The change is rooted in what may appear to be an administrative detail: for the first time, the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is a co-owner of the International Education Strategy alongside the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade.
The involvement of all three ministries shows that education is being elevated to the level of foreign policy. Dr. Dao Thi Hong, First Secretary in charge of education and Vietnamese students at the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.K., described this as a “three-legged stool”: the Department for Education sets training standards, the Department for Business and Trade focuses on growth, while the Foreign Office turns education into a foreign policy tool. Education, she said, is no longer solely an education-sector issue but has become central to the U.K.’s global engagement policy.
    |
 |
|
Leaders of the National Economics University (NEU) and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) pose with delegates at an international conference celebrating 15 years of cooperation. |
Against this backdrop, Hong said six months are not enough for U.K. universities to fundamentally change their operating models, but sufficient to reveal a shift in thinking – from “Market Opportunity” to “Partnership Opportunity”. Education is no longer simply about exporting services but has become a bridge for building sustainable international relations.
The shift is evident in several areas. U.K. universities are now approaching Viet Nam with government support, with ambassadors serving as focal points for promoting cooperation rather than leaving individual universities to find their own way. The focus is also moving beyond self-funded international students towards deeper forms of engagement, including branch campuses, dual-degree programs, vocational skills development and joint research in priority areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), green energy and biomedicine.
In the 2024/25 academic year, about 3,725 Vietnamese students studied in the U.K., while 13,285 enrolled in U.K. programs delivered in Viet Nam. Both flows are growing, but the balance is increasingly shifting towards U.K. education being delivered to learners in Viet Nam. If managed strategically, this could enable Viet Nam to expand access to international education at home while improving the quality of its workforce.
Viet Nam’s continued inclusion among the U.K.’s priority markets, she said, is only a “necessary condition.” The “sufficient condition” lies with Viet Nam itself – its ability to formulate strategic priorities, choose partners and design mutually beneficial cooperation models.
The door is open, but whether Viet Nam enters it as a “chosen” partner or as a country that proactively “chooses” its partners is a question only Viet Nam’s education sector can answer for itself, according to the expert.
Source: VNA