Internationalization of higher education in vietnam new policies needed for new context

International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN VIETNAM: NEW POLICIES NEEDED FOR NEW CONTEXT Nguyễn Tnùy Ann, Dr U n iv e rs ity o f E c o n o m ic s a n d B u s in e s s - V N U H anoi, V ietnam Abstract Over the past decades, internationalization of higher education has accelerated in terms of both pace and magnitude, having impact on countries and institutions the world around Since its start of Doimoi policy in 1986, Vietnam has achieved remarkable development in higher education However, it is still faced with serious chronic and emerging problems Internationalization of higher education is therefore considered as one o f the necessary solutions for Vietnam and its institutions to enhance educational quality and thus catch up with regional and international standards The purpose of the paper is to investigate the policies for and current status of internationalization of higher education in Vietnam The paper will first analyze the legal and policy framework for Vietnam’s internationalization of higher education Second, it will examine how this process is being implemented at the national level Finally, the paper will discuss issues and challenges that Vietnam has to face with during the process of higher education internationalization Data and information used to analyze in this paper were collected by the author from various sources such as the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Institute for International Education (HE) The paper therefore provides an insightful and comprehensive understanding o f the current situation of higher education internationalization in Vietnam with a variety of facts and figures, highlighting its problems and challenges in this process and contributing to literature on this issue in Vietnam INTRODUCTION Over the last few decades, globalization has been drastically accelerated and become an irreversible and most influential process that permeates all aspects of human life from economic, political to social and cultural fields and therein higher education is not an exception Together with globalization, internationalization is also a prominent process that is changing the scene of higher education34 According to scholars like Altbach, Teichler, internationalization of higher education is not a new phenomenon since universities have long been considered one of society’s most international institutions35 However, since the 1980s, under the impacts of globalization, there have been qualitative leaps36 in which the internationalization of higher education all over the world has been accelerated in terms of both pace and magnitude Universities globally have become more and more internationally active, promoting diverse internationalization activities, programs, policies and strategies ranging from traditional international activities, for examples, student and staff mobility, research collaboration, 34 Knight, J (2004) Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales Journal o f Studies in In te rn a tio n a l Education, 8(1) 35 Altbach, P G.( & Teichler, u (2001) Internationalization and Exchanges in a Globalized University Journal o f Studies in International Education, 5(1) 36 Teichler, u (2004) The changing debate on in te rn a tio n a lisa tio n o f higher education Higher Education, 48 170 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives language study or development projects Higher education institutions can also carry out various more recent contents of internationalization, especially those related to cross-border education such as international double/joint degree programs, branch campus or the adoption of foreign curriculum The calls for internationalization have influenced not only the content of education and research but also the way university management is organized Teichler argues that “international” is no longer essential for only a few, select sectors of higher education Instead, all higher education institutions have to be international, national and possibly local as defined by the terms “glocal” or "glonacal”37 Moreover, international activities in higher education institutions are not viewed anymore as ad hoc, fragmented or marginal ones but rather, as those that need to be systematized, embedded and taken up in all arenas of decision making and administration Similarly, international education is no longer confined to internationalization specialists but touches all areas of study and research to a certain extent Although internationalization o f higher education has been intensified for the last three decades and has been subject to much discussion, there is still a lack of consensus about the meaning o f this concept, especially the distinction between internationalization and globalization is still an ongoing topic In many cases these two concepts are used interchangeably 38 39 40, whereas other scholars assert that these are two different processes having relations with each other Some researchers consider internationalization as a response to globalization 41 42; while others believe that this process has been going on quite independently with globalization and that these two processes have a dialectical relationship4344 For some analysts, internationalization of higher education is perceived as a steerable policy process in which national states are not questioned, whereas globalization is