As RMIT celebrates 25 years in Vietnam, stories like Nguyen Huyen Chau’s show the 91tv’s powerful role in preparing students to be confident, future-ready leaders. Chau, the founder of VAN•HOA, is redefining how Vietnamese culture can thrive in the global economy through a bold vision of creative, sustainable entrepreneurship.
Launched in 2019, VAN•HOA began with a simple but profound mission: to create gifts that instantly evoke the spirit of Vietnam. In just five years, it has grown into a multidisciplinary enterprise offering cultural products, branding consultancy, cultural research and creative collaborations with international organisations like UNESCO Vietnam.
More than a business, VAN•HOA represents a future-focused mindset where culture, sustainability and design intersect to create lasting community impact. Through internal initiatives like revitalising Vietnamese patterns in design, supporting youth-led brands such as MAJ Vietnam and Magnolia Responsible Travel and co-creating events like “Về nhà ăn cơm”, Chau and her team are cultivating a space where creativity, sustainability and purpose converge.
Five years after its founding, Huyen Chau has shaped VAN•HOA into a sustainable enterprise that inspires the community (Photo: RMIT).
A recent highlight was VAN•HOA’s standout concept at the RMIT Alumni Green Business Showcase 2024, where the team introduced “Green Spiral” - a circular exhibition concept rooted in CIRCO sustainable design principles. The modular wooden display frames, designed for reuse and low-waste storytelling, embodied the future of green marketing and event design. Each product presented was elegant, durable and easy to take apart, reflecting VAN•HOA’s belief that sustainability and creativity can go hand in hand.
The RMIT Alumni Green Business Showcase highlighted the unique imprint of Huyen Chau and VAN•HOA (Photo: RMIT).
Chau did not always see herself as a changemaker. She recalls entering RMIT as a shy student, hesitant to speak up in class. But one lecturer’s encouragement to ask questions openly changed everything.
“RMIT was the first place that empowered me to explore bold ideas and gave me the confidence to act on them,” Chau shares.
Through a hands-on, future-ready learning environment, leadership opportunities and global competitions, Chau transformed her mindset and gained the adaptability to pursue her passion - blending business, culture and sustainability into a purposeful career.
With her background in Commerce, she successfully applied her learning to Vietnam’s growing cultural and creative industries, showing how RMIT’s cross-disciplinary approach equips graduates for real-world impact.
Huyen Chau (far left) with her team at the RMIT Business Plan Competition in Melbourne (Photo: RMIT).
Chau’s vision and adaptability have taken Vietnamese creativity far beyond national borders. She was awarded the IATSS Leadership Fellowship in Japan, joined the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers and became one of the first Vietnamese under 30 to attend the Davos Forum in 2014.
At Vietnam Day 2022 in Switzerland, VAN•HOA introduced traditional Vietnamese weaving art and spotlighted nearly 20 sustainable Vietnamese brands to a global audience. More recently, VAN•HOA’s partnership with Indonesia’s Anantagraha has brought Vietnamese creativity into multicultural, international business environments, enabling Chau’s team to operate at global standards while staying true to their roots.
Chau believes that success comes from knowing your values, staying curious and embracing challenges. These are the very qualities RMIT helped her develop– and the same qualities she now brings to her team, her partners and her community.
“What I learned at RMIT wasn’t just academic. It helped me adapt to new environments, build confidence and turn small ideas into real impact.”
From thoughtful product design to global representation, Chau is proof that with the right preparation, anything is possible.
Nguyen Huyen Chau’s journey from unsure student to global cultural entrepreneur is a powerful example of how RMIT equips students to be bold, adaptable and purpose-driven. Her story is not just about success, it’s about being ready for what’s next and leading others there, too.