Thao Nguyen is originally from Ho Chi Minh City, well-known for its vibrant life, historic landmarks, and scrumptious food in the South of Vietnam. Thao was educated in Vietnam, Finland, and New Zealand. Her combined background in Business and Communication has brought her opportunities to work in different industries from education, media, to retail and IT. For the past 10 years, Thao has been living, studying and working in Finland, Latvia, New Zealand and Vietnam.
Within three years, Thao completed her doctoral research on prejudice in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023. Her studies reflected a global phenomenon in such good timing and laid a crucial contribution to the field both theoretically and practically. She is now a lecturer of the School of Media and Applied Arts at UMT.
Recognizing her duties and responsibilities as a researcher and educator, Thao continuously strives to bridge the theory-practice gap in the study field. To facilitate this, Thao aims to 1) utilize different methodological approaches to test the theories in various settings, 2) integrate theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches to find the applicable practices, and 3) promote interdisciplinary collaboration with other scholars to enhance common development and contribute to the research fields. Philosophically speaking, her research goals center around the practical application of study, strengthening student progress, and opportunities to collaborate with others.
In terms of research interest, the development of interpersonal and intercultural communication grounds her research as a social scientist. Over the next few years, she intends to explore the cross-cultural applicability of the interpersonal communication constructs in different cultural contexts and circumstances.
