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Tiếng Việt

Meet the Students

Phạm Thùy Dương

Phạm Thùy Dương (Daisy) was born in 1979 and grew up in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. She obtained her bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering at University of Technology HCMC and master degree in Environmental and Resource Management at BTU, Cottbus, Germany. After that, she worked as a researcher in Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry in Mikkeli, Finland. She is interested in sustainable development, education for sustainability, green living and personal and spiritual development.

Nguyễn Hoàng Việt

My name is Viet, and I’m 23 years old. I graduated from the HCMC University of Architecture in Urban Planning. I did my internship at CPG Consultants in Singapore for 2 months which provided me with my first real-life experience in urban planning. Reflecting on my country, I realized that urban planning will play a crucial role in the development of Vietnam. At this moment in history, Vietnamese cities require an effective approach to urban planning in order to develop a sustainable and ecological urban environment for its people. Therefore, I decided to enroll in the master’s course in Urban Development Planning to gain an inter-disciplinary knowledge and better skills in the field of urban planning. This will benefit my goal to participate and contribute to the future development of Vietnamese cities, and specifically HCMC.

Nguyễn Minh Quỳnh Hoa

My name is Nguyen Minh Quynh Hoa and I am a Vietnamese architect who graduated from the Hanoi Architectural University, Faculty of Planning. I have been living in Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest city of Vietnam and have been working there as a practicing planner there for almost two years. Even if that hasn’t been a very long time, it’s been long enough for me to become aware that there’re too many problems in “urban planning” that require deeper knowledge. After having started that work I find myself becoming fascinated about a wide range of urban issues and planning methods. Through the VGU course, I expect to learn more about planning and related fields and gain a lot of knowledge and information. Having discovered and joined the “Urban Development Planning” Master Course of VGU, I believe that a postgraduate education with an interdisciplinary approach from a Western perspective will be a valuable preparation for my further career, will satisfy my passion for comprehensively understanding planning and eventually help to improve the urban environment for people to live in.

Joseph Prada Pena

My name is Joseph Peña, I’m 27 years old and I'm a Filipino.
I graduated as an Architect at the University of Santo Tomas in 2004 and have been working ever since. I had the rewarding opportunity to work with a Civil Engineering company in Los Angeles, California and practically stayed there for about a year doing work on infrastructures. I then decided that it's time for me to contribute to my own country and started to involve in local projects there. By working closely with the local communities, I gained a whole new perspective on the world and especially my own country and what it really needed. By taking the Urban Development Planning Masters Course, I am learning the appropriate skills that will help me best to tackle global challenges, advance my creativity and enrich my professional experience.
I believe that, through my chosen career, I will be able to contribute to the welfare of my country and to society in general.

Bùi Thị Phương Thảo

My name is Bùi Thị Phương Thảo. I am a bachelor graduate in landscape engineering. I’ve been working as a lecturer at the Department of Landscaping and Envirenmental Horticulture at HCMC Nông Lâm University. Apart from teaching at the university, I also executed projects in the fields of planning, design and greenscape management.

Ulas Gezgin

I am Ulas Basar Gezgin and studied education, economics, psychology, cognitive science and anthropology at graduate and postgraduate levels in Turkey and New Zealand. I taught psychology, linguistics, anthropology (at Turkish universities) and science (at a secondary school in Thailand) before moving to Vietnam to teach economics. I am interested in urban planning for the following reasons: - I want to learn more about social sciences.
- I traveled to different countries and observed various cities. I want to make my city observations on a more scholarly basis.
- I am interested in social consequences of economic and social planning or unplanning such as pollution.
- I want to fill the research gap in Vietnam to further urban planning.

Lê Dương Ngọc Hiền

I am LE DUONG NGOC HIEN and Vietnamese. I was born in 1986 in Ho Chi Minh City. For 1 year I’ve worked for Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City, I recognized that I like this major so much. So I applied for this course and hope that after 2 years, I’ll come back to my company with another position! I would like to visit Germany with the UDP class - that will be great. Getting to know lots of friends will be wonderful. I wish VGU will accomplish many achievements in the near future.

Trần Mỹ Hảo

My name is Tran My Hao. I was born in Ho Chi Minh City and am 33 years old now. I graduated with a Bachelors in Land Use Administration and have been mostly working in cadastral mapping and land use registration; land use analysis and land cover changes; recommendations on the application of GIS technology for the Land use management. My free time interests include table tennis, all types of music, watching Star Movie and HBO on the TV and joking around with friends

Mai Bình

My full name is Mai Binh. I’m 28 years old now. I graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City Architecture University. After my graduation, I worked for the company of the professor for 2 years when I had experience in designing actual urban planning projects. I also attended many large urban design competitions but only as a participating architect. From 2007, I worked for a Germany company and was left in charge of urban planning projects and had the opportunity to express my competence when taking part in the competitions for the design of important planning projects.

Impressions