Search results

Cambodian and Laotian students (CLS) are among the largest groups of international students in intra-ASEAN student mobility as well as in Vietnamese higher education institutions (HEIs). However, little has been researched on the factors influencing CLS’s decision to choose Vietnam as destination country. The purpose of this study is to investigate why CLS decide to go overseas and choose Vietnam as their host country among other opportunities as well as their perceptions of the decision.

Using qualitative methods and employing purposive sampling, data were collected by semi-structured interviews from CLS studying in a HEI in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The data were analysed against the push–pull framework to understand factors influencing the participants’ decision.

The findings show that CLS in the study were “pushed” by the perceived higher value of a foreign qualification and family encouragements. In terms of pull factors, they were attracted to choose Vietnam as the host country most observably due to scholarship opportunities. However other pull factors were also significant, especially the lack of certain skills in home countries and its congruence with Vietnam’s competitive strength in offering courses for those skills. In retrospect, the participants expressed a sense of optimism, though there was also certain reservation.

The small sample restrict the generalisability of the findings.

As an exploratory study, the findings can lay the ground for largerscale studies investigating CLS mobility in Vietnam and be employed for inbound student mobility policymaking reference for HEIs in Vietnam as well as in other developing countries.

This study investigates why Cambodian and Laotian international students decide to go to Vietnam, a developing country in the lesser-known part of international student mobility landscape. This is a topic that remains under-researched in the Asia-bound student mobility literature. Insights from the study can not only contribute to the scholarly gap but also offer implications for HEIs in Vietnam and other Asian countries.

Tourism is one of the most notable features of the contemporary globalised world. The tourism industry is becoming increasingly vital to the economy of many developing and developed countries around the globe. The demand of the tourism industry has posed a challenge for tourism training providers to move towards a more responsive and internationalised curriculum to enhance work readiness for tourism graduates who are expected to work with an increased number of international tourists. The purpose of this paper is analyse whether and how internationalisation has been implemented in the tourism training programmes across six institutions in Vietnam.

The research deployed case studies as research strategy with interviews and document analysis as two instruments of data collection.

The major findings show that even though the tourism industry demands graduates to possess global competency, knowledge and skills, the curriculum does not prioritise the internationalisation dimensions and the faculty members are not facilitated to be internationally active in their roles. Overall, internationalisation is still fragmented and ad hoc in these institutions even though the private institutions in this research appear to be more responsive to the trend of internationalisation in education than their public counterparts.

The paper provides recommendations on how to effectively embed internationalisation components into local tourism training programs in Vietnam.

The research bridges the gap in the literature on internationalisation of the local tourism programme in non-English-speaking countries.

This paper aims to provide an overall picture of Vietnamese international student mobility which remains silent in Vietnamese international education and migration research.

This paper traces the evolvement of Vietnamese student outflows in a historical approach by analyzing official documents published by governmental agencies, public media and international education and migration literatures.

While the early Vietnamese student movements from the early 20th century to the 1986 Open Door period were mostly shaped by political purposes, the current trend is influenced by social and political transformations in Vietnam and host countries and by changes in the practices of higher education internationalization policies in host countries. It also argues that the present movement of Vietnamese students, which is seen as the government's strategic approach to improve the quality of the existing workforce for their industrialization process by 2020, becomes politicized as human capital is recognized as the focal force for the country's development and global integration.

By analyzing the factors behind Vietnamese international student mobility, the paper hopes to contribute an understanding of the international student movements and professional migration in Vietnam which are still under‐researched.

The purpose of this paper is to increase knowledge of the key drivers, and challenges, of the internationalization of Higher Education (HE), especially in the transitioning economy of Vietnam.

An exploratory qualitative research design used semi-structured interviews. Nine senior institutional leaders from five Vietnamese universities were interviewed. Thematic analysis, informed by the literature, was undertaken on English-translated transcripts.

The findings shared senior HE leader perspectives on how internationalization of HE in Vietnam was being conceptualized and operationalized, as well as insights as to how these processes might be improved. Further research to monitor the success of internationalization processes in Vietnam, and beyond, is recommended.

This was an exploratory qualitative study including nine interviews with senior HE leaders from Vietnamese Universities. Exploratory findings only are shared.

No previous studies exploring internationalization of HE in Vietnam have been located. Vietnam is a nation in economic transition from a state-based to market-driven economy, and is different culturally, economically and socially, to its Asian neighbors. Internationalizing HE is considered essential to the global integration and development of Vietnam.

