In this episode we get international! Victor, a Vietnamese International Student of Architecture shares his incredible journey into design. We deep-drive into the mindset and point of view of an international student, finding insights and answers to questions such as – What is the journey of an international student going to study design? What are the obstacles and challenges as an international student? What was the effect of the language barrier as an ESL (English As a Second Language) student? Were personal qualities aided in the success – Resilience? Grit? Motivation? Determination? Self-awareness? Self-learning? How is work-life balance affected studying as an International student? How was it managed and overcome? What was the impact on the studies? Following an extensive conversation, Victor humbly shares valuable insights and advice to universities and schools on how to help students succeed as well as advice for other international students. These are just some of invaluable gems found within this episode.

Victor Nguyen (26), was a transfer student from Vietnam, recently graduating from a Master of Architecture (Architectural Studies) at QUT in 2019. Victor came to Australia for studying in 2011 and have been living here for more than 8 years with 6 years to complete his architecture study and is now on his way to begin his professional career. Becoming an ‘Architect’ had never been an idea worth pursuing, until he came to Australia. Without any of the required skills, strengths of weakness, Victor had a lot of challenges and obstacles to overcome within the first 2 years of his studies. However, he has a strong belief in seeing things through till the end combined with giving it 110% can overcome the lack of skill and pathway towards success.

Victor spent his vacation periods back in Vietnam to learn new software tools under the mentorship of experts, that not only help him with University assignments but also give him more confidence to share his knowledge with his peers. He said “Communication and Passion are the two most important keys that every designer should have. Communication is the way to start the design journey, however passion is the one to keep the journey going”.