Student to Chancellor, Tien’s mission to change education

Thi Hanh Tien Ho is on a mission to improve educational standards and outcomes in her native Vietnam. 

This mission has seen Tien study and teach at universities around the world – including UTS – collating educational practices and pedagogy into a new system fit for Vietnamese students. 

Now, as the Chancellor of Phu Xuan University in Hue, Tien is seeing her hard work come to fruition.

Beginning as a schoolteacher in Vietnam, Tien came to Australia to deepen her understanding of education practice. While here, Tien undertook a PhD at UTS, and observed the ways in which the Australian system prioritised education, underpinned by national qualifications for both higher and vocational education, and the high percentage of Australians with a tertiary or vocational qualification (11.5 million in 2022, almost half the population, according to the ABS).

Tien’s Doctorate, completed at UTS under the guidance of Associate Professor Ann Reich, focused on analysing different pedagogical approaches in Vietnam throughout history. 

The impact of invading powers who brought along new schools of thought and pedagogy throughout Vietnamese history has greatly impacted education in the country. From hundreds of years of Chinese invasion to French colonial rule and mid-century influences from the United States and Soviet Union, Tien’s approach seeks to carve out a distinct educational method that reflects the needs of an independent, modern, and unified Vietnam. Something desperately needed in a rapidly growing economy of over 100 million people.

Focusing on a motorbike repair shop, Tien’s PhD study identified an issue in Vietnam where trade workers, though highly skilled and trained, were not accredited for their work. By not holding a state-recognised qualification, workers were not offered the protections of labour certification, and often unable to excel in their careers or make higher salaries. 

For Tien personally, while education is her primary focus, it’s clear that elevating others from inequality is a passion. During COVID, Tien coordinated a rice bank to make sure families would have enough to eat, sending trucks with automated dispensers out into Hue and the mountain communities. She has also worked on charity projects to assist young people and people with disabilities in finding work.

Tien also remembers fondly her time studying in Sydney, where herself and other Vietnamese expats shared resources to help each other succeed. Living in 'The Lucy House', Tien and a group of other Vietnamese women undertaking their PhD's shared resources, meals, proofread work, and even babysat when needed.

Now, as Chancellor of Phu Xuan University, Tien has been able to “bring her research to life” with a modern Vietnamese education method that marries the traditional vocational training experience with state recognised certification. This legitimises and formalises educational standards across the country, and ensures workers are adequately protected and recognised for their skills.

At Phu Xuan, this is a multifaceted approach. For students seeking careers in mechanical engineering for example, it’s important for students to develop not only the practical skills needed for that vocation, but the ‘soft skills’ needed for career progress. Soft skills, such as communication and interpersonal relations, are applicable to all professional roles. Tien says that soft skills training benefits all workers, including herself and other teachers, which she has undergone in professional development programs around entrepreneurship and innovation.

The new approach of Phu Xuan also prioritises a different relationship between students and teachers, one less focused on authority and more on mutual respect. Tien says this dynamic offers students more autonomy and allows for a more active learning experience where “they are not only the receiver of knowledge” but part of a mutually beneficial educational partnership.

International partnerships are part of the new approach at Phu Xuan also, prompted by Tien’s own experience living and working abroad. The importance of international partnerships and travel for students Tien says, is not only in improving skills, but allowing them to engage in cultural exchange to expand their worldview and apply their methods and skills in new and different environments. 

As part of these partnerships, Phu Xuan students will spend time in Thailand and Indonesia to pursue study and internship opportunities, and Phu Xuan hosts students from these countries in Hue. Likewise, Tien has managed to secure research funding from places such as Korea, Norway, and Finland to support teachers. And she would like to spread these partnerships even further over time.

Overall, Tien’s passion for education is rooted in a life-long respect for teaching, something she says is common across Vietnam; 

All the families in Vietnam, they want to send their child to be a teacher.