Viet Nam and Malaysia Collaboration in SHARE VE / COIL Scholarship Batch 6

The SHARE Programme is pleased to announce the completion of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) course developed and implemented between the National University of Malaysia (UKM) and Viet Nam National University (VNU) through  Batch 6 of the SHARE VE / COIL Scholarship. The two universities collaborated to implement a COIL course on “Personal Finance / Family Economics Planning” led by Dr Doris Padmini A/P S. Selvaratnam of UKM and Dr Dinh Thi Thanh Van of VNU.

Implemented from January 5 to February 23, 2022, 97 students from the two universities participated in the course. Over the course of a month, the students engaged in various learning activities with their peers from the partner universities. The course itself was designed to offer students from diverse backgrounds and different faculties the opportunity to understand the importance of financial literacy and financial planning, not only at the individual level but also for family and household. It implemented a hands-on approach, whereby the participants could develop and understand how to measure income, expenditure, savings, and debt.

The students explored these learning objectives through a variety of activities. Aside from regular classes, students were also able to participate in interactive small group discussions, using Padlet to form groups, participating in webinars with industry experts, doing group work on preparing and analysing a sample monthly household budget survey to compare average living costs across ASEAN countries, as well as creating video reflections of their COIL journey. 

The diverse cultural component in the class brought interesting discussions on research ethics, ways to ask questions, understanding of economic terminology in different communities and learning how to approach heads of households for interviews.

Overall, the COIL experience proved a unique and enriching opportunity for the students involved. Ms Tran Thao Linh, a student from VNU, remarked, “after finishing this course I've gained for myself much useful knowledge from different lecturers and made a lot of new friends who are from Malaysia at the same time, and I also got to know many new things about their culture. All of our lecturers are kind and good in their field. I want to say thank you so much. I hope I will have another chance to participate in [a] future project.”

Her colleague from UKM, Ms Wong Jie Ning, also shared this sentiment, who mentioned, “I was so happy to have a chance to participate in the COIL course. In this COIL course, I learned about the economy and family planning. Besides, the COIL course also let me have a chance to make new friends from Vietnam. I got to know their culture, and I hope to have a chance to visit Vietnam and my Vietnamese friends after this pandemic.”

From the lecturers’ perspectives, the COIL experience proved to be a rewarding opportunity to teach their courses in a new format. Dr Doris Padmini A/P S. Selvaratnam, Associate Professor of UKM, expressed, “the SHARE VE / COIL scholarship programme is unique as it is delivered online. Nevertheless, participants had fun learning about Family Economics Planning and getting to know both countries' cultures and social norms through engaging in teamwork activities. Surely communication skills came through for the students. Kudos and look forward to more engaging cultural experiences”.

The SHARE Programme is supporting a total of five COIL courses in Batch 6 of the SHARE Scholarship. We are hopeful that these courses and those planned for upcoming Batches 7 and 8 of the SHARE VE / COIL Scholarship will be able to provide an innovative and rewarding experience to the students, lecturers, and International Relations Offices involved by broadening their networks and allowing for opportunities for cross-cultural interactions and teamwork through digital means. (***)