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Quach Ngoc MinhInternational Cooperation Department, Ministry of Education and Training
"There is ample opportunity for collaboration and investment between Vietnam and Australia in the field of education, and we must consider how to ensure the long-term viability of this cooperation. I reckon that the best way to achieve this goal is to work on our shared values and trust." |
Quach Ngoc Minh represents the future of relations between the Vietnamese and Australian governments in the education sector. With over a decade of experience in international education, Minh has a proven commitment to promoting Vietnam as a strategic hub for international education.
Minh and her colleagues at Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) are committed to supporting Australian universities in establishing scholarship partnerships in Vietnam, as well as assisting Vietnamese scholarship students going to Australia for their studies.
Bilateral cooperation in education has been progressing really well, Minh says. "Australian partners are generously supportive of Vietnam. As our budget is limited, Australian universities make great efforts to support students’ financial well-being and academic growth," she adds.
In any Australian university she visits, Minh sees the strong bond Vietnamese students have for their host institutions and for Australia. And vice versa, when universities attract talent, these students become intellectual resources contributing to Australia and the universities themselves.
“The number of Vietnamese students in Australia has been increasing rapidly and the Vietnamese academic community in Australia is very developed and active," Minh says. “When alumni return home, they maintain strong connections with Australia. Therefore, both countries support Vietnamese individuals in pursuing their PhDs in Australia so they can later initiate projects that bring benefits to both sides."
In 2018, Minh received the Endeavour Postgraduate Leadership Award to pursue her PhD in Australia. Her doctoral thesis focuses on national policy and the regulatory framework for transnational higher education in Vietnam. Her PhD thesis received a high commendation by the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) an outstanding thesis award in Australia.
Reflecting on her studies, Minh says: “My PhD in Australia was fulfilling and rewarding. My supervisors not only helped me achieve my research goals, but I also learned to tolerate uncertainties through their respectful approach to students' ideas, while still encouraging them to explore new directions.”
Minh is also passionate about highlighting the importance of transnational education (TNE) to Vietnam’s education sector. As part of this commitment, Minh teamed up with four Australian alumni and received an Australian Alumni Grant Fund from Aus4Skills to organise professional development workshops to enhance institutional capacity in developing comprehensive and strategic plans for transnational education.
In 2023, Minh also led a research group at MOET to conduct a comparative review of the openness of the international education market in Vietnam and other seven transnational education host countries in Asia. The ultimate purpose of this project is to improve Vietnam’s national competitiveness in TNE, and enhance the overall impact and quality of TNE delivery in Vietnam.
“I hope there will be more high-quality education programmes from Australia delivered in Vietnam, so that Vietnamese students can study-abroad-from-home and save costs,” she concludes.