Foreign Trade alumni conquer 5 full scholarships in Europe

Tran Thi Ngan (born in 1999) graduated with a major in Foreign Trade Economics majoring in 2022 with an excellent bachelor’s degree (GPA 3.84/4.0). Immediately after that, the female student received 5 scholarships to study full master’s degree in Europe, including: Erasmus Mundus of the European Union Commission in Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Italy; Wageningen University Scholarship in the Netherlands; Eiffel Excellence Scholarship of the French Government; France Excellence Scholarship of the French Embassy in Vietnam; University of Padova International Excellence Scholarship, Italy.

Ngan said, in the first years of university students, her achievements were at an average level, not really outstanding. Only when receiving the Erasmus + Exchange scholarship at Hasselt Belgium in 2020 and participating in a student exchange for 6 months, Ngan’s life completely changed.

9x cannot forget the feeling of receiving more than 5,200 euros (nearly 130 million VND) in scholarship money in their account. During the first 6 months of 2020, I have been to 7 European countries, exposed to many cultures. Meeting and getting to know friends from different countries helps me understand the multicultural spirit of the European region and gradually get used to respecting and accepting many cultures. The more I go, the more I want to have more time to learn and stick with this area.

“This chance opportunity made me see that getting a scholarship from the EU is not so difficult and I am more confident in myself.” Ngan said.

In August 2020, when he returned to Vietnam to finish his studies at Foreign Trade, Ngan began to plan to build and consolidate his profile. At that time, my profile started from “0”: No IELTS, no scientific research, no outstanding extracurricular activities.

One year later, in 2021, I focus on having scientific publications, taking foreign language certification exams and participating in international activities. Female student won the Academic Encouragement Scholarship for 4 consecutive semesters; Honda Awards Excellence Scholarship in 2021 nationwide. She also owns 5 published scientific articles in the fields of Education, Business Administration, Economics and participated in some competitions such as Student Scientific Research of Foreign Trade University and scientific awards. Eureka.

Ngan also participates in student club activities, extracurricular programs and supports the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam in the educational program “Study in Europe”; as a student ambassador for the Internet Governance Youth Forum.

By the end of 2021, Ngan has completed all documents to send to scholarship boards, even before graduating from university. During the application period, Ngan still worked full-time at the company. In the evening, I prepare documents and edit records. During that time, I tried to connect with fellow alumni from the scholarships to learn more and ask for your comments.

“In my opinion, the scholarship committee does not choose the best person, but will choose the right person based on academic factors, work and experience of the candidate as well as future career orientation. Therefore, my profile shows my preparation for the study program and the appropriate orientation after graduation very clearly. In addition, I often spend a lot of time analyzing what the actual goal of that scholarship fund is and focusing on attaching it to personal goals, how to make the relationship between me and the scholarship giver a good one. “win-win”, Ngan shared about the process of applying for “hunting” scholarships.

The brightest point in Ngan’s profile lies in the essay. Essay ideas will often make up 40% of whether a candidate is selected or not. Therefore, Ngan goes to work at an enterprise to find for herself experiences and practical perspectives – where three factors are ensured: development of international cooperation, national strengths and contribution to 17 development goals. United Nations sustainability.

Working in the Agro-Food industry, Ngan understands that this is an area of ​​interest at the moment, so I chose to write about the limitations in Vietnam’s international agricultural product supply chain from my own experiences. personal experience. Besides, I can also express my ideas and motivation to contribute to the development and enhancement of this industry value chain in the future.

For the interview round, besides carefully reviewing what I have written in the application, I also plan questions that can be received to answer fluently and confidently. The most important thing, according to Ngan, is to show exactly what the scholarship committee wants to see in a candidate, such as the ability to communicate and debate, the ability to adapt,…

Regarding English proficiency, many people often mistakenly believe that having a high IELTS score will help the probability of winning a scholarship is higher. However, according to Ngan, with programs that only require 6.5 IELTS as an entry, an IELTS score of 8.0 is also completely meaningless.

“BILLIONOr because you are trying to get a high IELTS score, learn a few more languagesgeography of the country you want to visit. This will show your love and care, as well as your thorough preparation for the future in this country. Putting myself in the position of the scholarship committee, there is no reason not to prioritize candidates with more than one foreign language, especially in Europe, where multicultural integration is always important.“, Ngan shares experiences.

In the above 5 scholarships, Ngan decided to major in Consumer and Market Research of the AFEPA program with the Erasmus Mundus scholarship in Germany. Ngan chose this scholarship because she wanted to connect with the community of former Erasmus Mundus scholars, who she admires a lot and knows they will create many opportunities for her if she wants to stay in Europe. In addition, Erasmus students after graduating with a master’s degree receive diplomas from many schools and have their own preferential policies on visas to apply for jobs in some countries, typically the Netherlands. Thus, Ngan will have more choices after graduation.

Ngan will attend the University of Bonn (Germany) next September. In the second year of the master’s program, I will choose another country such as Sweden, Belgium or Italy to experience a new school environment.

In addition, Ngan also aims to learn more German to get a B2/C1 degree. She is also actively preparing to have two memorable years in Europe by determining the extra-curricular activities of the school that she will participate in as well as the places where she wants to travel.