Visualising returnee re-engagement with local workplaces and community: a case study of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This chapter considers Vietnamese international student returnee's re-engagement in the workplace and community of their home country. It describes ways that returnee 'self-formation' is established prior to their graduation and challenges of re-entry to work and society upon their return. It reflects on the experiences of students enrolled in different disciplines at Australian higher education institutions and the perspectives of national and locally based multinational employers on the knowledge, skills and attitudes the students have developed during their sojourns overseas. Together with discussion of the value of the knowledge and the skills gained, the chapter discusses graduates' linguistic and cultural 'disconnectedness' in their adaptations back to the home country's work culture and community norms. Drawing on these experiences and perspectives, practical implications are raised, for institutions and the international education sector at large to enhance returnee re-engagement and connectedness.