2025 “DAV Ambassadors’ Journey” Course Launching Ceremony

On the afternoon of 10 December 2025, the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam’s (DAV) Department of Education and Training held the 2025 “DAV Ambassadors’ Journey” course launching ceremony. This is the first and only training model in Viet Nam where students are directly mentored by veteran diplomats.

Present at the ceremony were Dr Nguyễn Thị Thìn - Vice President of the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam; 5 mentoring ambassadors for the course, namely Assoc. Prof., Dr Đặng Đình Quý, Prof., Dr Nguyễn Vũ Tùng, Dr Luận Thùy Dương, Mr Lương Thanh Nghị and Ms Nguyễn Thị Bích Huệ; Tạ Bích Loan, journalist, the chairwoman of the discussion session; and also representatives from the Academy’s departments, faculties, divisions, and students.

In her opening remarks, Dr Nguyễn Thị Thìn emphasised that the DAV Ambassadors’ Journey is a pioneering educational model in Viet Nam and is deeply rooted in the identity of the Academy. She also affirmed that no university in Viet Nam has the privilege of having students mentored, accompanied, and inspired by the ambassadors themselves—individuals who have represented the country at the others, international organisations, forums, and events, possessing a wealth of practical experience and in-depth knowledge in the field of foreign affairs.

The DAV Ambassadors’ Journey is an effort to realise the strategic vision of the Academy in training high-quality human resources. Prof., Dr Nguyễn Vũ Tùng stated that as an educational institution, the Academy always closely monitors the implementation of Resolution No 71-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in education and training development. At the same time, the course also contributes to implementing the Politburo's Resolution No 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new context, ensuring that students are equipped with solid professional knowledge and practical skills to serve foreign affairs and national development.

With these values, the DAV Ambassadors’ Journey aims to cultivate a generation of the Diplomatic Academy students with strong professional competence, multidisciplinary application skills, and a compelling professional profile. The course also focuses on the cultivation of resilience, critical thinking, and a professional work ethic, preparing students to become outstanding representatives of the Academy’s student community in the new era.

Amidst the anticipation from a large number of students, Ms Hoàng Mai Hương, Head of the Undergraduate Training Division and Head of the Course Organising Committee, delivered a speech providing an overview of the course's objectives, vision, participants, structure, and implementation roadmap. The course is designed according to a flexible blended learning model, including a series of Ambassador Talks, small group mentoring sessions, a series of skills workshops, and practical experiential activities.

The Ambassador Talks series is a forum where students are inspired and practical experiences from the ambassadors are shared through diverse topics, such as building personal resilience and values, cross-cultural communication skills, crisis analysis and management skills, and more. Meanwhile, small group mentoring sessions are in-depth mentoring activities where each ambassador will directly take on the role of a mentor to monitor, guide, and accompany a group of five students, with the participation of speakers, experts, and teaching assistants, to support each individual in building their personal and career development plans and acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills. In particular, the highlight of the course lies in the experiential activities and thematic workshops. At the workshops, students are trained in practical skills through specific case studies. Along with that, there are general experiential activities, i.e. teambuilding, field trips, group projects, creating an environment for students to interact, bond, and apply their knowledge in a real-world context.

Through this training model, the course aims to provide comprehensive development for students, helping them form professional thinking, work style, and practical application skills. The course also creates an early career guidance environment, helping students explore career fields, set goals, and build a suitable development path while still being undergraduate students.

The atmosphere of the ceremony became more lively with interactive and Q&A sessions led by journalist Tạ Bích Loan. The students were able to directly listen to practical experiences and previously unreleased behind-the-scenes diplomatic stories from five veteran ambassadors. Through insightful discussions surrounding the symbols of the “Steering Wheel”, the “Handshake”, and the “Heart”, the ambassadors intimately shared with DAV students challenging negotiation scenarios, vaccine diplomacy efforts, and resilient international market entry strategies. The lessons on sincerity, strategic thinking, and patriotism distilled from practice have been a powerful source of inspiration, helping students better understand the mettle and mission of national representatives on the international stage.

The students actively asked many interesting questions and received warm, genuine insights from the ambassadors. These activities also help students better understand the content, values, and spirit that the course aims for.

In particular, the moment when Dr Nguyễn Thị Thìn and the five ambassadors pressed the button to launch the course became a highlight of the ceremony, marking the official opening of the first season of the DAV Ambassadors’ Journey, promising to create a generation of DAV students who are confident, humane, and responsible.

The course launching ceremony concluded in a solemn atmosphere, but simultaneously opened a promising new chapter. Beyond introducing the structure and goals of the 2025 DAV Ambassadors’ Journey, the ceremony also served as a vivid demonstration of the Academy’s efforts to realise its mission of training high-quality human resources and nurturing talent.

Here are some highlights from the 2025 DAV Ambassadors’ Journey launching ceremony.