Digital consortium success in Vietnam

A British Council in Vietnam funded consortium led by Liverpool Business School has achieved national reach during its recent launch in Huế City, Vietnam.

The Digi:Đổi Consortium ("đổi” meaning transformation in Vietnamese) is co-creating a new national strategic roadmap, training, mentoring and ongoing networks and resources to drive mutual digital transformation in universities across Vietnam and the UK. 

The UK lead of the consortium, Professor Tony Wall at Liverpool Business School, said: “Our consortium is part of the British Council’s ‘Going Global Partnerships’ scheme, which means collaboration and co-creation for mutual benefit is driving our impact – we are creating a future-proofed hub for digital transformation underpinned by wellbeing, inclusion and net zero.” 

LJMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark Power said: “The Digi:Đổi Consortium represents the strong values for student-focus, inclusion, community and courage. This is a perfect example of a collaboration that prepares us for a digital future that is already here and I would encourage more partners to come forward to be part of this revolutionary consortium.” 

Dr Tien Ho, President of Phu Xuan University and co-lead of the Digi:Đổi Consortium, said: “It is important that we co-develop and share exciting digital teaching and learning which drives student success and deepen our international teaching and research networks as well as our intercultural confidence as we do it.”

“We are now welcoming expressions of interest to participate from UK leaders, professional services staff, and academics to join us on our exciting journey.”

Digital transformation

The Digi:Đổi Consortium, launched during the British Council’s special 30^th anniversary of working in Vietnam in 2023, combines a diversity of thought leaders and innovators in digital transformation in the UK, Vietnam, and Asian countries including: 

• Liverpool John Moores University – celebrating its 200^th anniversary, LJMU contributes expertise in combining wellbeing, inclusion and net-zero at strategic levels, experience in Collaborative Online Intercultural Learning, and networks for practitioner research and mentoring through The Association of Learning Technologists

• Jisc – the digital agency of the UK, Jisc contributes 30 years of thought leadership with tools, frameworks and insights at a national level

• The Open University UK – contributes more than 50+ years of expertise in delivering distance and digital learning underpinned by inclusivity 

• The Association of Vietnamese Universities & College - contributes extensive university leadership expertise and a 270+ strong network of universities across Vietnam

• DLCorp – a digital solutions and library company with a strong social impact presence across Vietnam and in Asian countries

• The Institute of Technology Sepuluh Nopember (Indonesia) and other educational and technology experts in the ASEAN University Network (AUN), will help showcase the digital learning and teaching applications and innovations across ASEAN countries.

Thought leadership

More than 200 leaders and practitioners from universities across Vietnam attended the launch of The Digi:Đổi Consortium – physically and online – including representatives from Vietnam Government’s Ministry of Education and Training, the British Council in Vietnam and local governmental leaders. 

Thought leadership pieces shared at the event included: 

• "Opportunities and questions about digital transformation: from business models to digital learning methods" by Professor Tony Wall (LJMU)

• "Collaboration and co-creation through online platforms" by Dr Katie Hyslop (LJMU)

• "Turning the inaccessible into accessible through digital learning" by Dr Sonja Rewhorn (The Open University)

• "Integrating digital learning in the industrial 4.0 era" by Mr. Truong Ngoc Hoang (Festo Didactic)

Vietnam’s national education newspaper, Giáo dục Việt Nam, recognised the strategic importance of the consortium and said it “is expected to make a strong impact and contribute to improving the digital transformation capacity for Vietnamese higher education, as well as creating a spillover impact in the ASEAN region and the UK.” 

The event shared the experiences of leaders and practitioners from across Vietnam, and Giáo dục Việt Nam recognised that “at the exchange and discussion sessions, the project recorded many opinions, sharing enthusiasm amongst representatives from colleges, universities, high schools and businesses.” 

Mr Lan, Chairman of the The Association of Vietnamese Universities & College, confirms his support of the consortium by saying “This is a vital project that will adapt to the specific needs of diverse universities we have in Vietnam and help them embrace the future.” 

Engaging with employers

The visit to Vietnam included engaging with organisations at different stages of digital transformation to listen to their needs as employers of students and graduates. This included discussions at: 

3S Company, a high-tech company involved in supporting the digital transformation of other companies globally 

The Hope Centre, a social enterprise supporting the digital entrepreneurial skills of disabled young people 

Lavin Home, a social enterprise start-up supporting the creativity and employability of deaf communities 

The Hue Imperial Citadel, a visitor attraction using virtual reality to support learning about the UNESCO-recognised site and monuments 

Expressions of interest

UK leaders, professional services staff, and academics wanting to benefit from collaborative opportunities for digital teaching and learning projects, ongoing reciprocal mentoring, and practitioner research can log their Expression of Interest through this link. 

The success of the Digi:Đổi Consortium builds on Liverpool Business School’s Collaborative Enhancement award to develop positive impact through higher education funded by the UK’s Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, and its leadership of the European Symposium for Sustainability in Business Education where innovations in gaming and digital learning were shared and being documented through a Springer Handbook.