external to higher education and can hardly be influenced 45 46 o th e r researchers argue that the differentiation between these two processes “does not correspond to a national/global distinction”47 and that globalization should not be simply seen as a 37 Ibid 38 Altbach, P G., Reisberg, L, & Rumbley, L (2009) Trends in g lo b a l h ig h e r education: Tracking an academic revolution Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College Center for International Higher Education 39 Ebuchi, K (1996) Curriculum developm ent f o r in te rnationalization fro m a com parative perspective: In special reference to the OECD/CERI p ro je c t on "higher education in a ne w in te rn a tio n s e ttin g " Paper presented at the Fukuoka Seminar on Internationalization of Higher education 40 Scott, P (2000) Globalisation and Higher Education: Challenges for the 21st Century Journal o f Studies in In terna tion al Education, 4(3), 41 Knight, J (2008) H igher Education in Turm oil: the Changing W orld o f In te rn a tio n a liza tio n Rotterdam: Sense Publishers 42 Yang, R (2005) Internationalizing Chinese Higher Education: A Case study of a M ajor Comprehensive University In P Ninnes & M Hellstén (Eds.), Internationalizing Higher education: C ritical E xploration o f Pedagogy and Policy (pp 97-118) Netherlands: Springer Press 43 Anneke, L (2002) Europeanisation, internationalisation and globalisation in higher education (Publication Retrieved May 25, 2009: http://docs.glotta.ntua.er/lnternational/W TO/susulub.pdf 44 Teichler, u (2009) Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences Asia Pacific Education Review, 10(1), 13 45 Luijten-Lub, A., Van der W ende, & Huisman, J (2005) On Cooperation and Competition: A Comparative Analysis of National Policies for Internationalisation of Higher Education in Seven Western European Countries Journal o f Studies in In te rn a tio n a l Education, 9(2), 16 45 Van der Wende (2001) The international dimension in national higher education policies: W hat has changed in Europe over the last five years? European Journal o f Education, 36(4) 47 Marginson, s (2008) G lobalization, n a tio n a l developm ent and university rankings Paper presented at the International Symposium "University ranking: Global trends and comparative perspectives" 171 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives higher form of internationalization48 Scholars like Marginson49, Teichler50 and Knight51 refer to internationalization as the increase of relations and cross-border activities between and among nations, while globalization means the worldwide scope and level and the blurring or even disappearance of national borders52 It can be stated that there have been a variety of definitions for internationalization of higher education In this context, the paper uses the definition proposed by Knight53 which is a neutral one and has been widely accepted in the domain of international education54 "Internationalization at the national/sector/institutional levels is the process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of higher education at the institutional and national levels”55 Internationalization of higher education can take place through a variety o f activities, programs, policies and strategies carried out by countries and higher education institutions, which can be categorized into two main groups according to Jane Knight (2004) The first set o f internationalization elements consists of those related to academic/program content which include academic programs, research and scholarly collaboration, external relations domestically and cross-border and extracurricular The second group pertained to organizational strategies composes o f governance, operations, services and human resource There are various rationales and reasons as to why a country or a higher education institution wants to promote internationalization As Knight and de W it cluster it, there are four groups of possible rationales for internationalization including political, economic, academic and social/culture56 The political rationale relates to issues concerning a country’s position and role as a nation in the world, or a university’s desire to strengthen strategic alliances with other institutions and association The economic rationale refers to either long-term economic effect where internationalization of higher education is considered to contribute to building up human resources and competitiveness of an economy, or the revenues generated from cross-border education or the recruitment of international students The academic rationale for internationalization is related to the aims and functions of higher education itself where nations and institutions, by integrating international dimensions into their activities, programs, policies and strategies, try to upgrade the quality of education, research and services in order to achieve international standards or to be recognized internationally The cultural/social rationale concerns with issues such as the maintenance and spreading of one country’s own culture and language or on the 48 Scott, P (2000) Globalisation and Higher Education: Challenges for the 21st Century Journal o f Studies in In te rn a tio n a l Education, 4(3), 49 Marginson, s (2006) Notes on globalization and higher education w ith some reference to the case o f Australia Paper presented at the Internationalizing Canada' s Universities-Practices, Challenges and Opportunities: