Swinburne opens new location at Ho Chi Minh City

The opening of Swinburne's new teaching location in Ho Chi Minh City was marked with a ceremony on 22 February 2021 and has been enthusiastically welcomed.
In summary
- Swinburne opens its second teaching location in Vietnam after the success of Hanoi.
- Ho Chi Minh City location will open to students in 2021.
- The new location is an extension of Swinburne’s partnership with FPT University.
Swinburne is bringing its industry-based, tech-rich learning to a second location in Vietnam with a new teaching location in Ho Chi Minh City.
Building on the success of the Hanoi location which opened in 2019, Swinburne will welcome its first high school graduates in Hoi Chi Minh City in September 2021 and offer bachelor degrees in business, information and communication technology and media and communication
Students will learn from Swinburne academics in Australia and Vietnam and collaborate with their peers studying anywhere in the world. They’ll improve their English language and global citizenship skills, and have the opportunity to transfer to Swinburne University of Technology in Australia to complete their bachelor studies or continue on to a masters or PhD.

Swinburne celebrated the new teaching location in Ho Chi Minh City with a grand opening ceremony, complete with an explosion of glitter and colour.
Creating new opportunities
When Mai Quynh Ngan, who is studying Media and Communications in Hanoi, first heard that Swinburne was opening a new teaching location in Ho Chi Minh City, she was over the moon. It is an opportunity to study closer to home.
“I was screaming with excitement and spreading the news to my parents and all of my friends in Ho Chi Minh City,” she says.
“For students from the south like me, we’ll have easier access to Swinburne’s international learning environment.”
At first, Mai’s parents were hesitant to let her study in Hanoi, because it was so far away. It was her determination and commitment to academic success that convinced them. She has no regrets. She will always have fond memories of Hanoi, but being able to return to Ho Chi Minh City is an exciting prospect.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global and Community Engagement), Dr Andrew Smith, says, “The university has always had a ‘One Swinburne’ approach.”
“Our staff are working across boundaries, undertaking applied research and developing curricula that are immersive and transformative. They are piloting innovative solutions in our teaching and learning in new cultural contexts.”
Like every Swinburne experience, teaching and research in Ho Chi Minh City will have strong industry connections. Students will be equipped with skills to thrive in a tech-rich future, learning from academic staff who bring their industry experience to life in their teaching. Researchers will bring transformative solutions to industry partners – with this new location designed to help grow Swinburne’s reach in Vietnam and the wider region.
Building on strong partnerships
Swinburne has strong partnerships in Vietnam. This new teaching location is an extension of its existing partnership with FPT University.
Swinburne has also enjoyed a partnership with Vietnam’s longest running and most watched gameshow, The Way to Olympia Peak, since the show’s inception over 20 years ago. Winners and runners-up receive a full scholarship to Swinburne.

Students compete for a Swinburne scholarship on Vietnam’s longest running and most watched gameshow, The Way to Olympia Peak.
Australia's Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Julianne Cowley, congratulated Swinburne and FPT University for this innovative new way of working and learning in the new ‘COVID normal’.
“We're thrilled to be welcoming this iconic Australian education brand here in Ho Chi Minh City in a very different way – the right way for 2021, which is to be innovative, adapt and pivot,” she says.
“I want to particularly acknowledge Swinburne for working hard to deliver quality Australian education in innovative ways that respond to the COVID situation.”
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