To experience setting foot and studying in a new country for a while is probably something a great many students dream of. This dream can come true through the Student Exchange Program of the DTU Hospitality &Tourism Institute.
DTU currently offers favorable conditions for a great many students to take part in study exchange and cultural exchange with DTU’s partner universities abroad. This is an opportunity to experience life, culture, cuisine, and study exchange with people from all over the world. In March 2017, DTU and Dong-A University officially signed an MoU for collaboration and program development: student exchange, internships, cultural exchange, and so on. When the first successful step of it had become known, a great many universities learned about DTU and, through introductions by colleagues, DTU ended up signing agreements with big schools like Sejong University, Ewha Women’s University, and Chungbuk National University.
DTU
From 2017 to the end of 2018, DTU signed agreements with seven universities in South Korea and two in Taiwan for the implementation of collaborations similar to the one mentioned above. “So far, DTU welcomed about 90 South Korean students for student exchange and internships at 5-star resorts and hotels in Danang,” Prof Bui Kim Luan, Deputy Director of the DTU Hospitality &Tourism Institute, explains. “Almost all big resorts and hotels, like Intercontinental, Novotel, Sheraton, Vinpearl, Premier Village, Furama, Pullman, and Goldenbay, have students referred to them by DTU. They are a source of human resources for hotels in Danang now that there is a high influx of South Korean visitors. After their internships, many of the Korean students are recruited by big resorts in Seoul or Busan. When it comes to Vietnamese students, DTU sent over 50 students to South Korea and Taiwan for student exchanges from six months to one year. All these programs are fully exempt of tuition fees.”
DTU often welcomes people from international universities for training collaboration visits
DTU has a collaboration with Pennsylvania State University
DTU signed an agreement with Coventry University for a 3+1 overseas study program
DTU regularly meets and collaborates with businesses
DTU organizes many national and international conferences
Nguyen Hong Phuc, a K23 student of Computer Science, is one of the lucky students in the student exchange program. He is currently studying at Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea. For more than ten months now, Phuc has felt it is a good chance for himself as well as for any other student to experience something new. “I can do sightseeing, visit famous landmarks, and enjoy the thousands of famous dishes of South Korean cuisine. The student exchange program comes with a huge lot of practical advantages. The first advantage is that I have to stand on my own feet and learn to take care of myself, something my parents usually did for me when I was in Danang. In South Korea, I am studying a great many subjects, which allows me to acquire diverse types of knowledge. After completing the program, this knowledge will be useful for the rest of my student life. I very much like the Korean idols. As a devoted fan of K-pop and Korean television series, studying here gives me a chance to breathe the same air as my idols. According to me, knowing only English isn’t enough in Korea if you want to come to Korea for this exchange program. Knowing some Korean is often an advantage for many daily activities, such as going to the market, speaking with the people around you, or finding a part-time job.”
“I am taught by local lecturers and I have the chance to meet people from all over the world. As you know, Sejong University attracts great numbers of foreign students, which gives me a wonderful opportunity to improve my English. Last but not least, I found I have matured a lot with this trip. I experienced many interesting stuff related to Korean culture, lifestyle, and food. This is why I hope other students can experience the same as I did. This is why I’d like to introduce them to this student exchange program.”
Ho Thi Thao Nhan of class K24 chose the student exchange program with Sejong University in South Korea. She spent there only one year so far, but Nhan still experienced a great many interesting, attractive, and meaningful things there.
Vo Minh Nghia, K23 student of Tourism &Hospitality Management at DTU, is currently studying one term at Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, through the student exchange program. Nghia affirms it is a rare opportunity you have to grasp to realize you dream. “Asian students rarely go abroad to study, besides the ones with well-off economic conditions,” Nghia explains. “DTU, however, created favorable conditions for its students to study abroad. You can learn a lot about the culture, people, and viewpoints from the locals when they meet you. Some advice I’d like to give to students who want to study in Taiwan is to be always polite when requesting something. Remember that “bù hao yì si” is your catchphrase. Be always polite and always stand in line, and that’s it.”
Nguyen Trong Luan, student of class K20ADH with major in Graphic Design at the DTU Faculty of Graphics &Fine Arts, received a scholarship for a one-term exchange in film-making at Dixie State University (DSU) following a collaboration agreement between the two schools, and he experienced some time in a modern study environment of utmost quality at DSU. “With the collaborative program between DTU and DSU, DTU organizes a course in film-making and invites American lecturers to teach it,” Luan explains us. “I was very surprised when, after the two-week course I could experience with modern film-making equipment and other film-makers, I and three others were judged outstanding students and selected for participation in the collaborative program between DTU and DSU of making a documentary movie about the Vietnam War. In the end, I heard I was selected for a scholarship at DSU. At the beginning when I was here, my biggest challenge was the language barrier; I was really lonely and I couldn’t talk to anyone. But taking part in group activities and the university’s contests, I found people are all very friendly and I easily made new friends. I started experiencing new things and wonderful moments I could never have imagined. For my current success, I’d like to thank the DTU Board of Provosts, the university’s lecturers, and the close friends who created this rare opportunity for me. To set foot on US soil is really everyone’s life dream!”
DTU students are self-confident and dynamic
With this year’s student exchange program, not only students of hospitality at PSU standard can take part, but all of the university’s students have a chance to discover and study in a foreign country. To sign up for the program, students must have good English communication skills, and knowledge of Korean or Thai or an HSK3 certificate or higher are a plus. Students interested in participating in the students exchange program should visit the fan page or the website of the Hospitality &Tourism Institute to register online. When the university has a list of candidates, a schedule for interviews will be announced. The DTU Hospitality &Tourism Institute will assess attitude, motivation, and language level as well as the candidates’ abilities.
These people experienced the interesting life of a new place, met many new friends, and improved their specialized knowledge during studies at a famous university. What about you? Let’s join the program, obtain a scholarship, and share our wonderful experience in another country with DTU!
(Media Center)