RMIT University will double the scale of its footprint in Vietnam, with plans for a new Hanoi campus and refurbished Saigon South campus as part of a $250 million investment in the country.
Announced yesterday during the visit of Vietnamese President Mr To Lam to Canberra yesterday, RMIT received the Investment Registration Certificate and Foreign Branch Campus licences which will allow the expansion to occur.
RMIT was the first foreign university to establish a campus in Vietnam, starting classes in Ho Chi Minh City in 2001 and is one of the great success stories of Australian Trans National Education, growing to 12,000 students, 1,300 staff and more than 28,000 alumni.
The new campuses will enable RMIT to double enrolments and expand research activities, with a focus on business, technology, creative industries and sustainable development.
RMIT Vice-Chancellor Alec Cameron said the approvals were a significant milestone for RMIT, after extensive negotiations.
“Our expanded footprint, with a new Hanoi campus, and Saigon South redevelopment, will strengthen the role of education in advancing the Australia–Vietnam relationship and support Vietnam’s next generation of leaders, innovators and professionals,” Professor Cameron said.
The move will be welcome news for the Albanese Government, as it pursues a strategy of driving international enrolment growth offshore; seeking to strengthen its tough-on-immigration credentials in the face of One Nation’s poll surge.