Crawford School of Public Policy

Crawford alumnus Professor Tran Tho Dat, now President of the National Economics University of Vietnam, recently travelled to Australia to present Crawford staff with awards from the Vietnamese Government.

Congratulations to Dr Suiwah Leung, Ms Billie Headon, Emeritus Professor Ron Duncan AO and Ms Ngan Le. Read more about their thoughts on receiving the awards below:

Dr Suiwah Leung – Friendship Medal by the President of Vietnam

“Education has been, and continues to be, an important anchor in Australian-Vietnamese relations. It is hard to over-estimate the high respect and warm feelings our alumni have for the ANU and for Australia generally. The Australian Government scholarship program is highly regarded in the region, and is considered one of the most effective uses of international development assistance. Australia also wants to see Vietnam play a leadership role in the Southeast Asian region, and a number of our Vietnamese alumni are representing their country regularly in regional forums.”

Ms Billie Headon - Friendship Medal by the President of Vietnam

“I have loved Vietnam and its people since 1991 when I made my first trip there to interview and test potential ANU scholars. My wish then and since has always been to try to assist Vietnam in whatever way I could in its development. I first worked with Suiwah for about a decade in various Vietnam research and training projects. From the early 2000s when I became Director of International Student Recruitment at the Crawford School, Ngan and I initiated a succession of postgraduate collaborative degree programs and short-course training programs with Vietnamese universities and the Crawford School, recruiting large numbers of Vietnamese students to study at ANU. So I guess the award is in recognition of this.”

“I feel so honoured to receive this award for doing something that has been a labour of love for me for so many years and has given me such personal satisfaction.”

Emeritus Professor Ron Duncan AO – Commemorative Medal for his contribution to the education of Vietnamese students at ANU

“For myself, I was honoured to receive the award, which I feel is in large part a recognition of the wonderful contribution by Crawford staff over the years to the building of a great working relationship between the ANU and the many Vietnamese scholars who will have a huge impact on their society in the future.”

Ms Ngan Le - Commemorative Medal for her contribution to the education of Vietnamese students at ANU

“I have been working in the recruitment and scholarship team at the Crawford School for 15 years. One of our team’s main objectives is to recruit international students under Australia Awards and other scholarships and manage them when they study at the Crawford school. Vietnam has been one of my long-term target countries within Southeast Asia and I have been taking the pastoral care for the students when they study here, and maintaining their connections between current students, staff and the Vietnamese Alumni network. Hundreds of Vietnamese students have come back and played many important roles for Vietnam’s development.”