Lien Trinh, MPH, MBA, MA
College of Arts and Sciences
Senior Lecturer
Biography
Lien Trinh is a Lecturer at the College of Arts and Sciences at VinUniversity, where she teaches Art Appreciation and Application, Artistic Performance and Application, Healthy Lifestyle, and Media and Society. With a diverse academic background, she holds a BA in Education, an MA in Communication, an MBA, and a Master in Public Health.
Before joining academia, Lien held leadership and professional roles across multiple sectors, including Chief Operating Officer at Vinmec International Hospital, researcher, director of a multi-ethnic committee, UNFPA project coordinator, marketing and communication manager, external affairs manager, radio host, mental health counselor, and music teacher. Her multidisciplinary expertise allows her to blend arts, health, and communication in her teaching, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and holistic well-being among students.
Lien Trinh has been recognized for her contributions and academic excellence with prestigious awards, including the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship, the New Zealand Outstanding Alumni Award, the VinUniversity Faculty Award, and the VinUniversity Teaching Excellence Award. She also serves as a Faculty Champion for the VinUniX Program.
Lien’s research focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in education and healthcare, and on the intersection of art, media, and well-being. She is particularly interested in how artistic and media expression can foster empathy, resilience, and social awareness in young people.
Her ongoing projects include a collaboration with the University of East Anglia (UK) on “Lived Experiences of Gender and Sexual Minorities in Higher Education in Vietnam”. She is also developing community-based initiatives that apply art, music, and media storytelling in service-learning contexts, aiming to promote mental health, cross-cultural understanding, and social connection.
Lien’s teaching philosophy is grounded in interdisciplinary and experiential learning that integrates the arts, communication, health, and social engagement. Through her courses, she encourages students to explore the connections between creative expression, personal well-being, and civic engagement.
Her teaching emphasizes project-based learning, community involvement, and reflective practice, guiding students to apply artistic and media perspectives to real-world challenges. By blending theory with experience, she inspires learners to become empathetic communicators, creative thinkers, and socially responsible citizens who appreciate the transformative power of art and media in shaping both personal and collective well-being
Master theses:
– Channels of Commmunication among men-who-have-sex-with-men.
– Abortion amongst Asian Women in New Zealand
– Lived Experiences of Gender and Sexual Minorities in Higher Education in Vietnam (pending)
- BA in English, University of Languages & International Studies (ULIS), Hanoi National University, Vietnam.
- Master of Arts in Communication, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA.
- Master in Business Administration (MBA), Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
- Master in Public Health, University of Otago, New Zealand
- US Fulbright Scholarship, 2001-2003
- University of Otago Postgraduate Program Scholarship, 2008-2011
- Outstanding New Zealand Alumni Award, 2019
