Study Abroad: Vietnam

Some time ago, articles about studying abroad were very popular in Habré, but it just so happened that all articles were mostly about options in the “first world”: Europe, America, Japan. However, I think that there are many interesting options in other countries.

In this article I want to talk about one such option, namely, about my experience of studying in Vietnam, and also to give some tips and information for those interested in getting higher education in local institutions.
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However, the first thing I want to say, of course, is that education takes place at the University of Australia in English. You will not need to learn Vietnamese.

Prehistory

Before entering university I lived for quite a long time in Vietnam (two or three years). I planned to go to a Japanese university after completing a language course in Japan. But it so happened - I was not given a visa to Japan, citing the phrase “go to Russia and get a visa there.” In the end, I decided to try to look for alternatives and after considering several options I stopped at the Australian University right in Vietnam.

RMIT

I will begin, perhaps, with the description of the university itself. RMIT stands for Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, one of the most serious technical universities in Australia, which has existed since 1887. The university has several campuses in Vietnam, but the largest is in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh). Several academic buildings, dormitories, parking lots, outdoor sports areas, a huge hall for sports and examinations, and so on.

Teaching takes place in English and most of the teachers from English-speaking countries. I want to note about teachers separately - most of them are really cool guys (almost all with PhD) - masters of their field, and it’s just interesting to talk with them on abstract topics, but there are certainly some, let's say, incompetent personalities, so it follows Take seriously the choice of courses and teachers. However, if someone really decides to do, I think I can tell you which courses and which teachers to sign up for.

Arrival

Entering a similar university was a completely new experience for me. Before that, I hadn’t just studied in foreign educational institutions, but before that I had mostly used English only on the Internet. However, in the end everything turned out to be quite simple.

The requirement for admission is a certificate of school education (translated into English) and proof of proficiency in English (IELTS or TOEFL). You can also add a diploma of higher education, which will greatly increase your chances. In the case of a certificate, everything is simple - for foreigners the requirements are somewhat lower than for local ones, because you will be accepted even if you have a significant part of the "triples", and if you have any doubts, then add a cover letter about the "great desire to learn" to the application will be sufficient. As for English, then everything is a little more difficult - you need to pass an exam of the language (in my case IELTS) with at least 6.5 points for each item and a total score of at least 7.0. The result is achievable, but still not for everyone. As an alternative, there are language courses right at the university, after passing which you can get automatic enrollment in the academic program. If you are not sure whether you can pass the language exam or have already failed it, this is a very good alternative. Plus, it will allow you to become better acquainted with the university, all the features of local education and other things. I passed all points to IELTS by 8.0, except for the letter that I passed by 6.0, which was half a point lower than required. As a result, I decided to enroll in language courses right at the university and after 2 months of study I was automatically enrolled in the academic program.

Study

In this article I will talk only about programming courses, because this is exactly where I entered myself. But besides this, there are many other programs that may well be of interest to you, such as design, business or others.

So. I entered the university. What next? It all started with writing to the first 4 subjects. In principle, you can choose anything from the available (not requiring prerequisites (completing other courses)), but university staff will insist that you take exactly four basic subjects, since they are the easiest and will help you enter university life more comfortably and without serious effort.

The initial courses were as follows: “mathematics for programmers” (a very interesting subject, no matter how strange it sounds, and an excellent teacher), “hardware and platforms”, “introduction to IT” (as far as I know, this subject was removed from the current program) and "introduction to programming". Quite boring courses if you are already engaged in programming, but these are the rules. If this is new to you, then the courses are ideal for quickly passing all the basic things that are important in our specialty.

A little strange, however, was that in the iron course I had to write programs in 68k assembler. It was very interesting to me, but I don’t know how easy it will be for people who have never programmed before, considering that this is the very first subject. However, the programs were of the addition of two numbers in the registers of the processor and the like.

What is the price of training? The price is gradually increasing with each semester, but at the moment the average cost per item is about $ 1200. Thus, for a semester it turns out about $ 5000 for 4 subjects, taking into account other expenses. That is, for the year it turns out $ 15,000, not including accommodation. The price is not small, but at times cheaper than in Europe or, say, in Australia itself.

Vietnam

If we are talking about the cost of education, I think it would be reasonable to mention the cost of living in Vietnam. I rent the so-called “studio apartment”, i.e. one large room with a kitchen and a separate bathroom / toilet. It costs me $ 350 a month, including utility bills (which are automatically organized by the way, no need to go anywhere, which is a big plus). On food and other expenses it takes about $ 200 a month. I think it is quite inexpensive.

I also acquired the so-called “motorbike” (according to our moped, or motor scooter) - a local means of transportation, 95% of the population uses them instead of cars. It costs about $ 10 a month for gasoline, but, given the specifics of Vietnam, having a motorbike will make it much easier for you to live here.

Further. How to get to Vietnam? Fortunately, this is not Europe and in fact you can get a visa to Vietnam simply by paying a fee. No problems or red tape. All this will be almost automatic. Get an invitation via the Internet, buy tickets, fly in, go through immigration (pasted in a passport visa) and that's it. You are legally in Vietnam. In the future, the visa can be extended through the university, free of charge (if you are from Russia) or for a small fee, if you are from other countries.

Exams

As in other European-style universities, all assessments are divided into two types: assignments (individual or group assignments) and exams (midterms or final). Assignments usually consist of the task of writing a program or preparing a project and usually last for several weeks, during which time you must fully prepare the project according to the documentation provided.
For example, one of the assumptions in the later courses was about creating a program for the management of a restaurant (products, staff, cash, etc.). A rather voluminous task, but very interesting. In my case, I chose SQLite, which greatly simplified the task.
As for the exams, there are two types of them, in the middle of the semester, the so-called midterm (but there are very few items with the midterm) and the final exams at the end of the semester (finals). Examinations last 2:15, including 15 minutes to get familiar with the task. The tasks are quite voluminous and especially for the later subjects - very difficult. Everything is delivered completely in writing. You may be asked to answer, say, 15 questions on the theory, write 3 pieces of code and one complete program. And all on paper. It seems to me a little silly - to expect that everyone will remember the API by heart, and it was especially difficult, for example, for Android, where, apart from programming, it was necessary to remember the markup, but these are their rules. But in general, I think, if you make an effort, you can pass everything without problems. Anyway, so far I manage to do it.

Diploma

What can we expect at the end? You will receive a RMIT diploma of a standard sample (without mentioning that it was obtained in Vietnam, so you can safely say that you studied in Australia). You will also receive an Undergraduate degree - Bachelor of Information Technology. After receiving this diploma, you can enter the design immediately and after completing a few more courses (about 10) get a second diploma, since half of the courses are the same between these programs - which is very convenient. The diploma, of course, is quoted in all countries that use the Western system of education, which is also a huge plus. And more importantly, if you decide to try to go to work in Australia, having an Australian diploma, you will have much more chances to find an option that might work for you.

Actually, that's all. If anyone is interested in my story and you decide to try to go to university in Vietnam - join. I will try to help with what I can. Plus, I will always be glad to talk with fellow IT specialists if someone decides to move to Vietnam.