Intercultural competence as an important attribute for the graduates in the context of globalisation: the case of young Vietnamese working for INGOs

ABSTRACT

Many workplaces in Vietnam, such as international non-government organisations (INGOs), where Vietnamese staff collaborate with people from different cultures, have become increasingly culturally diverse and interdisciplinary. This paper is based on the findings of broader qualitative research conducted between December 2010 and November 2012 that explored young Vietnamese graduates’ experiences of working at the intersection of different cultural worlds in the context of development projects at INGOs in Vietnam. Interviewees were nineteen young Vietnamese graduates and six international directors or deputy directors. This paper discusses their experiences of working for INGOs. Young graduates developed intercultural communication skills, became empathetic with others, and reconciled disparate cultural practices. While helping local communities adapt to development projects, graduates harmoniously combined the cultural values and customs of both sides. They disseminated information, promoted mutual understanding, formed culturally relativistic attitudes, promoted cross-cultural empathy, spread international goodwill and reconciled disparate cultural practices, facilitated communication, and interacted with persons or groups of different cultures.

KEYWORDS:

• Intercultural competence
• graduates’ attributes
• international non-government organisation
• Vietnam

Acknowledgments

This research was fund through a Ph.D. scholarship, co-funded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam and the University of Queensland, Australia (Ethics approval number: RHD/8-2010). I acknowledge thoughtful comments and advice on earlier drafts from my supervisors and the anonymous reviewers. My thanks to the participants, who were generous in contributing their time and effort to participate in the interviews.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Geolocation information

This research took place in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lan Thi Quynh Mai

Lan Thi Quynh Mai is a researcher and quality assurance officer at Vietnam National University - Hanoi, at the Institute for Education Quality Assurance. She completed her PhD in Sociology at UQ Australia under scholarship granted by Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training. Her researches focus on graduates’ employability, attributes, intercultural competence, and the gaps between university education and the requirements of the real work.