After an entire day of travel GLCM touched down in Hanoi, exhausted but ready for the trip ahead. After all, the program and its director, CEE at Illinois Instructor E.J. Ignacio (PhD 24), are no strangers to arduous travel for the sake of civil engineering. Visiting new parts of the world plays an integral part in GLCM’s mission: to emphasize a global perspective on the construction industry through a balance of theory and practice. Recent destinations include Panama, Vienna and Rome.

And just like previous trips, students were in for a jam-packed time abroad. They hit the ground running with a city tour of Hanoi and kept full steam ahead the next day with a visit to the Vietnamese conglomerate, VinGroup. 

“We had the unique opportunity to coordinate with VinGroup, the largest conglomerate in Vietnam that focuses on technology, industry, real estate development, retail, healthcare, and hospitality,” Ignacio said. “This provided access to a wide range of construction projects that we were able to visit.”

Connecting with VinGroup also gave students the opportunity to visit VinUniversity, a newly established college with burgeoning ties to UIUC and the Grainger College of Engineering. While there, GLCM met with other students and toured the facilities, hoping to promote further collaboration between the two institutions.

This experience, in addition to visits with other construction sites and businesses, provided great perspective on the Vietnamese construction industry and caused students to reflect on their construction experience in the US.

“A lot of the students reflected on how grateful they are to have opportunities in the United States.” Ignacio said. “They found that several of the Vietnamese construction sites were less safe or lacked the traditional construction methods that we take for granted.”

Between their educational activities, students still found time to soak up the rich culture and history both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City had to offer. They sampled local cuisine, explored caves, took a boat ride to the Mekong Delta, went shopping at the Hanoi night market and so much more.

GLCM’s trip to Vietnam wouldn’t have been possible without their host, Asia-Pacific Academic. The administrative planning of Tina Dong and Sharon Jiang, and the in-person guidance from Zoe Gu, Yunpeng Cheng and Kiki Zou was invaluable, keeping our students on track and setting them up for a successful trip.

On their last night abroad, everyone gathered for a farewell dinner in Ho Chi Minh City. Students laughed and reminisced about the sights they’d seen and challenges they’d overcome, eager to take all they learned about global construction back to their studies in the states.  More than this, though perhaps unbeknownst to them at the time, they were also taking with them memories and friendships to last a lifetime.

“I doubt the students will remember the all-nighters spent studying for one of my exams or group project submissions, but I have no doubt the memories of the trips, stories, and jokes told during the two-week trip will have a lasting impression,” Ignacio said. “As GLCM Director, I am truly honored to provide them this opportunity.”

Throughout the trip, students kept travel blogs of their adventures. Read them here.