Vietnam ranks 3rd in the world in the number of students studying abroad.

Vietnam ranks third in the world in the number of students studying abroad, while only attracting nearly 10,000 international students.

According to Ms. Hoang Van Anh, Director of Education Programs at the British Council, Vietnam is currently the country with the third largest number of students studying abroad in the world.

The information was shared at a scientific conference on attracting international students and lecturers to study and work in Ho Chi Minh City held at the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University) this morning (December 5).

Only 5 Vietnamese Universities Have the Ability to Attract International Students

At the workshop, Ms. Hoang Van Anh, Director of Education Program of the British Council, shared a speech on the topic of how to turn Ho Chi Minh City into a new educational center. The British Council representative shared empirical analysis reports from 123 universities across Vietnam on this issue and assessments from 150 international students to understand their thoughts when coming to study in Vietnam.

Ms. Hoang Van Anh cited data showing that Vietnam is currently the country with the third largest number of students studying abroad in the world, equivalent to 139,000 people. Meanwhile, Vietnam only attracts nearly 10,000 international students. Thus, according to Ms. Van Anh, Vietnam is losing nearly 129,000 talents to other countries.

"It is very good for you to seek study opportunities abroad. But to meet the needs of socio-economic development, especially Vietnam becoming a destination for world investors, improving the capacity of human resources in Vietnam becomes an important factor," said a representative of the British Council.

Ms. Van Anh also shared a report on the survey results from 150 international students studying in Vietnam. This survey was conducted with students from many countries such as Laos, Cambodia, the UK, the US, France and other countries in the region. Notably, only 43% of students studied long-term, the rest studied short-term programs. Notably, these students were concentrated in only 5 universities out of 123 surveyed universities. "This shows that only a few universities in Vietnam are capable of attracting international students. The question is that universities that want to attract foreign students need to review their internationalization policies and strategies," Ms. Van Anh commented.

Also at the workshop, Associate Professor Dr. Lai Quoc Dat, Head of the Department of External Relations of the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), said that since 2013, Vietnam has had a resolution to attract foreign students to study. Up to now, statistics show that the whole country has approximately 22,000 international students studying and on average each university has 33-34 international students studying. Of these, most come to study language, culture and study at the university level.

"If according to the university network planning by 2020, Vietnam expects to reach 3%, equivalent to 66,000 foreign students coming to study, the actual number is only about 30%," Associate Professor, Dr. Lai Quoc Dat emphasized.

Regarding the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Associate Professor Lai Quoc Dat said that by 2023, the school will attract 160 international students. This number is less than 1% of the total student population of the school, but compared to the average survey in Vietnam, it is more than double.

According to the representative of this university, the attraction of the above number of international students is thanks to the training program in English, dual training taught in both Vietnamese and English. "The important thing is that the training program is recognized worldwide and builds an English ecosystem throughout the school," Associate Professor Dat shared.

Associate Professor, Dr. Lai Quoc Dat, Head of the Department of External Relations, University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University), shared at the workshop on attracting international students.

Solutions to make Vietnam a destination for international students

When collecting data on international student mobility, Ms. Hoang Van Anh said that Singapore and Malaysia are becoming countries with a shift from sending students to study abroad to countries that attract students to study. At the same time, within other countries in the Southeast Asian region, there are also many shifts between students from different countries. From there, Ms. Van Anh said that it is possible to see the possibility of developing into an international education center right in Vietnam, not only to retain students studying domestically but also to attract international students to study.

Suggesting on a macro level, the British Council representative said that there should be policies for Vietnam to become an international education center. Specifically, it is necessary to create an environment to promote international student exchanges, including policies to attract international students, provide scholarships, improve the quality of lecturers and training programs, and recognize degrees. In addition, it is necessary to create a favorable environment to attract investment in education.

Regarding the solution for the internationalization of local education in Ho Chi Minh City, Associate Professor Dr. Lai Quoc Dat said that this depends on the role of the university and the role of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Among the many solutions proposed, Associate Professor Dat said that the shortest and most direct way to attract students to study is to provide scholarships for foreign students. "The source of scholarships can come from the city budget, from the city's professional community sponsoring scholarships for international students," Mr. Dat added.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-dung-thu-3-the-gioi-ve-so-luong-du-hoc-sinh-di-hoc-nuoc-ngoai-185241205104354628.htm