A symposium from http://www.vorku.ca/vorkint/global/conference/canada/papers/Simon-Marginson.pdf 50 Teichler, u (2009) Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences Asia Pacific Education Review, 10(1), 13 51 Knight, J (2008) H igher Education in Turm oil: the Changing W orld o f Inte rn a tio n a liza tio n Rotterdam: Sense Publishers 52 Teichler, u (2009) Internationalisation of higher education: European experiences Asia Pacific Education Review, 20(1), 13 53 Knight, J (2004) Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales Journal o f Studies in International Education, 8(1) 54 Beerkens (2004) G lobal oppo rtu n itie s and in s titu tio n a l embeddedness: H igher education consortia in Europe and Southeast Asia CHEPS, Enschede 55 Knight, J (2004) Internationalization Remodeled: Definition, Approaches, and Rationales Journal o f Studies in In te rn a tio n a l Education, 8{1) 56 Knight, J., & de W it; H (1999) Q uality and in te rn a tio n a lisa tio n in higher education Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 172 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives importance of understanding those o f other countries57 One notable point here is that prioritized contents of and rationales for internationalization of higher education can differ from countries to countries, from institutions to institutions and from time to time Since the adoption of the “Doi Moi” policy in 1986, Vietnam, a developing country, has undertaken a dual process of transitioning from a centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy and integration into a rapidly changing world Along with the open door policy and market-oriented reforms, Vietnam in recent years, especially from 1991, with the introduction o f the policy for multi-lateralization and diversification of international relations, has accelerated international integration in many fields Vietnam is now strongly promoting socio-economic development with an aim to become an industrialized and modernized country by the year 2020 and education is identified as a crucial means to achieve the set goals for national development In 2001, with the issuance of the “Socio-economic strategic Development Plan 2001-2010” the Communist Party of Vietnam identified that “in order to meet the demand for human resources which is a decisive factor in the country's development plan in the period of industrialization and modernization, it is necessary to create radical and overall changes in education and training"58 In response to changes in the socioeconomic policies, since 1987 Vietnam has implemented some important reform policies to renovate of the old higher education system which was heavily influenced by the Soviet education59 One o f the most fundamental renovations was the move away from a fragmented higher education structure consisting of narrowly specialized institutions and insufficient research embedded universities, to one with broader and diversified academic fields and institutional types 60 61 In the past two decades, Vietnam ’s higher education has gained remarkable progress in terms of magnitude, quality and efficiency o f its system, narrowing the gap between itself and neighboring countries However, like many other systems in the region, the system o f higher education in Vietnam is still struggling with a range of chronic and emerging problems It is now left with a challenging question of how to preserve and enhance core functions o f the universities which are teaching, research and service, in the face of limited resources as well as the escalating and conflicting demands of the society for higher education In this context, internationalization is considered an important approach to secure the development arid progress o f Vietnam ’s higher education sector at both national and institutional levels, while striving to achieve international standards and greater regional cooperation LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR VIETNAM’S INTERNATIONALIZATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Internationalization, as a strategy for the development of higher education, has been used in several policy documents at both national and institutional levels as well as in a number of academic papers However, there has not been a general understanding of this concept within the context of Vietnam Generally, the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam is interpreted as an enhancement of 57 Qiang, z (2003) Internationalization of higher education: towards a conceptual framework Policy fu tu re s in education, 1(2) 58 Communist Party of Vietnam (2001) Socio-economic Strategic D evelopm ent Plan 2001-2010 Retrieved, from http://www.unaids.org.vn/sitee/images/stories/documents for resources/socia economic dev v.pdf w 59 Fry, G (2009) Higher Education in Vietnam In Y Hirosato & Y Kitamura (Eds.), The P olitical Economy o f Educational Reforms and Capacity D evelopm ent in Southeast Asia, Netherlands: Springer Netherlands 60 Huong, N T L (2008) V ietnam H igher Education - Reform f o r the N a tio n 's D evelopm ent Paper presented at the Asia-Pacific Sub-regional Preparatory Conference for the 2009 World Conference on Higher Education: "Facing Global and Local Challenges: the New Dynamics for Higher Education" 61 Pham, L H., & Fry, G w (2004) Education and Economic, Political, and Social Change in Vietnam Educational Research f o r Policy and Practice, 3(3) 173 