HCM CITY — The current education market, from the readiness for partnerships to aligning such partnerships to Việt Nam’s future jobs and industry demand as well as developing graduate employability through institutional and industry linkages were the key topics discussed during the Australia – Việt Nam Higher Education Partnerships 2023.

The events, held in Hà Nội on May 17 and HCM City on May 18, helped connect more than 150 Australian and Vietnamese institutions to exchange ideas and explore partnerships. The events attracted the participation of representatives from 17 Australian universities and institutions with strong attendance of Vietnamese institutions from many different cities and provinces across Việt Nam.

Australia – Việt Nam Higher Education Partnerships 2023 had the participation of Australian universities and institutions with strong attendance of Vietnamese institutions across Việt Nam. — Photo courtesy of Austrade

Education is a key pillar of the Australia – Việt Nam relationship. This initiative capitalises on the strong interest of Australian and Vietnamese higher education institutions in transnational education (TNE) partnerships arising from years of engagement.

This programme follows on from a conference on cooperation and investment in education hosted by Việt Nam’s Ministry of Education and Training in September 2022 and an earlier industry webinar conducted by Austrade in August 2021.

This week’s events provided a platform for both sides to discuss key topics in the current higher education landscape and meet face-to-face to explore institutional linkages, multi-facet collaborations and commercial partnerships.

The education cooperation is growing and diversified, ranging from student mobility with Việt Nam being the fifth largest source country of international students in Australia to education partnerships such as joint programmes through transnational education with over 20,000 Vietnamese students pursuing Australian qualifications in Việt Nam. There are over 80,000 Vietnamese alumni of Australian education institutions currently working in Việt Nam.

Australia is increasingly becoming a strategic education partner for Việt Nam and a top TNE collaborator involved in 300 collaborative programmes which vary from undergraduate to postgraduate, from articulation to joint programmes and other research activities.

These cover a broad range of disciplines including law, business, IT, engineering, healthcare, tourism and agriculture with strong interest from Australia and Việt Nam to build new partnerships. — VNS