Perspectives of Vietnamese academics on future-focused skills development from international mobility experiences

Future-focused skills is an umbrella term used to describe the kinds of attributes that individuals need to be successful in the interconnected world of the 2020s (World Economic Forum, 2020). These skills are often discussed in the literature as value-added benefits from studying abroad opportunities for undergraduate students. There is very little literature on the development of future-focused skills in mobility schemes for mature aged learners who are studying postgraduate degrees around the world – often funded by their governments. In Vietnam, the government sponsors international mobility for academics in its universities to develop content skills in various disciplines, from engineering to education, through overseas study. The broad aim of this research was to investigate the perceptions of Vietnamese academics who had been participating in international mobility experiences and the growth in their future-focused skills as part of that study. My thesis investigated Vietnamese academics’ beliefs, factors that influenced their future-focused skills development and posits suggestions for future-focused skills development in Vietnamese higher education. I used a mixed methods research approach with explanatory sequential design, collecting, analysing, and triangulating both quantitative and qualitative data. I collected data from 132 survey respondents and 20 in-depth interviews with Vietnamese academics who had experienced mobility programs in more than 10 Western and/or English-speaking countries. My analysis of the findings revealed that participants believed that their international mobility participation did develop their future-focused skills. These participants acquired their future-focused skills from a variety of opportunities and challenges in host countries that they engaged in and learned from. However, they were challenged by both personal factors and external factors associated with both their home and host countries. This study expands the present knowledge base around the outcomes of international mobility programs from the perceptions of academics from a developing country. The results might be a valuable resource for academics in similar contexts in Asia and stakeholders of international mobility programs worldwide.