BUV, Manchester Metropolitan expand partnership on work-integrated education

British University Vietnam (BUV) and Manchester Metropolitan University have expanded their partnership to integrate workplace experience into academic programs and strengthen graduate employability in Vietnam.

The agreement was signed by Rick Bennett, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of BUV, and Jenny Watling, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at Manchester Metropolitan University, at the British Ambassador's Residence in Hanoi on Oct. 7, witnessed by Baroness Jacqui Smith of Malvern, U.K. Minister of State for Skills; Professor Sir Steve Smith, U.K. International Education Champion; and Iain Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam.

Representatives of BUV and Manchester Metropolitan University officially sign an agreement to strengthen and expand their partnership. Photo courtesy of BUV

Expanding programs and industry links

The partnership began with a memorandum of understanding in November 2024 covering student mobility, collaborative online international learning, articulation pathways into Manchester Metropolitan's Business School, and industry engagement.

In 2025, Manchester Metropolitan became an awarding body partner for BUV. In September 2026, more than 200 students began five undergraduate and postgraduate programs awarded by Manchester Metropolitan in business, finance, technology and creative industries.

Representatives from Manchester Metropolitan University pose for a photo with students enrolled in the university’s program at BUV in 2026. Photo courtesy of BUV

From October, the universities will add 10 dual-degree programs at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, covering artificial intelligence and data science, computing, business and management, hospitality and tourism, sustainable business, and education.

A key focus of the expanded partnership is work-integrated education, with employer-informed projects, capstone modules and applied assessments to give students greater exposure to workplace practices and expectations.

The initiatives will draw on BUV's network of more than 500 corporate partners in Vietnam and Manchester Metropolitan's employer relationships in the U.K. and other markets.

BUV is also developing an Employability Passport to document students' professional and personal skills, along with their international study and mobility experience. The passport will be awarded alongside degrees at graduation.

The universities also plan to introduce semester exchanges and explore summer schools at Manchester Metropolitan's U.K. campus, joint capstone projects, faculty exchanges, jointly developed teaching materials and shared approaches to assessing work-integrated modules.

The expanded collaboration will apply work-integrated learning across 15 programs.

Students walking in the university’s campus. Photo courtesy of BUV

Supporting graduate employability

The partnership aligns with Manchester Metropolitan's Road to 2035 strategy, which emphasizes education and research that prepare graduates for a changing labor market, as well as international partnerships and global engagement.

For BUV, the agreement supports its employability strategy, which combines U.K. degree programs in Vietnam with employer partnerships and professional experience.

The partnership also comes under the broader U.K.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, agreed in October 2025, which identifies education and skills as areas of bilateral cooperation.

"We are proud of our partnership with Vietnam, and today's signing is another example of our growing collaboration across education and skills," U.K. Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith said. "Through partnerships like this agreement, we are creating new opportunities for learners on opposite sides of the globe and helping equip them with the skills needed for the jobs of the future."

Bennett said the partnership would connect academic learning more closely with the needs of an increasingly globalized world.

"We aim to co-develop future-ready programs that respond to the demand for highly skilled professionals, while supporting the development of kind, confident, and highly employable graduates who can contribute positively to Vietnam's society and economy," he said.

Watling said the collaboration would give students more opportunities to connect their studies with the workplace while strengthening links between the two universities.

"By bringing together the strengths of both institutions, we can create more opportunities for students to connect their studies with the world of work while strengthening links between our colleagues and the wider university communities," she said.

She noted that Manchester Metropolitan has been named Modern University of the Year for two consecutive years by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide and holds a Gold rating under the Teaching Excellence Framework.

"We're delighted to be building on two years of collaboration and look forward to seeing how this partnership develops," she said.