Vietnam said in a press release. The program offers Australian students the opportunity to study for up to one year at universities while also undertaking an internship with a local company as part of their training. According to statistics from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, more than 5,000 Australian students have come to Vietnam as of 2024.

Commenting on ABC News recently, Professor Tran Thi Ly and Honorary Scholar Trevor Goddard from Deakin University (Australia) said that partners and local communities are eager to participate more deeply in the design and implementation of NCP programs. When they understand and respect this desire, their position will be that of equal development partners, instead of just passive “recipients” of initiatives from Australia.

This is the result of a study by the authors after surveying 1,371 students and alumni from 40 Australian universities, along with 298 interviews with communities in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. And not only helping Australian students, NCP can also support local communities to achieve their own goals, such as strengthening cooperative relationships with Australian universities and organizations, enhancing image and social responsibility...

For example, a Vietnamese partner said that the presence of Australian students through the NCP program helped promote the school’s brand and attract more local students. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese NGO shared that Australian students had collaborated with French students to promote tourism in Da Bac (Hoa Binh) by making a film introducing the beautiful scenery and culture there, which was then posted on the region’s tourism website.

According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced in August that she would make three major changes to the NCP from 2025, stating that she would double the number of long-term scholarships for universities, focus more on learning native languages, increase the minimum duration of short-term exchange courses from 2 to 4 weeks... to help students develop better, as well as to make the NCP program more effective.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-so-nuoc-phuong-tay-muon-dua-sinh-vien-den-viet-nam-hoc-tap-vi-sao-185241025150929847.htm