RMIT makes a counter intuitive student move

Margaret Gardner, RMIT University’s vice chancellor and president, said when working with the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) last week that RMIT would expand programmes, facilities, scholarships and research in Vietnam.

The expansion will focus on four areas, namely engineering, technology, design and bio-medicals.

“We would like to diversify programmes in Vietnam so as to be more attractive to students, particularly international students,” she said.

In preparation for the changes, RMIT will invest more in facilities. Currently, it is negotiating with a partner to build one more campus in Hanoi.

The Australian university has also put a new building into operation in Ho Chi Minh City and upgraded the existing one.

RMIT Vietnam annually assigns AUD1.2 million ($1.1 million) for scholarships for students in Vietnam. This year, the university has set up an AUD3 million ( $2.76 million) scholarship fund in order to be able to grant more scholarships for students.   

“This fund is aimed at increasing students granted with scholarships in Vietnam,” said Gardner, adding that RMIT was working with the governments of Australia and Vietnam to launch a doctorate programme, of which, 80 per cent would be taught in Vietnam and 20 per cent in Australia.

With this programme, RMIT will encourage Australian students to come to Vietnam to study.  

Furthermore, the Australian university is building its research capacity in Vietnam by planning to set up a research centre in the country with links to Europe and Australia.

“We pledge to expand RMIT Vietnam and hope to receive strong support from the Vietnamese government,” she said.

RMIT University Vietnam, an Asian campus of the Melbourne-based university, is one of the first foreign-invested schools operating successfully in Vietnam.

RMIT Vietnam offers programmes from business and management to design and micro engineering, and boasts an impressive range of extra-curricular activities that encourage students to break new ground in their areas of interest.

Vietnam has recently established a number of universities in collaboration with other countries. The Vietnam-Germany University has been operating for four years, while the Vietnam-France University was opened two years ago.

Vietnam is also planning to cooperate with Russia, Japan and the US to set up universities in the country. Fulbright also plans to erect a university in Vietnam basing on upgrading the Fulbright Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.

“We continue to call for famous international universities to invest and expand operations in Vietnam as we want to create fair competition among universities here,” said Nguyen The Phuong, the MPI’s Deputy Minister.