by CLAIRE MACKEN

In Vietnam, brand Australia stands for Australian higher education in Vietnam is renowned for its reputation for quality.. Australia has a strong reputation for producing and exporting premium, high-quality products, and services.  As you walk around supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City, it is easy to spot Australian brands: excellent dairy, meat, fruit, and wine.  According to Austrade, from January to November 2021, Australia exported $1.06bn worth of wheat to Vietnam.   Chances are the famous Banh Mi rolls I’m crunching on here in Vietnam is made from Aussie gold grain.

There’s another famous Australian export to Vietnam – education.  Australian higher education in Vietnam is renowned for its reputation for quality.  The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency is rightfully, and respectfully, viewed as an exemplar of the way in which countries can set the bar for standards of quality assurance and academic excellence.

In higher education, our role as the provider of Australian higher education in Vietnam and the South-East Asian region is a privileged one.  Our contribution to the education of Vietnamese youth is seen as a gamechanger for the future.  Our role is to serve the communities in which we operate with a focus on high quality education to create positive impact in the short and longer term and to address shared challenges and opportunities.  The higher education sector in Vietnam is one in which there is an optimistic and positive attitude to the role education can play to change and improve self, position, society, and the economy.   As higher education providers in Vietnam and the region, it is our responsibility to deliver on this promise.

By working together as Team Australia in Vietnam, we have the privilege of sharing international best practices and thought leadership to enhance the reputation of Australian higher education in the region.  An example is the work of the Community of Practice on Higher Education in Vietnam in a Digital Age. These types of collaborations can ultimately lead to a positive impact on individuals, society, and the economy, and benefit the region as a whole.

So, the next time you eat a lamington, or a Banh Mi, take a moment to pause and reflect with pride as to the contribution Australian higher education is making in Vietnam.

Claire Macken is the Pro Vice-Chancellor of RMIT University in Vietnam and a Visiting Fellow at theAustralian Vietnam Policy Institute