Dr. Mark Ashwill to Lead 3rd Annual Riding the Wave Viet Nam Recruitment Seminar at NAFSA 2018

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement , , , ,

Here's an announcement about what has become an annual event at the NAFSA annual conference. If you dislike change, you're going to dislike irrelevance even more. ---Eric Shinseki Capstone Vietnam is pleased to announce that Mark Ashwill, Managing Director and Co-Founder, will speak at an unofficial, pre-conference Viet Nam student recruitment seminar to be held … Continue reading Dr. Mark Ashwill to Lead 3rd Annual Riding the Wave Viet Nam Recruitment Seminar at NAFSA 2018

How the Vietnamese Use the Internet, Including Social Media

Mark A. Ashwill Articles, Commentary , , , ,

Since most young Vietnamese, including those planning to study overseas, are online, one question to ask yourself is: how big is your digital footprint in Viet Nam? Here is my latest PIE News blog post.  It's about an important topic that I discussed during my E20 webinar last week and in my recent StudyUSA Higher … Continue reading How the Vietnamese Use the Internet, Including Social Media

Live from Viet Nam – An E20 Webinar!

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , , , ,

Last week, I had the opportunity to present on one of my favorite topics, Viet Nam, to a virtual audience of over 40 US colleagues, including those from higher and secondary education.   I'm grateful to Syed Jamal from Branta and Renait Stephens from Study in the USA, event co-sponsor, for inviting me and for … Continue reading Live from Viet Nam – An E20 Webinar!

Rhetorical Question: “Why don’t Viet Nam’s universities rank higher in Asia?”

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , ,

There is a tendency in Vietnam, with the media as an on- and offline amplifier, to engage in self-flagellation about education and other societal issues rather than looking carefully at the broader context and the, sometimes, hopeful reality. This results in journalists and many Vietnamese playing the ‘blame game’. The obvious targets here are the … Continue reading Rhetorical Question: “Why don’t Viet Nam’s universities rank higher in Asia?”

US Student Visa Issuances to Vietnamese Students Resume Their Upward Trend

Mark A. Ashwill Updates ,

Below is a graph with information about F-1 (student) visa issuances from 1998, the early days of Vietnamese studying in the US, to 2017, which ended on 30 September last year. These data are from this Excel file on the US State Department website:  Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Visa Class and by Nationality.  Just download … Continue reading US Student Visa Issuances to Vietnamese Students Resume Their Upward Trend

An Open Letter to the People of Viet Nam

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Letter , , , ,

The open letter below, an initiative of Veterans For Peace (VFP),  is further proof that the US has yet to overcome its participation in the American War in Viet Nam ("Vietnam War") in the spirit of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, a German term that means the "struggle to overcome the [negatives of the] past". VFP is "an international … Continue reading An Open Letter to the People of Viet Nam

Of Intercultural Incompetence & Chutzpah

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary , , ,

My wife and I recently had lunch at a restaurant in downtown Hanoi.  It was after the 12 noon rush and there was only one other guest where we chose to eat, a middle-aged white expat man who was eating, drinking, and reading a book.  So far, so good, right?  After a couple of very … Continue reading Of Intercultural Incompetence & Chutzpah

Vietnamese Student (Mis)Perceptions of the USA

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , , , ,

I recently talked with a Vietnamese student who had studied in the US and was back home.  When I asked him about the experience of living there, one reply really stood out:  people are free and equal.  That answer jump-started my interior monologue, which quickly went into overdrive.  The first reply was Which people, in … Continue reading Vietnamese Student (Mis)Perceptions of the USA