Mai Ha An, 26 years old, is studying for a master's degree in Comparative International Relations, majoring in Global Studies at Ca' Foscari University.

Ha An in Venice city.

Sharing with reporters from the Vietnamese Student Page of Tien Phong newspaper, she said she was one of 30 international students with excellent academic achievements who were awarded a full scholarship for a master's degree.

Types of scholarships to study in Italy

Through the introduction of a sister who studied and currently lives in Italy, Ha An learned about the scholarship for international students at Ca' Foscari University. This was the first scholarship she applied for and was successful.
Founded in the 19th century, Ca' Foscari University is one of Italy's prestigious higher education institutions. According to the QS WUR 2024 rankings, the school is in the top 3% of universities in the world. Many of the school's social sciences majors have excelled in the top 100-150 in the world.

Ha An in front of the European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Ha An said that if international students want to study in Italy with a scholarship, they can refer to three main types of scholarships:
- Government scholarship “Invest Your Talent in Italy” and scholarship of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). These are two scholarships with the highest funding level and the highest level of competition.
- School scholarships for international students with excellent achievements. Each school will have its own requirements and assessments for granting scholarships.
- Regional scholarships for students from low-income families.
Ca' Foscari University's school scholarships are considered based on an assessment of factors including academic scores, foreign language certificates, letters of recommendation and a short motivational video.
The school does not require an interview but only considers scholarships based on the above profile. This is an advantage but can also be a disadvantage, because candidates must prepare a very neat profile to stand out among hundreds of other candidates.
She commented that Italian universities often attach great importance to academic achievements. Therefore, a high GPA or research experience during undergraduate study will be a big plus when applying for a master's scholarship. For the Ca' Foscari University scholarship, undergraduate academic achievements are the most important criteria (accounting for 60/98 points). In addition, candidates also need a letter of recommendation (16/98 points), a motivational video (15/98 points) and a foreign language certificate (7/98 points). In the motivational video, candidates need to clearly show their goals, study plans and expectations for the program. Knowledge about the major and subjects in the program also need to be mentioned in the video. Italian scholarship essays are often required to be concise and succinct. What is most important is that candidates clearly show their goals as well as consistency throughout their studies, research and work. Ha An's course has about 40% international students, only 3-4 students from Southeast Asia and she is the only Vietnamese. Because the course is entirely in English, she does not need to learn Italian. She also considers Italy to be a country that is quite generous in providing scholarships and has a variety of courses in English.

Life in the most romantic city in the world

Mai Ha An is a former student of International Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Here, she was inspired by many stories and experiences of studying and working abroad from teachers and seniors. Her dream of studying abroad also began to grow from there.
Previously, she had been on exchange in China, Thailand and had a short time working in the Philippines. Being exposed to other cultures and meeting international friends helped her clearly feel the benefits that a multinational, multicultural learning environment can bring.

Ha An (in black shirt, third from right) and members of the Vietnamese Student Association in Venice.

After graduating with honors in 2019, she became a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of International Studies and worked in the International Cooperation Department of a research institution. After nearly three years of working, the Hanoi girl decided to study abroad to make her dream come true.
Ha An shared: “Venice is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, romantic but also very dynamic. Italy has delicious food, pleasant weather, affordable living costs and many unique tourist attractions.”
During her study abroad journey, what impressed her most was the friendly and open-minded people, quite similar to Vietnamese people. Ha An recognized that her classmates all liked to interact, talk and work with foreign students. Although they can live and study effectively only in English, she still recommends that everyone learn conversational Italian before studying abroad. This helps them integrate quickly and find part-time jobs more easily. In addition, understanding the native language also helps them understand more deeply the culture of a lyrical and romantic country like Italy.
In the first months of arriving in Italy, Ha An had to try very hard to keep up with her friends. There were many completely new contents in the curriculum for her, but her classmates had already learned them in high school or university. At that time, she had to read a lot of documents and diligently ask teachers to supplement her knowledge. Both in her studies and in her daily life, she received enthusiastic help from the locals, helping her adapt more quickly to life in a strange land. Thanks to that, after the initial confusion, she felt more confident and achieved perfect scores in many subjects in the program.

“Of course, studying abroad is not as enjoyable as staying at home. At home, my parents help me with many things, but when I study abroad, I have to be completely independent. But thanks to that, I feel much more mature in just a short time,” Ha An confided.
During her first year, Ha An traveled to many places in Italy and nearly 10 other countries in Europe, such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Austria... Before graduating, she hopes to be able to explore many other famous places.

Ha An went to visit a museum in Spain.

Ha Anh and her mother traveled to Switzerland.

She also shared her joy that thanks to studying abroad in Italy, she was able to take her mother to travel to several European countries this past summer. She concluded: “I feel that studying abroad is absolutely the right decision. This is a good opportunity for young people to practice and develop themselves both in knowledge and spirit.”