The Aussie Study Day took place both online and offline in Ho Chi Minh City last weekend, offering Vietnamese students more opportunities to pursue master’s and doctoral degrees at prestigious Australian universities next year.

Vietnamese student associations in both Vietnam and Australia joined hands to organize the workshop, which marked the welcoming of international students to Australia following its 18-month-old border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event saw the attendance of many prestigious Australian universities, on which Vietnamese scholarship hunters were looking for up-to-date recruitment information.

The Australian partners came to this year’s workshop with more attractive scholarships in financial support and additional benefits, in the hope of luring more international students after a long period of distance learning.

Pham Thi Hai Yen, a Southeast Asia representative from the University of Canberra, said that the university will grant more scholarships along with tuition fee reductions reaching up to 25 percent plus traveling, testing, and isolation accommodation expenses upon arrival for its students.

The university has additionally retained its program in providing students with free fresh vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk since the pandemic first hit the country, Yen said.

“We are awarding Vietnamese students more beneficial scholarships, compared to other countries in the region, given good academic performance and high employment rates of Vietnamese graduates,” Le Huyen Chi, regional representative (Southeast Asian) from University of Wollongong.

Applicants for bachelor's and master's degrees can receive grants with a maximum tuition fee deduction of 30 percent while the school fee reduction for junior college-bound students extends to 50 percent, according to Chi.

The largest university in Western Australia, Curtin University also offers a tuition fee deduction of 25 percent to freshers as well as engineering and IT students with excellent academic performance.

International students at Curtin University often pay AU$29,000-35,000 (US$20,900-25,200) a year.

Representatives from the University of Melbourne said that they will apply the shared school fee scheme to both online and face-to-face learning, while awarding students with a high grade point average fully and partially funded scholarships.

“We plan to maintain the scholarships which cover 25-35 percent of the tuition fee,” said Andy Pham, admissions representative from the Australian National University.

Students are advised to update the latest immigration and curriculum policies from both the Australian government and universities, which are ever-changing, to prepare for study abroad, Yen from the University of Canberra said.

“It is also important to get the COVID-19 vaccines recognized by the Australian government with enough doses,” she noted.

International students in Australia now can work more than 80 hours bi-weekly, a temporary relaxation in working hours for student visa holders granted in accordance with the Australian workplace law, Pham said.

“The relaxed policy is a way for Australia to further support international students amidst the financial challenges during the pandemic,” she explained.

Rebecca Ball, Australia’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, said at the event that the Australian government is striving to work with international education partners in a joint effort to handle the hindrances resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Australian government has recently partnered with its states, territories, and universities to develop Study Australia, the official website which supports international students in searching for courses, scholarships, and accommodations, Ball said.

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