DAAD Lectures

A Special Lecture (Lektor zur Besonderen Verwendung, z.b.V.) needs to be able to communicate and take a flexible approach without losing sight of the bigger picture. There is a lot happening in Vietnam. Universities are becoming more internationally focused and an increasing number of students want to go to Germany. In an environment of such rapid and dynamic change, there is a need for someone who is able to maintain an overview, who is capable of analysing everything from statistics to Facebook posts, and who knows what the universities need and how the framework of higher education policy in the region should develop.

The Special Lecture is based at the DAAD Regional Office in Hanoi, where all the DAAD activities in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are coordinated. The Regional Office is responsible for a wide range of tasks, including organising higher education fairs, receiving international guests and discussing educational trends within the region. Here, the Special Lecture devotes half of his working time to teaching German as a Foreign Language. The other half is spent on administrative and organisational tasks at the Regional Office.

One of the Special Lecture’s most important jobs is the regional coordination of German Studies in Vietnam and Laos. The three largest universities in Vietnam that offer German Studies courses are continually working to improve the quality of the education they deliver and organise many international events. They are also important strategic partners. Organising and reporting at annual strategy meetings is also part of the Special Lecture’s range of duties, which ensures the DAAD and its local partners, the German Embassy and the Vietnamese Ministry of Education remain informed about trends in the country and about the work of the DAAD locally.

The Special Lecture represents the subject of German in the region. He coordinates the DAAD university summer course scholarship programme and German courses for PhD scholarship holders. It is a responsible job that calls for skills in financial planning as well as in quality assurance and monitoring.

Another aspect of the role is education marketing. The Special Lecture assists with the organisation of education fairs and the design of promotional materials, organises specialist seminars, and receives and advises German delegations visiting the Regional Office.

The lectures and language assistants in the region are kept up to date with announcements and information supplied by the Special Lecture, and he is also their personal contact for all work-related queries.

The Regional Office oversees activities in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. It is a fascinating and very culturally diverse region. Sensitivity, diplomacy and intercultural understanding are therefore essential when working here, as is an in-depth understanding of university communication channels.  However, it is precisely these tasks at the intersection of policy and practice that makes this work so exciting and so challenging.

The DAAD Information Centre is located in Ho Chi Minh City’s bustling district 1 in Deutsches Haus. The incumbent has the overall responsibility for all relevant tasks which include personnel, finance and representing the DAAD. Besides, he consults on all academic aspects with regard to Germany, fostering this by organising relevant marketing events on “Study and research in Germany”. In addition he promotes DAAD’s scholarship portfolio for Vietnam. Further tasks are the analysis of the Vietnamese education system as well as the design of specific marketing material for various communication channels (Social Media, print, internet). His portfolio is completed by engaging in alumni work, both at universities and in the industry in the South of Vietnam.

Furthermore, the DAAD IC lecture maintains part time lecturing activities in the field of German studies at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University).

VNU Hanoi is ranked as one the country’s top universities and one of the best higher education institutions in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, the Faculty of German Language and Culture at VNU-ULIS Hanoi is the only German department in Vietnam that offers not only two undergraduate programs (German Language Studies and German Language Teaching), but also a Master’s program (German Linguistics). Since 2017 it is able to offer even a binational M. A. (German as a Foreign and Second Language in the Vietnamese-German context) with the University of Leipzig. In the field of German language studies this is the first double Master’s degree program in Southeast Asia.

The department maintains intensive and fruitful co-operations with several higher education institutions in Germany (University of Leipzig, University of Greifswald, Konstanz University of Applied Sciences and TU Dortmund University) as well as with all relevant German institutions in Vietnam (German Embassy, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Robert Bosch Foundation, Goethe Institute and Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA)). In addition, it collaborates with many other German departments not only in Vietnam, but in the whole region Southeast Asia.

As a member of a dedicated, well qualified and professional teaching staff, the DAAD Lecture in this department runs various kinds of courses both for undergraduate and graduate students. These are seminars on e.g. “Research Methods”, “Intercultural Communication”, “German Literature”, “Literature and Media”, “Pragmatics” and “German Studies”. As the curricula of the department are constantly modernized, the tasks of the DAAD Lecture include curriculum development and the creation of suitable teaching material. Other areas of responsibility are supervising master and bachelor theses in the fields of literature, pragmatics and intercultural communication, reviewing master exposés and theses, involvement in examination committees and in the selection of scholarship recipients as well as teacher training. In addition, the DAAD Lecture supports the department in both initiating and maintaining international co-operations, in hosting events like e.g. the biannual International German Teachers’ Conference of the Vietnamese German Teachers’ Association and in editing publications like e.g. textbooks and conference proceedings.

The job as DAAD Lecture at VNU-ULIS Hanoi is a both challenging and rewarding one. Due to the dynamic development of the department’s international co-operations it also provides a widespread range of further training opportunities.

Hanoi University is considered to be the most traditional and also largest university where the German language is taught in Vietnam. A DAAD Lecture needs to be prepared for a wide range of university courses as well as being ready for various work experiences. A DAAD Lecture has to be able to teach several language courses as well as regularly giving seminars. The lecturer must also be involved in the examination process, the supervision of coursework and several examination projects. The main courses are annually attended by about 100 students. All 18 teachers work with the utmost motivation to offer their students the best possible language training.

The “German Studies Department” already has a long-term partnership with the University of Giessen. This has been funded by the DAAD since January 2015. The department benefits from this partnership through teacher training, guest lecturers and student exchanges. Apart from that, there is a very active ÖSD examination centre, where several hundred students regularly receive a certificate in German.

In addition, the DAAD Lecture regularly performs marketing and consulting tasks and advises the students during the weekly office hours. Many students plan a master’s degree in Germany and therefore take the opportunity to learn more about their country of study and the conditions for studying in Germany. Additionally a DAAD Lecture organises events where information is given about study and scholarship opportunities in Germany.

Furthermore the DAAD Lecture at Hanoi University is responsible for advising and assisting teachers in conducting scientific research projects. As a representative of Germany, the teachers are supported by lectures in the organisation, conception and realisation of cultural and professional events as well as the giving of further training.

The tasks of a foreign language assistant at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) in Ho-Chi-Minh City are very diverse.

On the one hand, the responsibilities of the language assistants are teaching advanced-level German language courses that are organised and taught together with Vietnamese colleagues for learners of German as a foreign language. On the other hand the language assistant is also teaching literature-courses that are part of the students’ compulsory subject choice. But the tasks of foreign language assistants are not limited to only those responsibilities. They also in charge of the weekly German-meetup: This is a get-together among students that would like to practice their German in an informal environment. Not only students of the USSH attend this meeting, but also other people who are interested in the German language come and join it regularly, like students of the Goethe-Institute, Germans working or travelling in Ho-Chi-Minh-City or Vietnamese people who speak German.

Moreover, the foreign language assistant at the USSH can support the IC-lecturer with his tasks and help organising all kinds of events and other events by the German department at the USSH.