Vietnam is named as a potential study abroad country alongside the US and Australia.

According to many international experts, English-speaking countries no longer dominate the choices of international students as many other countries compete for market share, including Vietnam.

International students studying at a Vietnamese university, October 2023

PHOTO: UEF

The era of the "quad" is over?

At the Australian International Education Conference (AIEC) 2025 held last week in Australia, Ms. Stephanie Smith, Australian Trade and Investment Counselor and in charge of education in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, shared that before Covid-19, the four traditional study abroad destinations for Chinese students were always the US, UK, Australia, Canada, often referred to as the "Big 4". However, this situation has changed in recent years.

“Study abroad companies now refer to the ‘top 14 countries’ and that puts us in a much more competitive landscape,” Times Higher Education quoted Ms Smith as saying.

One of the key reasons for this shift is cost, as the world is experiencing a cost of living crisis and China is facing a domestic economic recession. Therefore, destinations closer to China and offering better job and internship opportunities are catching the eye of Chinese citizens, with Hong Kong being a prime example.

“Hong Kong can now be seen as Australia’s new competitor,” Ms Smith said.

Other countries mentioned by Ms. Smith are Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These are destinations that "are doing a very good job of promoting themselves in China."

France and Germany are also considered safe and friendly destinations, with many job opportunities and low tuition fees, according to the female counselor.

Not only universities, colleges in Vietnam are also attracting hundreds of international students to study.

PHOTO: BKC

Sharing the same view, Ms. Melissa Banks, senior partner of Lygon Consulting Group (Australia), said that Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are not only "building capacity" to receive transnational training programs such as opening training branches in the host country, but are also gradually becoming independent study abroad destinations.

“The competition is really heating up,” said Ms. Bank.

Sharing more about the current context, Ms. Larissa Bezo, Executive Director of the Canadian Association for International Education (CBIE), informed that there are currently 15 to 20 countries classified as "top study abroad destinations". The world has "gone much further" than the concept of Big 4, according to Ms. Bezo, and this is a positive sign. She also emphasized that traditional destinations like Canada can choose to cooperate with the above-mentioned emerging destinations.

“This is an opportunity for us to be part of new study destinations rather than just being a competitor,” said Phil Honeywood, CEO of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA). “We have very strong partnerships in Malaysia, Dubai and elsewhere,” Mr Honeywood added.

Vietnam attracts international students

Making Vietnam a leading study destination in Southeast Asia in particular and the world in general is an important goal of the Party and the Government. Recently, Resolution 71 of the Politburo has determined that by 2035, there must be at least 8 universities in the top 200 universities in Asia, and at least 1 university in the top 100 universities in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings.

By 2035, strive to have at least two universities in the top 100 in the world in a number of fields according to prestigious international rankings. By 2045, Vietnam will be in the top 20 countries with the world's leading education system, while increasing the number of universities in the top 100 in the world in a number of fields to five.

On the other hand, hundreds of Vietnamese people have chosen to study abroad in recent years and every year a large number of foreign schools come to Vietnam to meet directly with parents and students to advise and answer questions.

PHOTO: NGOC LONG

In fact, Vietnam has the potential to welcome international students, according to a report by the Ministry of Education and Training and the British Council published in 2024. That is because Vietnam has more than 25 years of experience in building student centers, such as Hoa Lac High-Tech Park, Da Nang High-Tech Park or Ho Chi Minh City National University Urban Area... And as of June 2024, our country has implemented 369 joint training programs with foreign countries, providing many flexible learning options.

At the local level, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in 2024 also decided to establish a working group and a support team to implement the project to build Ho Chi Minh City into an international center of education and training to attract students from the region and the world. The project is implemented by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training, Ho Chi Minh City National University and universities in the city.

Following this move, recently in September, the Ministry of Education and Training proposed allowing international students to work up to 20 hours/week - a move similar to many other countries such as the US, Australia, New Zealand... This is also the first time our country has mentioned this issue.

In addition, the Ministry of Education and Training also proposed visa exemption and work permit exemption for 5 years for foreign experts and scientists with doctoral degrees working at Vietnamese universities.

All are aimed at creating an open and favorable environment to increase the number of international students and scholars coming to Vietnam to study, teach and research.

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Education and Training, by the end of 2024, there will be nearly 22,000 international students studying in Vietnam. This is the highest number in the past 9 years, but the diversity rate is not high as 80% come from Laos and Cambodia. This number is still modest compared to Malaysia (170,000, as of 2023), Singapore (70,800, 2023), Thailand (53,000, 2024) but is equivalent to the Philippines (22,250, 2022).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-duoc-xuong-ten-la-quoc-gia-du-hoc-tiem-nang-ben-canh-my-uc-185251021165129755.htm