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When Nhu Ngyen first arrived on Singapore shores seven years ago, what she missed most were the moments that she spent with her family back home in Vietnam.
The Ho Chi Minh native was 19 then, fresh out of high school and ready to embark upon a Business Administration degree course with the National University of Singapore (NUS).
She had chosen to study in Singapore because she wanted to "find better education" outside of Vietnam.
At that time, she was torn between furthering her studies in Singapore or Australia. Singapore won out because of its closer distance to Vietnam and "good quality of education".
Vietnamese students in S'pore: Figures
In 2005, there were 4,000 Vietnamese students studying in Singapore.
Current figures of the number of Vietnamese students here are unavailable.
However, the number is expected to have increased since 2005 with the Singapore Government's target of attracting 150,000 foreign students here by 2012.
Indeed, the Vietnamese Community in NUS, a student society, has seen a jump in membership from 100 students and alumni in 2001 to over 800 in 2008.
According to a spokesperson from the Singapore Management University (SMU), the number of Vietnamese students there is also "seeing a gradual increase over the years".
Vietnamese students make up about six per cent of SMU's foreign undergraduate population, which currently stands at 1,000 students.
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The soft spoken young lady had come to hear about education in Singapore through various seminars conducted by NUS in Vietnam.
And she hasn't looked back ever since.
"I enjoy the education here. I have the opportunity to learn and ask critical questions", confessed Nhu, now an analyst with a trading firm here.
Getting to know you
Singapore's burgeoning popularity as an education hot spot for Vietnamese students lies partly to the attentive promotion of the country's education industry by key players like the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the various educational institutions.
Traditionally, education fairs, roadshows and talks have been used in Vietnam as promotional platforms to attract potential students.
However, the Vietnamese print and broadcast media have recently jumped onto the bandwagon, thus heightening the awareness of Singapore's reputation as a global schoolhouse to a wider audience.
One such documentary was honoured on Tuesday by the STB at the 2008 Singapore Education Awards at Raffles Hotel.
Titled Insights into a Developed Education System, it won the top prize for 'Best Media Coverage for Singapore Education (Broadcast)'.
The documentary sought to give Vietnamese viewers a detailed overview of the Singapore education system while capturing the sentiments of Vietnamese students currently studying here.
It was broadcasted five times on Ho Chi Minh Television (HTV9), one of the leading television stations in Vietnam.
"We had chosen to focus on Singapore because we have heard about its education system before," said Mr Nguyen Minh Bao, 34, the editor of Ho Chi Minh Television. He added that he would also like to further his education in Singapore if the chance came along.
Said Mr To Hong Hai, 48, the documentary's director: "I wish Vietnamese students can have access to this education as soon as possible."
Mr To recounted that he was impressed by the library system in Singapore's schools - which he said was on par with the National library in Vietnam - and the "advanced methodology" used in the teaching system here.
The students seem to agree.
"I have learnt many things since I started studying here such as public presentation and thesis completion," said a Vietnamese Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student featured in Nguyen's and To's documentary.
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