Three months in Vietnam left two American male students exclaiming, "This is the best experience of my life!"

Charlie and Cooper, two students from the University of Utah (USA), came to Vietnam for a three-month internship and were surprised by the many experiences it offered. From working at a law firm, meeting Vietnamese colleagues, living in Hanoi, to exploring the culture, everything made the two young men exclaim, "This is definitely the best experience of my life!" Behind this journey was the connection and support of Dai Nam University (DNU), from assisting with visa procedures and settling in, overcoming language barriers, to connecting them with internship opportunities in Vietnam.

Charlie and Cooper, two students from the University of Utah (USA), are visiting Dai Nam University after completing a 3-month internship in Vietnam.

Three months is not just for studying.

On the afternoon of August 11th, after completing their 3-month internship, Charlie and Cooper visited Dai Nam University – the institution that supported them throughout their journey in Vietnam.

Charlie is currently a senior and plans to continue his studies at law school in the US, while Cooper aspires to pursue a career in diplomacy.

During their time in Vietnam, they both interned at a law firm, directly participating in legal research, giving presentations on foreign investment in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and learning about the business registration process in various US states.

During their internship, Charlie and Cooper were directly involved in legal research and learning about the legal practice environment in Vietnam.

But what's more valuable than the specific tasks is the opportunity to observe a different legal system operating in practice.

Comparing the differences between Vietnam and the United States in their legal systems, business environments, and professional practices provided the two students with perspectives that would be difficult to obtain solely through classroom learning.

For Charlie, who plans to pursue a career in law, and Cooper, who aspires to a career in diplomacy, the three months in Vietnam were not simply about completing an internship, but also an opportunity to learn more about the careers they wanted to pursue in the future.

What the two American guys remember most is outside the office.

Three months in Vietnam were more than just work; Charlie and Cooper were particularly impressed by the friendliness and openness of the Vietnamese people. Their colleagues not only worked with them but also frequently invited them to after-work activities, allowing them to truly immerse themselves in the daily lives of young Vietnamese people.

From meals and conversations to the rhythm of life in Hanoi, Vietnamese cuisine, and short trips, Vietnam gradually became a very different experience from what I had initially imagined.

"I honestly didn't expect everything here to be so beautiful and amazing. This is definitely the best experience of my life," one of the two students shared.

An internship thus becomes a journey of discovery: work, people, culture, and a completely new country.

What did Dai Nam do to reassure the two American students about living and working in Vietnam?

Arriving in a country half a world away from home for three months, the initial difficulties are sometimes not professional but rather very mundane matters: visas, accommodation, communication, language, and adapting to a completely new living environment.

These are also the things that Dai Nam University has been supporting Charlie and Cooper with since the two students were preparing to come to Vietnam. The two students highly appreciate the university's support in procedures related to visas, settling into life, and especially in handling difficulties arising from language barriers.

Having staff fluent in English readily available to support them helped Charlie and Cooper quickly overcome their initial anxieties and feel more at ease throughout their internship.

"Communicating and exchanging information is really helpful," the two students shared.

Ms. Le Thi Mai Phuong - Head of the Cooperation and Development Department, Dai Nam University, chats with Charlie and Cooper after the two students completed their internship in Vietnam.

According to Ms. Le Thi Mai Phuong, Head of the Cooperation and Development Department at Dai Nam University, student exchange is one of the most direct and substantive forms of international cooperation.

The value lies not only in bringing a student from one country to another, but more importantly, in what they learn, what they do, how they live, and what they bring back after that journey.

The direct feedback from Charlie and Cooper also helps the school to further improve how it organizes international exchange, study, and internship programs in the future.

Over 300 international students and a clear direction is emerging.

The story of Charlie and Cooper is not an isolated international activity at Dai Nam University; in the 2025-2026 academic year alone, the university welcomed 113 international students from the United States, South Korea, and China to participate in study, exchange, and internship programs.

Along with nearly 200 Indian students currently enrolled in the English-taught General Medicine program, there are now over 300 international students studying and gaining experience at Dai Nam University in various forms.

International students are increasingly becoming familiar faces in the learning environment at Dai Nam University.

These figures demonstrate an increasingly clear direction for the University: internationalization is not just about sending Vietnamese students abroad, but also about bringing the world closer to students right on the campuses of Dai Nam University.

When students from many countries study, interact, and experience life together in one environment, international opportunities are no longer limited to those who can afford to study abroad. Vietnamese students can also be exposed to different cultures, improve their language skills, broaden their perspectives, and learn how to work in a multicultural environment right at school.

An internship has come to an end, but the connections and experiences from their three months in Vietnam will stay with Charlie and Cooper on their journey ahead.

For Charlie and Cooper, their three months in Vietnam ended with experiences that far exceeded expectations. And for Dai Nam University, perhaps one of the most meaningful results of international cooperation lies not in the numbers, but in the fact that a young person from halfway around the world leaves Vietnam with a memory beautiful enough to say: “This is definitely the best experience of my life.”