The ‘advanced programmes’ in Vietnam: Internationalising the curriculum or importing the ‘best curriculum’ of the west?

Abstract

Internationalisation of the curriculum is gaining increased popularity among universities, especially in developed countries, though there is much debate about its rationales, nature and process. Internationalisation of the curriculum is understood and implemented differently across different regions of the world. In Vietnam, the introduction of ‘Chương trình tiên tiến’ [the advanced programme], which uses English as a medium of instruction and aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning at selected universities in accordance with the ‘standards’ established by foreign partner universities, is often seen as the country’s most advanced and successful effort in the internationalisatio..