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives international and regional cooperation and integration in the field of higher education In some policy documents, internationalization is narrowly understood and referred to as the integration o f international dimensions into the curricula at higher educational institutions62 This process is also seen merely as "the establishment of foreign education programs run either entirely by foreign universities or through cooperation between a foreign and Vietnamese institution”63 Some contents o f internationalization such as international standards, international cooperation, international ranking and recognition, student mobility, international curricula have been broadly carried out and considered indispensable to the development of higher education in Vietnam Among the most important legal and policy frameworks for the country’s tertiary education improvement in general and its internationalization in particular are the Strategy for Educational Development 2001-2010, the Education Law 2005 and the Vietnam Higher Education Renovation Agenda 2006-2020 In order to meet up with the specific goals in educational and national development, the strategy for Educational Development 2001-2010 approved by the Prime Minister by Decision No 201/2001/QD-TTg on December 28, 2001 emphasizes the encouragement, expansion and acceleration of collaborative relations in training and research with prestigious institutions in the world, with the purpose o f exchanging good practices and experiences suitable for the conditions o f Vietnam and improving educational development resources for the country To this end, the strategy has proposed a package o f measures to promote international cooperation in education at all levels, especially in higher education Another important legal framework for the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam is the Education Law 2005 which was approved by the National Assembly in June of 2005 Article 107, 108, 109, and 110 o f the Law provide the legislative basis for various international dimensions of higher education including international cooperation in education, encouragement of cooperation in education with other countries, encouragement of cooperation in education with Vietnam, recognition of foreign degrees/diplomas The third corner-stone policy fram ework worth mentioning here is the Vietnam Higher Education Renovation Agenda Period 2006-2010 (HERA) promulgated by the Vietnamese Government along with Resolution No, 14/2005/NQ-CP adopted on November 2, 2005 The agenda puts up an objective to make by 2020 “fundamental changes in quality and scale, responding to the human resource requirements for the cause of socio-economic development and national intellectual improvement, accessing to the advanced levels in the region and the world, upgrading several universities to international level, making contributions to improving the competitiveness of human resources and the country’s economy”64 The document proposes some solutions in order to contribute to the improvement in competitiveness of higher education system in international integration process as follows: a) Developing an international integration strategy for the national higher education system within the context o f the Vietnamese-American Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the General Agreem ent on Trade in Services (GATS); b) Launching a strategy on teaching and learning in foreign languages, especially in English; using advanced foreign training programs, curricula and materials, which are suitable for Vietnam's 62 MOET (2008) 2009-2020 Vietnam Educational Development strategy, 14th Edition Draft 63 Ngo, D D (2007) H igher education developm ent in Vietnam by 2010: Goals, s tra te g ic measures, im plem entation and challenges Paper presented at the 2007 Vietnam Update 64 MOET (2005) Vietnam Higher Education Renovation Agenda: Period 2006-2020 Hanoi: MOET 174 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives development needs, especially in the areas of natural sciences, engineering, technology and economic management; c) Improving the quality o f research and training programs with specific national features in order to attract foreign researchers and students, while maintaining national identity and traditional values; d) Exchanging lecturers and students, implementing joint training and research programs and continuing to send teaching staff and students overseas to study in key areas by using state funding; e) Ratifying the "Regional Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher education in Asia and the Pacific", and signing similar bilateral treaties and establishing organizations for the promotion of related activities; f) Establishing clear principles and simple procedures to facilitate foreign countries or qualified foreign universities to provide 100 percent capital investment or open branch campus; Exercising quality control in training services (including on-line programs) provided by foreign training institutions; participating in regional and international quality accreditation organizations; g) Developing on-site (in-country or regional) overseas training centers with the participation of highly qualified international experts, or providing "sandwich" training programs in order to minimize the brain leakage; h) Attracting highly qualified experts from foreign countries to provide training and research support, while