After happily received matriculated notice from Office of International for Study Program – HCMUT, Duy had clearly identified his target is to become a professional civil engineer that had professional skills as well as good capacity to work in multicultural working environment. That was the reason Duy had chosen the option transferring to Australia after the first 2 years studying in Vietnam

 Studying HCMUT had brought him valuable experience as well as unforgettable memories. The study program which was totally taught in English by experienced professors, doctors and lecturers gave Duy big chance to approach the international study environment. In fact, Duy was not crestfallen after he transferred to Australia for studying.

 As far as Duy had concerned, The University of Queensland was a partner university of HCMUT. Besides, he thought that UQ was a ideal place for him to improve skill and develop his future career. Thus, he decided to transfer to UQ.

 From 1/3/2014, after 2 years studying in HCMUT (Civil Engineering, academic 2011), Vo Nguyen Khang Duy had been officially a freshman of The University of Queensland.

 GOOD AT COOKING…DUE TO STUDYING ABROAD

In the first two months studying in Australia, Duy had some troubles because he did not know how to balance his life. In Vietnam, he was a “rich boy” had his family take care of everything. But in Australia, he had to do everything himself, from accommodation, food to travelling.

 Not many people think that Duy – a future civil engineer has ability in cooking, but actually he has become a talented cook that can cook perfectly many difficult dishes as grilled chicken, sweet and sour pork ribs, etc.

Due to capacity of cooking, Duy only had to spend about 200 AUD ( nearly 4 million VND), he saved about 200 AUD compared to average food expense of internship students in Australia.

 When Duy first arrived in Australia, he stayed in the same house with K10 Information Technology student. After 1 week, Duy found a homeshare with one other student with the price was about 150 AUD/week.

 Dormitory rental prize there is expensive ( 250 to 300 AUD/week). Therefore, Vietnamese internship students usually choose homeshare or homestay ( 100 AUD /week)

 However, the homeshare where Duy lived was inconvenient. It was located at foot of the mountain, so he had to wake up very early and walk very far to catch 2 buses to go to university. Travelling time took him a lot of time, so he decided to move to somewhere near from university.

About part-time job, Duy said that he wanted to get acquainted with new study and living environment first.

In Australia, Government allows international students who have visa to work as part time job right after admission (maximum 20 hours / week). Vietnamese internship students usually work part-time as staffs in cafeterias, fast food store, restaurant, etc., the salary is about 8 – 12 AUD/hour. In next semester, Duy will find a part time job to pay the living expenses himself

 LIVING AND STUDYING INDEPENDENTLY

In Australia, many groups of Vietnamese students are established to guide new students when they first arriving there. However, after a few months, each student has to be independent in everything such as studying in class, researching in library or discussing with lecturers and friends.

Vietnamese students studying in Australian environment have advantages as well as challenges. It helps students develop ability to independently in an active way.

There is a lecture recording system in The University of Queensland to support students. If students do not understand about the lesson in class, they can visit university’s website to review videos. Moreover, there are tutorial classes opened once per week to answer any questions from students. According to Duy, that tutorial system was very useful for students improve their skills and knowledge.

 Duy also said that workflow is well regulated by the application Blackboard. Therefore, students can find any information related to their research such as e-books, resources, library, etc., or students can do online test and get the result immediately. Furthermore,  Clicker- a small remote with helpful features such as choose answer in the lecture, checking attendance or receiving feedbacks from lecturers

 According to Duy, there was no tip for studying. Students just need to study and prepare questions before going to classes.

 Duy emphasized that independently study was the important factor that lead to the success of students in Australian Educational Environment.   

 Besides, Duy also shared that students need scientific timetable – that was what he need to improve.

 Everyday, Duy spends about 5-7 hours for study in classes, 4 hours self-study at home, 2 hours bathing and eating. Except from sleeping time, he has only 3 hours for personal activities. In leisure time, Duy and his friends hang out, play billiards together.

 Duy also made recommendation that studying in Australia was just the first step. Students should self-improve their skills and knowledge during the courses.

 “Laziness is irresponsible to yourself and if you are lazay,  you will fail sooner or later”- Duy said