2012 UQ Vietnam PDSS Alumni Award announced

Master of Development Practice graduate, from The University of Queensland, Nguyen Thi Le Huyen is the 2012 winner of the UQ-Vietnam Professional Development Seminar Series (UQ-VN PDSS) Alumni Award.

The UQ-VN PDSS Alumni Award is open to all Vietnamese UQ graduates who participate in the UQ Vietnam Professional Development Seminar Series.

The award funds the winner to attend a conference or seminar as part of a structured professional development visit to UQ.

Huyen was chosen as the recipient of the $5000 Alumni Award for her dedication and determination in enhancing her leadership skills.

UQ Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & International), Professor Alan Lawson said the applications for the 2012 UQ-VN PDSS Alumni Award were of a high standard.

“The selection panel considered that Huyen had actively participated in the seminar series and was able to articulate her desire and a plan to develop her leadership skills within her field through the program,” Professor Lawson said.

The UQ-VN PDSS is designed to enhance the career and personal growth of UQ graduates in Vietnam through discipline-based and broader professional skills seminars.
“The seminar topics and speakers in the program are very interesting and meaningful in the Vietnam context and provide an opportunity to keep connected with other UQ alumni from Vietnam,” Huyen said.

Huyen will receive her award at a ceremony to be held in Hanoi in early December.

She will visit UQ during 2013 and looks forward to reconnecting with her faculty while attending a conference or seminar in her field.

After graduating in 2009, Huyen was successful in finding a job as an advocacy officer in a non-profit organisation focusing on sustainable agriculture and environment in Vietnam.

“This job gave me a chance to apply and practise what I had learned and experienced during my Masters,” Huyen said.

“I was able to contribute to the planning and designing phase as well as implementing processes to improve the livelihood of communities in the mountainous area of Northern Vietnam.”

Huyen is a technical officer (HIV/AIDS Prevention) with FHI360 - an NGO based in Hanoi with branches in over 60 countries around the world.

UQ alumni and institutional partners attended the 2012 UQ-VN Professional Development Seminar Series held in Hanoi, Danang, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Media: Ms Janet Eliott, j.elliott@uq.edu.au, 336 51958