formulating systematic policies to attract overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese citizens trained abroad to come back and make contributions to nation-building; i) Participating in the international human resource training market, and aiming at exporting skilled labor.65 Table shows the cornerstone events which have direct or indirect impacts on the internationalization of higher education in Vietnam These events will be discussed in detail in the following sections of the paper THE PROCESS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INTERNATIONALIZATION IN VIETNAM 3.1 Staff and student mobility 3.1.1 S tu d y a b ro a d Since the implementation of the Open door policy in 1986, especially from 1991 when the Vietnam Communist Party Central Committee decided the policy of multi-lateralization and diversification of international relations, there has been a significant growth in the number of outbound mobile Vietnamese students Between 1990 and 2005, this number increased by 22.4 times from 1,139 to 25,505 6B UNESCO statistic data show a sim ilar picture of the flow which sharply increased from 7,853 in 1998 to 47,938 by 2011 as shown in Figure 65 Ibid 66 MOET (2005) S tatistical D ata o f Vietnamese Students Abroad Hanoi: MOET 175 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives Table Im portant events, strategies and policies having impacts on the internationalization o f higher education in Vietnam Year Events 1992 Board of Minister’s Instruction on Sending Vietnamese citizens abroad for training in the new circumstance 1999 MOET's Regulation on foreigners studying in Vietnam 2000 Government's Decree on foreign investment in education, health care, and scientific research Establishment of RMIT-first 100% foreign investment university in Vietnam MOET's Project 322: Vietnamese Government Scholarship 2001 Government’s strategy for Education Development 2001-2010 Government's Decree on stipulating the Setting Up and Operation of Vietnam-Based Foreign Cultural and/or Educational Establishments 2004 Government's Official document “About the continuation of university and college network improvement" 2005 Education Law 2005 MOET's “Vietnam Higher Education Renovation Agenda, 2006-2020" MOET's Circular on Guidelines on investment cooperation with foreign partners in the fields of healthcare, education and training, and research 2006 MOET's "Advanced programs" Pilot project Prime Minister’s Decision on policy and main guidelines to construct international standard universities of Vietnam _2.CLQZ_ 2008 Vietnam becoming the 150th WTO member _ Establishment of the Vietnamese-German University MOET's proposal 20,000 PhDs Plan Government's Decision on “Advanced programs” MOET’s drafted strategy for Education Development 2009-2020 2009 Vietnam made commitment to GATS in education sector Establishment of the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) in partnership with France 2011 Human Resource Development Plan for the Educational Sector 2011-2020 2012 Discontinuity of Project 322 Source: Compiled by author 176 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives Figure 1: Number of Vietnamese students studying abroad at tertiary level 60000 50000 40000 30000 2000D 10000 u 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1998 1999 2000 2001 E Number of students 7853 8164 9140 9835 12183 14871 17015 20781 23310 28005 36519 43871 47979 47938 Note: Compiled by author based on data from UNESCO Institute fo r Statistics Online database http://stats uis unesco org/unesco/Table Viewer/table View.asDX?Reportld=3968 There are now figures showing that the number of Vietnamese students studying overseas has been as high as 60,000 o f which the largest proportion is privately-funded students67 According to the 2011 “Open doors” report issued by the ÍIE, Vietnam ranks 8lh among the 20 leading countries of origin in the USA with 14,888 students now studying at various us higher educational institutions As of March 2012, Australia has been hosting 15,727 Vietnam ese students With this number, Vietnam is the fifth among the top sending countries to Australia Meanwhile, statistics from UNESCO show that France, Japan and Russia are among the five most favorite countries for overseas study of Vietnamese students Some Asian countries such as Japan, China, South Korea and Thailand have also become popular destinations for students from Vietnam during the recent years For example, in 2011, Vietnam ranked fourth among the major sending countries of international students to Japan with 4,033 enrolments, lower than only China, South Korea and Taiwan Vietnamese students were among the top four largest bodies of foreign students in South Korea in 2010 with a number of 1,818 The rapid growth in the num ber of Vietnamese students seeking overseas study and the variety in destinations can be due to the following reasons: Firstly, unlike the period prior to 1990 when Vietnam only had educational cooperation with socialist countries, in the past 18 years, MOET has expanded its relations with a wide range o f nations, international organizations and institutions all over the world Many of these countries and organizations provide scholarships to Vietnamese students to study in their countries or overseas Among the countries which offer the greatest number of scholarships annually for Vietnamese students are Australia, Russia, Japan, China and India, followed by other