Vietnam’s smart shift in education

Tiếng Việt

Vietnam’s smart shift in education

Vietnam is emerging as a surprising leader in educational innovation.

For Ms Sasha Stubbs, Manager of Learning Design at RMIT Vietnam, the nation’s tech-savvy youth, strong digital adoption, and deep cultural respect for learning signal “a tremendous opportunity to reimagine how we learn and how technology can extend and enhance learning experiences.”

Building the infrastructure of future-ready education

While Vietnam is still emerging in the field of learning innovation, momentum is undeniable. By 2024, learning management system (LMS) platforms such as Moodle and Blackboard were widely adopted across Vietnamese universities as part of the national digital transformation strategy in higher education. “Vietnam is a newcomer in the field of learning innovation, with significant untapped potential in blended and online learning design,” Ms Stubbs explained.

She has seen the transformation firsthand. “When I first came to Vietnam four years ago, I worried about recruiting learning designers locally. Today, I'm proud to say, except for myself, the RMIT Vietnam Learning Design team is 100 percent Vietnamese, and they are the most talented and dedicated professionals I've ever had the privilege to work with.”

The rise of grassroots EdTech firms like OOOLab, the emergence of a national learning design community, and programs like Hanoi University of Science and Technology’s Bachelor of Education Technology show the field’s growing credibility. Still, Ms Stubbs noted persistent challenges, such as unequal digital infrastructure and entrenched teacher-centred models. “The education system has traditionally been teacher-centred, which has created resistance to innovative methodologies. However, this is changing as younger educators enter the field.”

Vietnam’s EdTech market is already valued at over $360 million. With its youthful workforce and strong digital adoption, Ms Stubbs saw an opportunity to build a globally competitive hub for learning design and educational services, especially as institutions in Australia and the UK seek more cost-effective outsourcing solutions.

Designing for lifelong learning and international impact

As Vietnam’s economy moves toward high-tech manufacturing, automation, and AI, learning itself must transform. “It will no longer be enough to complete a single degree and be guaranteed a lifetime of work,” Ms Stubbs said. “Lifelong learning will become a necessary and normal part of our lives.”

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Photography 101, RMIT Vietnam's pioneering course, won three platinum LearnX Awards. (Photo: RMIT)

This means universities must shift to modular, flexible offerings like micro credentials and stackable degrees. Ms Stubbs believed Vietnamese institutions will follow the lead of top international universities already pioneering such formats. “Vietnamese universities will likely start offering smaller, more flexible types of learning to suit working professionals and people at different stages of life.”

Blended learning, combining online flexibility with in-person engagement, is rapidly gaining traction. At RMIT Vietnam, over 200 courses have undergone digital transformation.

“Our three Platinum LearnX awards for Innovation, Learning Design and Online Learning, and international conference presentations are a testament to the quality of our work,” she said. “It demonstrates the exceptional potential and quality of Vietnamese talent in learning design.”

Ms Stubbs sees AI as a transformative force, not just for students but also for educators. “AI can support learning designers by automating routine tasks, helping to generate initial content drafts, creating interactive simulations, and personalising learning experiences at scale.”

Through secure tools like RMIT’s in-house AI agent “Val” and collaborative initiatives like the “GenAI for Course Creation” project, Vietnamese teams are showing they can not only keep pace, but lead. “This international collaboration demonstrated how Vietnamese learning designers bring valuable expertise and capabilities that match and even exceed those of their counterparts in more established markets.”

Ms Stubbs also pointed to the rise of “third space” careers – learning designers, technologists, and digital content specialists – as a growing professional frontier. “Vietnam, with its young, dedicated, English speaking, and technically skilled workforce, could become a hub for these professionals, serving both domestic and international markets.”

The global Online Program Management (OPM) market is projected to reach $7.7 billion by 2025. Ms Stubbs saw this as a major opportunity: “Vietnam has the potential to develop learning technology companies and design studios that provide outsourced services at competitive rates while ensuring high quality.”

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With the global Online Program Management market projected to hit $7.7 billion this year, Vietnam is well-positioned to build world-class learning tech firms and design studios offering high-quality, cost-effective services. (Photo: RMIT)

For that potential to be realised, systemic support is needed. Ms Stubbs called for government incentives for EdTech start-ups, formal recognition of learning design roles, and more investment in training centres at universities. “Educators urgently need support to transition from traditional lecture-based teaching methods to more student-centred, active, blended learning approaches,” she said.

RMIT is playing a key role in leading this transformation. Its teaching and learning forums, like the Higher Education Horizons event, and Communities of Practice bring together universities across Vietnam to collaborate on digital transformation. “Our Learning Design team regularly presents at these events, sharing our experiences and innovations with colleagues from across Vietnam,” she said.

A generation ready to shape the future of education

What excites Ms Stubbs most? The prospect of building a new profession in Vietnam that merges creativity, pedagogy and technology. “I’m particularly enthusiastic about Vietnam's potential to become a hub for learning design expertise that serves not only our own institutions but also creates economic opportunities through providing services internationally.”

Her message to students and young professionals is direct: “Seriously consider careers in the emerging 'third space' between traditional teaching and technology. You can help shape the future of education here rather than simply following models developed elsewhere.”

Vietnam 2050: The vision ahead is a thought leadership series powered by RMIT Vietnam’s academic experts, exploring what Vietnam could become over the next 25 years. Each article unpacks potential major shifts – from smart cities and education to tech and entrepreneurship – offering bold predictions and practical ideas for a future-ready nation. Discover more insights here.

Story: Ha Hoang

Campus and community

20 October 2025

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