CCIE – California Colleges for International Education

November 2023 UPDATE FROM VIETNAM

Here’s the November 2023 Update from Vietnam from Mark A. Ashwill, Ph.D

November 20, 2023

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

Greetings from Vietnam! I’m pleased to send you my November 2023 Update from Vietnam. Today is Vietnamese Teachers’ Day. Have a look at this 2021 article that I wrote about some teachers who have influenced me. (Here’s a Vietnamese version.)

Here’s a reminder about our spring 2024 StudyGlobal Education Fairs from March 15-19, 2024 in HCMC, Hanoi, and Danang. Follow this link for information and online registration. While the early bird deadline, which featured a 5% discount, was last week, Capstone partners can still take advantage of a 5% discount. A multi-city discount, if applicable, is available to everyone. 

I also want to remind you about a new Capstone service, a new landing page that describes our recruitment-related institutional services, and our referral form: 

1) Bespoke Graduate Scholars Program (Please share with Vietnamese students interested in overseas graduate study. I personally oversee this program.) 

2) Marketing & Outreach Opportunities with Capstone Education

3) Connecting Capstone With Colleagues – Be rewarded for your collegiality and kindness! 

Good news! Capstone Education has joined the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). We have the distinction of being the only educational consulting company in Vietnam that is a NACAC member.

Finally, if you know anyone who might like to receive this periodic update, please send them this form. I’m happy to welcome more colleagues to our community. 

Wishing all US colleagues a Happy Thanksgiving later this week! 

All my best, 

Mark (link to Facebook account)

Mark A. Ashwill, Ph.D. (link to biographical sketch)
Managing Director & Co-Founder
Hanoi & HCMC


12 Articles of Interest

SEVIS vs. Open Doors: An Update on Vietnamese Enrollment in the USA (14.11.23) In this blog post I focus on the October 2023  SEVIS update, which revealed that there were 26,158 young Vietnamese studying at all levels, most of whom are in higher education. 

Vietnam gears up for semiconductor future: nurturing 50,000 engineers by 2030 (8.11.23) As the global technology landscape continues to evolve, Vietnam is positioning itself for a promising future in the semiconductor industry. 

Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta is running out of sand. What’s next? (6.11.23). Groundbreaking report predicts Vietnam’s Mekong Delta will lose all its sand by 2035 unless solutions are found – quickly.

Vietnam’s higher education: from blackboard and white chalk to digital lectures (6.11.23) Over the last 20 years, together with the traditional teaching model with blackboard and white chalk, a new university system has been developing – the digital university.

Increased counseling for students needed to prevent violence in schools (4.11.23) Counseling for students should be increased to reduce violence in schools because there has been much school violence since the beginning of the year 2023-2024 despite the Ministry of Education and Training’s documents to prevent the problem.

Vietnam’s digital economy on track to reach around $45 bln by 2025 (1.11.23) Vietnam’s digital economy is expected to grow 20% a year in the 2023-2025 period.

Can Vietnam become the next Asian tiger? (30.10.23) Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and rising US–China trade tensions, Vietnam leapfrogged South Korea to become the United States’ sixth-largest trade partner by import value in 2022. This jump represents an important pivot in Vietnam’s economy — Vietnam’s biggest export to the United States is no longer textiles and garments, but high-tech products

At this Aussie uni (RMIT), students are happy to turn up 7 days a week (29.10.23). Offshore campuses can be a risky business, but in the post-pandemic world they are back in vogue. RMIT Vietnam offers a case study on how to do it well.

Oz Trades Places with the US – Again (25.10.23) Australia has surpassed the US as the world’s leading English-speaking host of Vietnamese students, according to the Australian Department of Education. As of July 2023, there were 27,764 Vietnamese students in Australia. 

AO victim successfully pursues education and career paths (15.10.23) Vuong Thi Quyen (born in 1989, Thanh Luong village, Quang Xuan Commune, Quang Trach District, Quang Binh Province), a victim of Agent Orange, managed to overcome adversity to make social contributions. 

Young Vietnamese flock to Philippines to learn English (14.10.23) The last several years have seen a rising number of young Vietnamese traveling to the Philippines, hoping to quickly improve their English skills and score big on the IELTS exam.

Armed with bamboo diplomacy, Vietnam navigating headwinds: Scholars (14.10.23) Bamboo holds a significant place in Vietnamese history, culture, and people’s daily lives, symbolising strength, flexibility, and resilience. Vietnam’s determination to pursue a foreign policy that draws on these characteristics is seen as a pragmatic response to the challenges facing the country in a rapidly changing world, according to scholars.


MAA Articles

Here are a couple of recent articles of mine that I wanted to share with you. I welcome your comments. Note: Both are editor’s titles. 

Let’s ditch the binaries and join the ‘all of humanity’ club (23.10.23)

International students are so much more than cash cows (7.10.23)