countries, such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, USA, the UK, Korea, Singapore and Thailand, to name but a few68 67 Vietbao (2008) Retrieved from http://vietbao.vn/Giao-duc/60000-du-hoc-sinh-nguon-nhan-luc-tuonela i/65149837/202/ 68 MOET (2004) Vietnam Education and Training D irectory (3rd ed.) Hanoi: Education Publishing House 177 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives Figure 2: Number of Vietnamese students in some major destinations for overseas study 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 XI E z France Japan (2011 ) ( 2011) Number of students 4033 Russian Fed (2009) 3518 ( 2010 ) Thailand (2009) 1817 1141 Korea Note: Complied by author based on data from various sources69 Secondly, cognizant of the country’s urgent need for qualified human resources, in 1992 the Board of Ministers issued the “Instruction No 270/CT on sending Vietnamese citizens abroad to study in the new circumstance" This important document which emphasizes the necessity to diversify the countries of destination, types of training and financial resources to send students abroad, is a cornerstone for other later policies relating to student mobility Accordingly, privately funded students who want to study abroad would be considered and allowed by MOET Under this green-light, together with the increase in family incomes, more and more Vietnamese students have pursued studies abroad outside the official financial help ever since Thirdly, in 2000, the MOET’s project “Training Scientific and Technical Cadres in Institutions Overseas with the State Budget” known as “Project 322" started to train and cultivate leading science and technology staff in key sectors This is the first time that the Vietnamese governm ent uses its own budget to send its staff overseas for training In order to provide Vietnamese universities and colleges with qualified-leeturersrin-late^OOSrMOET-pFomulgated-a-plan-tQ-tPain-BOyOOO-RhDs-by^^-Ohalf-of-whom-willpursue their study abroad This target is once again reaffirmed in the Human Resource Development Plan for the Educational Sector 2011-2020 Project 322 is one of the policies to achieve this goal Up to October 2008, 3,106 students and cadres had been sent abroad to study with state funds, of which 2,366 were postgraduate students and 740 are undergraduate ones 70 According to Decision No.356/QD-TTg issued by the Prime Minister in 2005, the second phase of Project 322 has been extended until 2014 with VND 260 billion spent each year to dispatch students abroad However, recently in May 2012, this project Data for Australia Data/Pages/defauIt.aspx: retrieved Data for from USA retrieved https://www.aei.gov.au/research/lnternational-Studentfrom http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publlcations/Qpen- Doors/Data/lnternational-Students/Leading-Places-of-Oriein/2009-11: Data for China, France, Japan retrieved from http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Proiect-Atlas.aspx; Data for Russian Federation (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2011); Data for South Korea (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, 2010); Data for Thailand (Office of the Higher Education Commission, 2009) 70 MOET (2008) Report on P roject 322- Period 2001-2008 Hanoi: MOET 178 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives has been discontinued due to different reasons and applicants for Vietnamese government scholarships are encouraged to seek for alternative sources of financial support for their abroad study71 The Government and many Vietnamese institutions are now introducing policies to attract graduates from foreign countries back to Vietnam to contribute to the country, especially those who are privately-funded or sponsored by foreign governments and organizations Hitherto, there have not been official records on the number of students returning home after finishing their study abroad However, there are estimations that there is a large proportion of students remain in the host countries after graduation F o re ig n s tu d e n ts in V ietn am In the past ten years, Vietnam has welcomed an increasing number of foreign students to its higher education sector Between 1998 and 2001, there were 568 students from 12 countries under different agreement schemes and more than 2,000 students from 18 other countries studying in Vietnam through various other streams72 According to UNESCO online statistic data, the number of inbound mobile students in Vietnam in 2008 was 3,362, of which 3,333 came from Asian countries, making up more than 99 percent of the total international student bodies, see Figure Figure 3: International students at tertiary level in Vietnam by countries of origin Í/1 c 01 Tl c/> o 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 K jg f c M — M l smalw Haag ívcsĩể iy p i ft* tv 1 igP H l fiijd H 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2007 2008 32 50 54 109 43 113 126 236 a Laos 233 358 370 455 700 1448 2251 2435 a China 53 26 46 102 445 303 211 326 303 ■ 390 408 388 -Q ir z a other 1999 as Cambodia 191 214 i s s Note: Compiled by author based on data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics Online database http://stats.uis.unesco.orq/unesco/TableViewer/tableView.aspx In 1999, MOET issued the “Regulation on Management of Foreigners studying in Vietnam" in which it required international students to have an appropriate level of Vietnamese language in order