FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE FI-20014 UNIVERSITY OF TURKU FINLAND

APPLICATION FOR RECTIFICATION

I received, with sadness, the letter dated 17 May 2006 (it should read 2007) which arrived 10.00 a.m Monday morning of 21 May, 2007. The letter said that I have not been granted admission to the Masters Degree Programme in Asian Studies. The reason is: Quote. The documentation provided by the deadline did not prove that you fill the formal requirements concerning the educational background. Unquote. The letter, however, opens a window of opportunity for a written complaint sent to the Faculty/Programme within 14 days of the official publishing of the results (before 2 June 2006) Again, I guess it should be 2007. As all my supporters and I myself have put high hopes for my admission into the Programme, I venture myself to explain to you some grounds regarding my educational background which, I believe, are not well exposed and fully noticed in the submitted documentation and should, therefore, need more detailed explanations. I refer to the instructions hereto attached. 1- I obtained BNG TT NGHIP I HC (Bachelors degree) in 1999 on International Relations Studies in the Institute of International Relations in Hanoi, Vietnam (Year 1994-1999). The other name of the Institute is the Diplomatic School, so far the most prestigious and the only one in the country of 84 millions people which recruits maximum 200 students out of several thousands applicants per year. My year-class named K21 which means the 21st recruitment class since 1945 (discontinued for 9 years), recruited only 156 students. It is the last class which received 5 year training curriculum (4 years training curriculum applied for K22 and so on). As it is 5 year training, the Degree we obtained, in our country, can be seen as Bachelor - Plus or Master - Minus. I understand that Finland applies five year training curriculum for Masters Degree nation-wide.

2- You may find it unfamiliar with the transcript of record as we have different education system as compared to Western country and Finland. In Vietnam, it is subject-based education while Finland applies credit-based system. It should be, however, noted that my final record is 7.26, which is not among the top ten of the Institute (the best record is around 8.2 in my year-class) but by 7.26 I am among the 35 best graduates of the Institute. 3- As to an equivalent to a minor in East or Southeast Asian studies, I completed the Programme for International Studies in Asia on 19 May 2000, co-organized between the Institute and the Ford Foundation. Besides three formal requirements above, there are several qualifications that I have obtained during my career in the Foreign Service and short trainings abroad. 1- One qualification which was not stated in the documentation is my ranking in the recruitment exam to the Foreign Service.1 In any country, I believe, that entering the Foreign Service is always the tough competition, especially in a country of 84 millions citizens as Vietnam. Two round exam (each round 4 subjects, one subject may contain several skills as foreign language- English in my case) are always viewed as a horror for any Vietnamese student. Not least to mention that the exam is not inclusive but open nation-wide and students have to face the increasing competition within Institutes graduates (K20 graduated in 1998 but no entry exam was organized that year, K21 and K22 graduated at the same time as K21 studied for five years and K22 studies only for 4 years). Therefore, my year exam in 1999 (the first entry- Ministry national exam after 10 years of discontinuation) is automatically and naturally more competitive. Only 9 in the field of International relations studies among 35 diplomats recruited out of 900 applicants nation-wide, of which 450 are Institutes graduates. In that tough competition, I am always proud to say that I ranked 1st in the first round and second in the last and subsequently received high compliments of the Ministry Leaders on the refreshment ceremony. 2 2- After one year working in the Interpretation and Translation Department (traditionally reserved for 3 best newly recruits), I was assigned to the ASEAN Department in 2001, one of the most demanding Department in the Ministry due to the fact that Vietnam has just embarked on the integration process for several years and multilateral cooperation activities are rather new area of cooperation for the Ministry (Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995) and therefore need best personnel resources. Subsequently, I was sent to Malaysia for a short training and after 2 years of experiences, I was among a dozen of officers from different multilateral departments being sent to work in the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia for 6
1

This is not the required academic qualification. I reveal it as an additional expression for your consideration. 2 For the certification of all the information stated in this letter, it is advisable to check with Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Nguyen Vu Tung, PhD, Institute of the International Relations. Their contacts are in the Letter of Recommendation.

months. To be exposed to professional working environment and equipped with insightful knowledge in Asian affairs in the regional organization is a must-test to young officer, I am proud to be one among a dozen peers completed these tasks with grace. 3- I must confess that together with my qualifications, it is the natural cause that sends me to Finland. Although the two countries have enjoyed good relations for decades but only now could the government be able to establish the resident Embassy in Helsinki (one reason is Vietnam is still a poor country and we do not have enough capital resources). I am proud to be assigned as one of the first three diplomats to come and lay the foundation for further development of the relations between the two countries. Almost two years of serving here, our team have done a lot to Vietnam and to Finland to promote not only the political relations but economic and social interactions. Finnish citizens and the business circle have understood more about our countries and vice versa. Cultural activities are now regularly shown for Finnish audiences. Business and tourism have been picking up fast through concrete activities that we organized. And as a representative of Vietnam, I will do more to serve that purposes. 3 As stated at the beginning that my supporters and I myself have put high hope and expectation on my admission into the Programme which I believe that thousands of others are in the same mood, I wish I could do more to persuade you about my qualifications but I believe I have done what I could to prepare for this time application. Beside the fact that I have requested twice the TOFLE center to send the test results to your Programme, I have submitted not two but three recommendation letters.4 Last but not least, the application was due to my deep admire of Finlands advanced education which has put your country to the top of many comparative tables world wide. I guarantee that the above declarations are true for which I shall take responsibility. If any of the submitted papers or the certified procedures happens not to meet your expectations, standards and requirements, I confess that it is due to the negligence but not the purpose. I also believe that original documents prevail in any case as translations are unofficial. As I am based here, I submitted a couple of my papers to the consular section for legalization. It is widely understood that the consular section is a separate section and its work is independent and not in bias of the Embassys staff. The consular section is seen as the government highest representative in legalization and its mandate is equal as a notary public. Against these facts, I kindly ask for your re-review and perusal of my application. If the truth is that my qualifications fall out of your formal requirements and 10 admitted

This is not the ground to be academically considered. I reveal it is as an emotional expression for your information and consideration. 4 The information is in the documentation and could also be found in the web: http://huy.webpage.googlepages.com/personal

applicants are more deserved for this year quota, I would like to ask for a reservation list for which I shall continue to apply to this programme next year. I hope for an offer to have a face-to-face meeting or an extra interview with your faculty so as to be able to listen to your advices, instructions and further inquiries if you deem it possible and necessary. My fingers are crossed waiting for your response.

Signature of the complainant and date

NGUYEN Thanh Huy Haapaniemenkatu 11b 70 00530 Helsinki Finland huyhelsinki@yahoo.com 050 544 8803