Fulbright Scholar Dreams Big for Vietnam

Engineer Nhut Ho loves all things mechanical. Had he remained in Vietnam, he might be happily at work in an auto garage, up to his elbows in oil and brake fluid. Instead, his love of auto mechanics led to an even greater passion: engineering education.

The assistant mechanical engineering professor is spending spring 2008 in his native Vietnam, where a newly awarded Fulbright Scholar Program grant supports research he is conducting in an effort to upgrade the country’s engineering education infrastructure. Adding “substantial value” to initiatives already underway in Vietnam, Ho’s work will help improve the way university undergrads learn computer science, engineering and physics.

“The Fulbright calls you a cultural ambassador,” said Ho, “but I see myself more as an education ambassador. I want to build bridges among key stakeholders and get them to work together.”

Named director of CSUN’s Ernie Schaeffer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2006, Ho will interview university faculty, administrators and alumni to assess graduates’ skills in critical thinking, communication and teamwork as well as their language proficiency.

“I’ll also be working with foreign and local companies in Vietnam to help articulate what they need from graduates in terms of skills sets, knowledge and attitudes,” said Ho, whose host institutions include the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

Ho grew up near Ho Chi Minh City, immigrating to the U.S. in 1988. “As an educator, publishing and writing are great,” he reflected, “but it’s more important to go back to your roots and make a difference in people’s lives.”