Exploratory insights into the graduate student experiences of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are presented. Students are considered key stakeholders in the higher education (HE) debate, and their views were sought in light of recent shifts in HE worldwide, associated business education changes, nagging questions around the quality of MBA programmes, and the need to consider how all these factors might influence the MBA student experience in a developing economy such as Vietnam. The literature confirms a disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education users (here, students) are actually receiving, especially when compared to student expectations, needs and outcomes. Here, a portion of the findings from a larger exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, is presented. Graduate students’ views as to what they were seeking when enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, and how the programme subsequently met their needs, are shared. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Findings from an exploratory, descriptive qualitative study, located in Vietnam, are presented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, drawn from the graduates of three case study HE provider organisations. Interviews were transcribed verbatim in Vietnamese, then translated into English.

Graduates’ views as stakeholders in the provision of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam are shared. Qualitative analysis revealed evidence of their attitudes, perceptions, and knowledge relating to offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. The narratives and interpretations offer insights into both the perceived benefits and limitations, and empirical evidence as to whether graduates’ original expectations were met.

This was a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study, deliberately undertaken in the absence of others like it in the literature. The research relies upon interview and focus group data gathered from three case study organisations and exploring the perceptions of three different stakeholder groups: graduates of offshore MBA programmes (findings shared here); employers of offshore MBA graduates; and MBA programme providers (including programme managers, administrators and/or teaching staff). This paper includes only the perspective of graduates of offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam, on the basis that rich exploratory information can be derived from a few cases (Perry, 1998).

The literature confirms a potential for disconnection between what management education providers offer in MBA programmes and what management education graduates actually receive, compared to graduate’s original expectations, needs and wants. Here, empirical evidence of this intersection is examined.

The graduate narratives share crucial exploratory evidence offering a better understanding of the needs and expectations of MBA graduates who might be considering enroling in offshore MBA programmes in Vietnam. These findings are especially important with regard to understanding the sustainability and value of offshore MBA programmes being delivered in Vietnam, especially given the country’s current state of economic, political and cultural transition, and the associated need for businesses and workers to be able to operate successfully in an international business environment.

No previous studies evaluating the value of MBA programmes in Vietnam have been located. At a time when Vietnam is in economic, cultural, and political transition, knowledge to assist and support their HE sector is crucial. Recommendations are made as to potential improvements in Vietnamese offshore MBA programme curricula design, review, administration, and processes in response to these findings.

Vietnam’s 11th National Party Congress prioritised integration, modernisation and industrialisation as the new key orientations for Vietnam. It outlined Vietnam’s integration with the world, not only economically, but also in terms of the social, cultural, educational, scientific and technological areas that can support social and economic development and sustainability. Vocational education has been recognised as pivotal to the nation’s sustainable workforce development and transformational changes. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how foreign approaches and practices have been filtered and appropriated to bring about sustainable development and transformational changes for Vietnamese vocational education.

The paper is derived from a study that involves documentary analysis, observation and semi-structured interviews with vocational learners and staff across three different vocational education and training (VET) sites in Vietnam. The overall study includes three vocational education providers and 22 participants altogether, but this paper involves observation and semi-structured interviews with eight participants, including one leader, two teachers and five students. It focusses on a Germany-funded vocational college in the northern central area of Vietnam that came under the management of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the local province where the college located.

The findings of the study show a critical need to develop a new “Vietnamese VET pedagogy” that filters international influences and flexibly and creatively combines them with the existing local pedagogy. To meet the local and global demands and bring transnational changes for Vietnamese vocational education, new VET pedagogies need to align with both Vietnamese historical and political situations, especially the emergent demands of the open market socialist economy and to capitalise on international influences – Confucian, French, Soviet and Western. Such a balance will ensure Vietnam makes use of both international forces and local strengths for sustainable development and transformational changes rather than passive dependence on foreign practices.

The research provides valuable insights into the appropriation of foreign practices and principles in Vietnamese vocational education. However, it focusses only on three vocational education sites in central Vietnam. Further studies with larger scale of participants and across a variety of vocational education settings including public and private institutions, community centres and family workshops will offer broader findings related to this important topic.

The study suggests practical implications for institutions to deal with the challenges associated with the adaptation of international forces into the vocational education context in Vietnam. It outlines the transformational changes in pedagogical practices related to the increased requirement to move from the traditional didactic teaching to more self-directed learning, to meet the requirements of a modern vocational education system.

This study provides unique insights into the practices and challenges of filtering foreign VET practices and principles to bring about transformational changes in Vietnamese vocational education. It, therefore, responds to the paucity of literature in this area. In addition, it examines internationalisation in Vietnamese VET, an under-researched area in the field of internationalisation of education as most of the literature in this field concentrates on the higher education sector.

