Nguyen (Yen) Minh Dieu and Lam anh Vu recently visited CQU Brisbane International Campus as winners of the 'Australia – 1 Country, every opportunity’ English Speaking Contest in their home country of Vietnam.

During their 4-week visit to Australia they were hosted by two Australian families and attended the CQU campuses in Rockhampton and Brisbane.

While at the Brisbane campus they attended marketing and communication classes and made a presentation on cross-cultural communication to a Post Graduate class.

Dieu has completed her secondary school education in Hanoi and is planning to commence an undergraduate degree in marketing at an American university in September 2005.

Vu has returned to his employment as an account executive with an international advertising company based in Ho Chi Min City.

He plans to return to Australian to study his MBA.

Below is a reflection on their visit through the eyes of Vu:.

“Three years ago, a friend of mine from Perth came to visit me in Vietnam. He told me lots of things about Australia and it really made me dream about a trip to Australia someday. Thanks to the English Speaking Contest, Deiu and I had the chance not only to visit Australia, but to stay for 4 weeks and study with Australians.

"Our stay at CQU in Rockhampton and Brisbane was wonderful. We could clearly see the differences between a regional campus and a city campus. But no matter how different these 2 campuses are, one thing we always found in both campuses was the friendliness of lecturers and students. It seems that the smiles never disappeared on their faces.

"During our time at CQU we gained a lot of knowledge and a greater understanding of the ways of studying in university.

"It really differs from the way we study here in Ho Chi Min City and Hanoi. We found the campus experience very active, exciting and helpful for students. We also had a great chance to take part in classes with San San Myint & Kelly Choong. It was a very interesting experience as we had the chance to share our ideas and discuss freely with our friends and fellow students.

"We were also shown around the campus and central city by Dr Cue Ngyuen. He was very helpful for us to adjust to Brisbane after 3 weeks in Rockhampton.

"Towards the end of out visit we were taken on a City Sights tour by Uwe Terton. This was most interesting and exciting because Uwe was very knowledgeable and entertaining. He shared with us a lot of information about the history, culture, and people of Brisbane and Australia.

"We are so happy and proud of being a student of CQU even just for 4 weeks. One thing I know for sure is that I would love to get back to CQU to finish my MBA here as I already know the 5-star excellent education of CQU.".

Photo (above): From L to R Back row – Uwe Terton (Lecturer Multi Media) Kelly Choong (Lecturer Marketing and e- Commerce), Fiona Owen (Sub Dean Informatics and Communication). L to R front row Nguyen (Yen) Minh Dieu and Lam anh Vu. The photograph was taken at the launch of the new BIC Library new study area.

Photo (left): Lam anh Vu, Paulo Vieira (Language Centre), Nguyen Minh Dieu and Professor Debbie Clayton (CQU International) at a reception for the visitors when they first arrived at CQU Rockhampton.