Growing up in a small town near the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi, the life of a high-profile diplomat was the furthest thing from UTS Alumni Award winner Pham Thi Bich Ngoc’s mind. “My parents and relatives - none of them studied or worked in law. My mother and father worked in construction, and they had to move from place to place all the time. In fact, I stayed with my grandmum from when I was two until the first year of secondary school. At the time we had no choice. My grandmother is almost 100 years old now, and she’s still with us.”
An influential neighbour Pham says the biggest influence in her choice of career was a neighbour, Mr Cuong. “He was a professor at the Hanoi Law University and his wife was my mum’s friend. She’d been at our house and mentioned me to her husband. That’s how I got to talk with him, and he was just so smart and knowledgeable. When I got to level 12 at high school and I needed advice about choosing a career and university, I asked Mr Cuong. He said I should do law, because our country was going through a period of reform, and we needed lots of lawyers. So, it was with his support and encouragement that I studied law. He was actually the supervisor for my thesis at university,” she says.
After successfully completing her degree, Pham received a scholarship to pursue her Master of Laws in Australia. She says, “At the time I had offers from different universities in Australia, but I found that UTS also offered an English pathway through Insearch (now known as UTS College). I knew that was something I needed and so I chose UTS.”
A memorable introduction to Sydney Pham’s Academic English course was full-time and ran for 20 weeks. For her, it was a great introduction to Sydney life. “One of the most memorable things about the old Insearch campus is that it was very close to Chinatown,” she says. “It was interesting because I could observe quite familiar cultural things. There was less culture shock for me. And the classes were so exciting because back in Vietnam at that time, our teaching methods were much more traditional.”
That English course also unlocked unforeseen opportunities for Pham. She says, “It helped in two ways. One was obvious – to help me study my master's degree. But also, when I was back in Vietnam, I found it helped me serve our government and parliament in terms of international cooperation. It’s true that language is a window into culture, and in my case, I have supported our MPs with translations and interpreting.”
A commitment to helping young professionals Now Deputy Director General of the Office for Party and Union Affairs at the Vietnam National Assembly Office, it’s not hard to see Pham’s values in action. “I’m committed to supporting and helping young professionals to pursue their higher education and their capacity to make our government better. I’ve focused on those goals all my career,” she says.
In a previous role as Director General for Protocol and International Cooperation, to help young people in the Office gain new knowledge and perspectives, Pham facilitated the enrolment of Vietnamese MPs – and a significant number of staff – in Australian universities (including UTS). She’s also instigated an internship for UTS Law Faculty postgrad students in the Legislative Studies Institute of the Vietnam Parliament.
Earlier, in 2017, Pham was one of the youngest non-career female diplomats ever to become Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. She secured vital industry partnerships with Sri Lanka and provided essential aid to the Maldives during the height of the COVID pandemic.
Setting up a goal for life When asked about the motivation behind such extraordinary achievement, she says, “You know, sometimes being a woman can be challenging. Because we have a lot of duties, we have a lot of responsibilities at work and a home with family issues. That’s why I think I’m the kind of person who likes to encourage and empower women to be involved in society and to work. And I think I need to be an example. So, I try to give everything my best effort and to prove that women can do anything. They just need to set up a goal for their life.”
Some important takeaways This ability to maintain focus on a goal, Pham says, is one important thing she took away from her time at UTS and UTS College. “I was devoting almost 100 percent of my time to study because I needed to complete my course on and return home with a good result,” she says. “I invested that time, and the results were fruitful. I graduated with Honours and had the privilege of representing international students at a farewell party. Everything has worked for me.”
A couple of other things have stayed with Pham from her time in Sydney – her old student ID cards from UTS and UTS College – which she keeps as treasured souvenirs. Now she can add the 2024 Alumni Award to that collection. “I feel so happy and proud to have this recognition from UTS,” she says.
Read more about our alumni community here> Watch Pham's interview on YouTube>>