The research aims to provide the basis for a better understanding of the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam. First, it examines Vietnam's higher education reforms and policy/ legal frameworks for the promotion of internationalization since the implementation of Doi Moi in 1986. Secondly, it analyzes the internationalization activities at the national and institutional levels. At both levels, the internationalization activities are categorized into internationalization at home and cross borders (Knight, 2012). Finally, the paper discusses the challenges Vietnamese HE is facing and presents policy directions.

This study employs a case study research strategy to examine and gain understanding of internationalization of higher education in Vietnam as a phenomenon. The study collected detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a period of time. First, it analyzes Vietnam's higher education reforms as well as policy and legal framework for the promotion of internationalization. Then, using Knight's framework, the study analyzed the internationalization at home and crossborder educational activities at the national and institutional levels. At the national level, strategic policy goals and programs were explored. Then, it chose Vietnam National University- Hanoi as a institutional case to learn its institutional strategies on cross border programs and mobility, reputation building, research cooperation.

Vietnam has continuously reformed its legal and policy framework of higher education to better integrate into the global higher education market and also to meet the national demand for economic development. Predominant rationale for Vietnam to engage in crossborder programs is for brain development, specifically in the academics and public sector. Meanwhile internationalization at home is driven by (1) international programs and universities and (2) initiative to enhance competitiveness of its higher education institutes. Vietnam hosts different models of international universities, including classical, satellite and co-founded. However, issues and challenges remain, such as poor lack of systematic cooperation and coordination at the governmental level, retaining talents, and finally finances.

Written for the special edition on Internationalization of Higher Education in the Era of SDGs: Asia–Pacific Perspective, the study aims to provide a basis for understanding the current situation of internationalization higher education in Vietnam and how it compares to its partners in the region. This study is unique as it provides a two-layer analysis, at the national and institutional levels capturing macro and micro perspectives in one scene. In addition, this study includes rich empirical data, which was rare in previous literature due to limited access.

The purpose of this paper is to explore graduate students’ perception of how soft skills are developed at a transnational university in Vietnam, and how these soft skills contribute to their perceived employability.

This study utilized a qualitative case study method. In depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 graduate students at Vietnamese–German University.

Findings suggest that faculty utilized classroom-based practices to provide students the opportunity to enhance soft skills that are perceived to contribute to employability, such as skills related to independent work, interpersonal relationships and the ability to work in global contexts. In addition, interacting with international faculty played a large part in providing students the opportunity to develop their independent skills, critical thinking, communication and cultural competence.

Implications include multiple approaches, including faculty training, curriculum development and learner preparation. Institutions must consider how their curriculum contributes to the development of soft skills and how international faculty are prepared to engage meaningfully with students, particularly within specific global and political contexts. In addition, graduate students must also be prepared to engage in a classroom that promotes group work, class presentations and independent work.

This study provides insight on how a transnational institution can foster soft skills for employability in graduate students in Vietnam. Considering the growth of collaborative transnational institutions in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, findings and implications from this study provide recommendations on how to better prepare graduates for employability within a global economy.

In response to COVID-19 global outbreaks, Canada, and Australia, two favored destinations by international students, as the contexts of this essay, have enacted different international education policies, which will be investigated through the narratives. The authors discuss transnationality and mobility as key terms in the internationalization of higher education (HE) studies through their experiences as three Vietnamese doctoral students in Canada and Australia. Transnationality is attended through a narrative of a Vietnamese returnee struggling with bringing unfamiliar knowledge of gender and sex education from the West into a Vietnamese HE context. Mobility is unpacked through stories of a Vietnamese doctoral student in Canada stuck in Vietnam due to the COVID-19 despite inviting policies from the Canadian government to international students. This experience is connected to another Vietnamese student’s experience in Australia about a controversial act to discourage international students from staying in Australia if they cannot support themselves during the pandemic. The authors’ stories are created and retold personally for introspective and contemplative reflections on what the authors have experienced and offer considerations for how transnationality and mobility in international and comparative education could be understood through education, equity, and inclusion.

The authors explore the state of internationalization of accounting education as perceived by accounting academics, accounting employers, and accounting students in Vietnam. Based on data collected, authors draw recommendations to better facilitate internationalization of accounting education in Vietnam.

With a qualitative approach, the authors use content analysis (materials from 27 universities) and semi-structured interviews (28 participants) to explore the state of internationalization of accounting education as perceived by academics, employers, and students in Vietnam.

The authors identify the extent of and challenges in internationalization of accounting education in Vietnam, including language barrier, teaching approach, and budgetary constraints. Practical recommendations are drawn to help overcome challenges and facilitate progress.

The study integrates two fields of research: accounting and education, particularly through addressing in-depth perspectives of a broad range of stakeholders in addition to a detailed examination of archival contents. Practical recommendations are proposed for short term, medium term, and long term.