“Many of them had decided to quit their jobs and pursue higher education because they had experienced poor managerial leadership. When I studied the Leadership and Management course, I developed further interest in ethical leadership,” says Truc, who completed her MBA at RMIT in 2017.

As a recent winner of a PhD scholarship from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, Truc will soon begin in-depth research into ethical leadership of managers in the Vietnamese context.

Her PhD topic, ‘Perceptions of Ethical Leadership in Vietnamese Managerial Leaders: An Institutional Logics Inquiry’, will address the gap in the literature in Vietnam.

Since completing her MBA, she has worked as a research assistant at the RMIT Asia Graduate Centre (RAGC), supporting our academics – in particular, Dr Mathew McDonald.

“I was not really confident about applying to study a PhD in the UK because I thought there would be massive competition. But then Dr McDonald told me, ‘You have nothing to lose. Why don’t you try?’ So I gave it a try,” she says.

“The process was tiring and stressful. I was really happy when I got the result. I’m really thankful for all of the support from the RAGC, Dr McDonald and my family.”

Truc was recognised for her achievements at the RMIT Evening of Excellence in June.