to pursue study in Vietnam Partly due to this requirement, the study-field options for foreign students are mostly constrained to Vietnamese language and Vietnamese studies73 Recently the 14th version draft “2009- 71 Vietnam International Education Development (2012) Retrieved from http://vied.vn/vn/content/thonebao/thongbaochung/thone-bao-bo-sune-danh-cho-ung-vien-da-trung-tuven-hocbong-nsnn-chua-di-hoc-o-nuoc-ngoai 26663.aspx 72 MOET (2004) Vietnam Education a nd Training D irectory (3rd ed.) Hanoi: Education Publishing House 73 MOET (2004) Vietnam Education a n d Training D irectory (3rd ed.) Hanoi: Education Publishing House 179 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives 2020 Vietnam Educational Development strategy" has set up an objective number of 15,000 foreign students by 2020 In order to reach this target, MOET and Vietnamese higher educational institutions have made strong efforts to increase the attractiveness of the system generally and each individual institution particularly The international joint training programs and the advanced curricula project to be discussed in detail in the following sections are among the main ways to realize this plan These programs are supposed to significantly boost the academic quality, broaden the options for language of instruction and diversify the fields of study for international students 3.2 International training programs and institutions Since the year 2000, there has been tremendous development in the establishment of international training programs in Vietnam which are run either entirely by foreign universities or through some forms of joint ventures Two important policies creating platform for this process are the Governmental Decree No 06/2000/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2000 “Decree on Foreign Co-operation and Investment in Fields of Medical Examination and Treatment, Education and Training and Scientific Research" and especially, the Governmental Decree No 18/2001/ND-CP dated May 4, 2001 “Stipulating the setting up and operation of Vietnam-based foreign cultural and/or educational establishments” These two policy frameworks have significantly provided incentives for foreign cooperation and investment in the education sector in general and higher education sector in particular In 2005, MOET issued Circular No 14/2005/TTLT-BGD&ĐTBKH&ĐT, which required foreign organizations wishing to operate in Vietnam to submit an establishment license from their home country to the Ministry o f Foreign Affairs and MOET This was done to protect domestic learners and assure the quality of educational services of these programs A cornerstone event which has had important impact on the development of international training programs and institutions in Vietnam is Vietnam entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007 and later in 2009 signing commitment to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) in which educational sector and higher educational subsector are included Accordingly, since January 1, 2009, training institutions with 100% foreign investment are allowed to establish in Vietnam In the higher education sector, Vietnam has committed to open the private sector in such sectors as technical, natural science and technology, business management and business science, economics, accounting, international laws and linguistic t r a in in g _ Thanks to the opening up the educational market, the last years have witnessed a rapid growth in international collaborated programs which are operated jointly by a Vietnamese institution and a foreign partner(s) According to MOET’s statistical data, by March 2012, there have been 178 programs of this kind in Vietnam the majority o f which have partners from Western countries such as France, Australia, the UK and the u s 74 (see Figure 5) This figure has not included, the number o f international joint degree programs being operated by the two national universities in Hanoi As of September 2010, there had been 81 international collaborated programs in Vietnam National University, Hanoi75, This number was 37 in Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City in 200776 Therefore, if the two national universities are counted, the number of programs of this kind would be much higher in Vietnam It is noted that since 2007 when Vietnam joint WTO, the number of these programs have drastically and steadily increased from in 2006 to 22 in 2007 and 46 in 2011 (see Figure 4) This partly shows MOET’s policy in encouraging Vietnamese universities to further develop these joint programs as a way to enhance the educational quality and achieve regional and international standards 74 MOET (2012) List o f co lla b o te d tra in in g program s tifie d by MOET as o f M arch 2012 75 VNU (2010) Report an the organization and operation o f Vietnam National University, Hanoi 76 MOET (2007) Statistics D ata on C ollaborative Training Programs Hanoi: MOET 180 International Conference Internationalization o f Higher Education: North-South Perspectives Figure 4: Number of joint programs ratified by MOET as of March 2012 Note: Compiled by author based on data from MOET, 2012, List o f collaborated training programs ratified by M O ET as o f March 2012 Figure 5: Number of joint programs as of March 2012 r a t ifie d by MOET 35 30 25 20 15 10 -Bl- o m c Xo E < ? Q- ro c L_ o c >* OJ *Q Q_ “D c ~q c JU ro < u ụ N c u c LL Q > c» CO Ẹ_ L -EB-.E31 >* T3 “O ró •c cc _cro ■p