ABSTRACT
Internationalisation is considered a means for Vietnam to lift the quality of its universities, catch up with regional and international education standards, and develop the human resources for industrialisation and modernisation. Although the internationalisation process in Vietnam has been constrained by numerous obstacles in terms of policies and conditions, the country has gained considerable achievements in internationalising its higher education system. Notably, the COVID-19 pandemic has had ramifications but at the same time created new opportunities for Vietnamese universities to expand at-home internationalisation and diversify other internationalisation activities. Against this backdrop, this chapter aims to examine the ways in which internationalisation is perceived in Vietnam, the recent trends of internationalisation as well as its challenges and opportunities before and since COVID-19. It highlights a shift in Vietnam's policy discourse from a passive and targeted approach to a more diversified, expanded, and active one through which internationalisation is explicitly pronounced in relation to two-way student mobilities, credit transferability, and transnational education. Based on the analysis, this chapter discusses implications and visions for the future development of internationalisation in Vietnam.
