In February 2025, 15 students from the Gymnasium Dresden-Cotta secondary school visited the Olympia Schools Hanoi as part of a school exchange. Thi Thu Thao Nguyen was instrumental in facilitating the exchange. In April 2025, a student recruitment fair took place in Vietnam, with Dr. Lan Huong Phung, Hoa Quynh Nguyen and Prof. Tan Nguyen manning the “Study in Saxony” stand on their own. The latter, like Thi Thu Thao Nguyen, is an alumni ambassador for TU Dresden; like their international colleagues, they support TUD activities abroad in various ways.

School exchange Dresden – Hanoi

Review

During our 2023 Alumni Week, 20 international alumni ambassadors networked with TUD representatives. During the event, Thi Thu Thao Nguyen spoke with Prof. Stefan Horlacher, TUD's International Students and Staff Officer, about a possible school partnership between her school in Vietnam and a school in Dresden. Prof. Horlacher put her in touch with Vivien Maschke, who is the head of the languages and music department at the Gymnasium Dresden-Cotta school (GDC). She organized the exchange from the GDC side, along with her colleagues Alina Petschlies and Christoph Gerdemann. Ms. Petschlies and Ms. Maschke are TUD alumni themselves. The latter accompanied the group to Vietnam along with Christoph Gerdemann.

In addition to numerous online meetings to plan the joint program, Thi Thu Thao Nguyen and Ms. Maschke met in Hanoi in February 2024, and in August 2024 to visit the Gymnasium Dresden-Cotta school. One month later, the exchange program came to a start with numerous online meetings for the students from both sides to get to know each other before the Dresden students were placed with their respective Vietnamese partner families. The program included joint classes and field trips as well as a library project called “100 libraries, 1 dream.” There are plans to continue this exchange, as it has proven to be a beneficial experience for students on both sides. The two main organizers of the first round of this program commented:

Thi Thu Thao Nguyen, Olympia Schools Hanoi:

The slogan for TUD's 175^th anniversary was "Knowledge builds bridges." In my role as a TUD alumna, it translates to: "Alumni build bridges." We put a lot of energy into the project and invested a lot of time to make it happen. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Alumni Relations Office, to TU Dresden, and especially to Prof. Horlacher and the wonderful alumna Vivien, who is incredibly active. Fortunately, we also had a very reliable and kind geography and music teacher, Christoph Gerdemann, in our project team. The buddies from the Olympia School have had very positive experiences with the school partners from Dresden. We hope that the students from Hanoi who will be hosted by the Dresden families will also receive a warm welcome. They are already very curious about the TUD campus tour.

Vivien Maschke, Gymnasium Dresden-Cotta:

The exchange program with the Olympia Schools in Hanoi provides a rare opportunity for everyone involved. We consider it crucial for children and young people to broaden their horizons and gain insight into other traditions, everyday situations, and challenges. What better way to achieve this goal than through an exchange program with a country whose cultural differences are greater than those of our immediate neighbors? Such exchanges enable young people to significantly mature and provide them with the opportunity to apply their English skills in real-life situations.

Addendum

Two TUD students studying to become math and geography teachers recently completed an internship at the Olympia Schools in Hanoi. Initiator: Thi Thu Thao Nguyen.

Trade fair booth in Vietnam

In April 2025, there was a student recruitment fair in Vietnam under the motto "Study in Saxony," organized in collaboration with the Vietnamese Liaison Office of the Free State of Saxony. “We had an innovation this year,” Julia Paternoster, TUD's international student marketing officer, is pleased to report. “It wasn't me at the stand, but rather Dr. Lan Huong Phung, Hoa Quynh Nguyen and Prof. Tan Nguyen, representatives of our university. Already back in 2023, alumni supported our booth in Vietnam, which proved to be a success. I coordinated everything with them beforehand and have full confidence in their abilities. In this way, the university also saved on high travel costs – a good thing in times when funds are tight.”

Tan Nguyen, now a professor at TU Hanoi, said: “As a TUD alumna, I was very happy to represent my university at the Education Fair in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City. Along with other alumni, I was able to inform many interested school students and their parents about the wide range of study opportunities at TU Dresden. During the discussions, I was also able to help dispel some prejudices about German universities. I particularly enjoyed meeting other former TUD students and promoting our alma mater together.” A DAAD scholarship enabled her to complete her doctorate at TU Dresden in 2004, consolidating her scientific career. “During my time as a student, I made precious friendships and had many wonderful experiences – I am very grateful for that.” After returning to Vietnam, she maintained close professional contacts with TUD, particularly through joint research projects and exchange programs.

As an alumni ambassador, she is actively involved in supporting the internationalization of TUD. It is essential to her that more young Vietnamese people get to know TU Dresden and the city of Dresden so that they can make the right choice of study and contribute to the development of Vietnam and the world as highly qualified experts.

Anyone interested in international internships, exchange opportunities or specialist contacts can simply contact the TUD alumni ambassadors - they are always happy to help: tu-dresden.de/alumnibotschafter.

Contact:
Susann Mayer
Alumnibüro der TU Dresden
Tel.: +49 351 463-36278
susann.mayer@tu-dresden.de