Education not only helps to convey “correctly” and “deeply” about traditional identity, but also opens up opportunities for young people to understand “broadly” how to shape themselves more uniquely in the global space.

According to Dr. Nguyen Nam - founding lecturer and one of the key lecturers of the Vietnamese Studies department at Fulbright University Vietnam, who was in charge of the PhD program of the Harvard-Yenching Institute (HYI) from 2004 to 2010, Vietnamese identity is both the “endurance of collective memory,” crystallized from the resilient will through thousands of years of building and defending the country. But at the same time, it is also “the ability to constantly regenerate to adapt to the times.” Throughout the length of national history, the Vietnamese people have built their identity through the experience of building, opening, and defending the country, through the ability to absorb and transform foreign influences without losing the cultural core.

In the context of globalization, that identity is not consistent but “mobile”. On the one hand, it creates a solid source of “cultural capital” so that each young person can proactively negotiate, confidently dialogue and jointly create a common future for humanity. On the other hand, it also poses new challenges and requirements, especially in the field of education, regarding preservation and development. Because nurturing Vietnamese identity today is not only about preserving heritage or arousing national pride, but also a journey to affirm the ability to integrate in a multidimensional world .

Fulbright University Vietnam students' work displays historical milestones related to the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc movement.

Discussing the importance of education in shaping identity, Dr. Nguyen Nam shared: “From the Confucian learning model to modern education, Vietnamese schools still have a dual mission: both providing knowledge and forming personality and community awareness. Vietnamese education increasingly emphasizes 'learning to be human,' 'learning to live together.' The general education program (2018) has incorporated cultural, ethical, and historical values ​​into competency-based teaching, helping students understand Vietnam through experience, not through rote learning or mechanical repetition.”

With that orientation, many universities, including Fulbright University Vietnam, have oriented to connect knowledge with culture, creating a space for young people to understand their responsibility towards national heritage. Specifically, at Fulbright University Vietnam, especially in the field of Vietnamese Studies, students will study Vietnam through an interdisciplinary lens - from history, culture to economics ; at multiple levels - from individual, collective, community, to national, international and global.

This diversity is the result of the process of research and finding ways to adapt to the current social context. Globalization is opening up opportunities for Vietnam to integrate with the world, but also poses many challenges regarding cultural dissolution.

The first change that needs to come from perspective. If in the past, identity education often emphasized the 'common' of the nation, now it needs to be expanded to respect the 'individual' of each individual - each person is a different way of expressing Vietnamese identity. Education must therefore encourage dialogue, reflection, and creativity - helping students 'understand' Vietnam through their own life experiences, not just through books", Dr. Nguyen Nam emphasized.

A typical example is the class "Developing Vietnam" - a joint program between Fulbright School Vietnam and Dartmouth College, one of the top eight Ivy League universities in the United States. The program provides a panoramic picture of Vietnam, including history, religion, environment, and economy, where students from both schools participate in field trips to the two countries Vietnam - the United States. For example, in December 2024 last year, students from both schools visited places and provinces in Vietnam such as Can Gio and Ben Tre, or most recently in October 2025, the class went to the United States to visit and research places containing many layers of Vietnamese culture and history.

Students gain hands-on research experience on a wide range of topics relevant to Vietnam: from noodle carts on the roadside, to the vast potential of semiconductor chip technology. Through this cross-cultural work, they not only gain a deeper understanding of local practices, but also hone their ethnographic research skills. The highlight of the class is the final documentary film project, where students unleash their creativity, combining academic and artistic elements to paint vivid pictures of a “Vietnam on the road to development”.

The second shift in identity education is to connect national identity with global consciousness. Learners need to be trained to see Vietnam’s issues in the broader context: climate change, sustainable development, gender equality, and international peace.

From this spirit, students of Fulbright University Vietnam, regardless of their field of study, are encouraged to approach Vietnam's problems with the spirit of social service, turning global knowledge into practical solutions for local communities (think globally, act locally).

A typical example is the Solaris Mekong Project developed by two students, Nguyen Phuc Thien Khoa and Hoang Le Minh Nhat, who won first prize in the Youth Hackathon 2025, held within the framework of the Youth Forum and International Conference on Education for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development organized by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in collaboration with UNESCO in Pathum Thani, Thailand.

Or the story of Dong Thi Hai Yen, a former student majoring in Psychology at Fulbright University. With the desire to support the blind community, Yen founded MY Blind Spa and The VIP Companion (VIC) - a project specializing in skills and career orientation for people with disabilities. After graduating, Yen passed the Mental Health Science Research Internship at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Research Assistantship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA), two of the world's leading universities in public health.

It can be seen that, in the journey of globalization, nurturing Vietnamese identity is not only the task of schools, but also the mission of the whole society - helping to motivate young people to learn, cultivate knowledge and contribute to the country.

(Source: Fulbright University Vietnam)

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nuoi-duong-can-tinh-viet-trong-moi-truong-giao-duc-toan-cau-hoa-2464745.html