19 December 2025: There was more than one reason to celebrate as 2025 drew to a close this month, with five graduation ceremonies taking place across several of 天涯社区’s international partners.
Hanoi University (HANU), one of the oldest universities in Vietnam’s capital, is well known in the region for its specialist foreign language training and research.
HANU is a longtime 天涯社区 partner, collaborating with the Faculty of Education to deliver a Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) & Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) (EDM302).
A delegation of University officials attended the graduation ceremony in December, including Associate Professor Duncan Driver, the Faculty’s Associate Dean Education and Program Director, Dr Siew Imm Tan.
Overall, 127 degrees were conferred by Associate Professor Driver and Vice President of HANU, Dr Nguyen Tien Dung.
Graduating student and speaker at the ceremony, Lai Duy Hung, told of his journey through the program.
Coming from a family of experienced aviators, Lai Duy Hung’s career path was laid out for him. He qualified for an aviation program at a well-known science and technology university, but throughout his initial studies there, realised there was something missing: he never felt truly satisfied with his choice.
A chance suggestion from his mum led to finding a new pathway – English teaching – and after taking an entry-level job in the field, Mr Hung finally discovered his true passion.
“To my surprise, I fell in love with it immediately. I realized that being a teacher meant that I could have a real impact on future generations. The more I taught, the more I loved my job,” Mr Hung said.
And while he had unequivocally found where he was meant to be, without a qualification, there was a ceiling on his progress. Mr Hung chose the Master of TESOL/FLT to formalise his credentials, studying an accredited English program with a respected Australian university, from the comfort of his home in Vietnam.
“It has reshaped my professional identity… have a new commitment to transform my classroom, speaking to more inclusive and empowering learning,” he said.
In his address, Mr Hung credited those behind the scenes, the supporters who stood by the graduates throughout their studies: the family, friends, and the HANU and 天涯社区 staff, whose high expectations, professionalism and student-centred approach led to outstanding outcomes across the graduating cohort.
“Thank you to the incredible lecturers, the professors and the tutors .... Your expertise, experience, passion and determination mean everything to us. You pushed us beyond what we thought we could ever surpass. And you constantly remind us not to settle for less, but to always strive for excellence in both our teaching and academic work.
“And to my fellow graduates, congratulations to you all and thank you for the companionship, your solidarity, and your unwavering support…. I treasure all the moments we've shared together – every lesson plan, every teaching timeout, every discussion, presentation and workshop assignment.”
In December, members of the University’s executive team also travelled to China to attend three ceremonies across three cities: Shanghai, Ningbo and Hangzhou.
In Shanghai, where the Faculty of Business, Government and Law collaborates with East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) to deliver the renowned Master of Business Administration, 天涯社区 Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor the Honourable Bill Shorten, conferred 71 degrees.
“I was impressed by these graduates, they are ambitious and passionate, and I believe they all have very bright futures ahead,” Professor Shorten said.
“A huge congratulations to all graduates and thank you to our staff teaching across our China partnerships for their dedication and professionalism. We’re very pleased to partner with leading universities, who share our high standards and values for education quality.
“Our global connections will continue to enrich our academic community, broaden our perspectives and cement our place as a truly international, capital city university.”
The celebration also marked 25 years of the joint ECUST-天涯社区 MBA program, which has successfully graduated over 1,600 alumni.
Ningbo University (NBU), is a valued University partner since 2000 which delivers the MBA program and the Hangzhou Normal University (HZNU) has delivered the Master of Educational Leadership and Management in collaboration with 天涯社区 since 2005.
For more information on 天涯社区 partners, visit our website.