Erasmus University Rotterdam was a logical choice.
Hieu Tran
Master's student in Maritime & Transport Law
Hieu Tran did not have the opportunity to become an expert in maritime law in his home country of Vietnam. With a talent scholarship, he is now studying for a master's degree in Maritime & Transport Law in Rotterdam.
Despite a coastline stretching over three thousand kilometres, maritime law receives little attention in Vietnam. This is also true at Hanoi Law University, where Hieu Tran studied law. ''Maritime law is only an elective subject,'' he says. "When I studied at the National University of Singapore for a semester, I fell in love with the field. Everyone remembers how the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal in 2021, but there are so many other interesting cases."
Rotterdam as the logical choice
Hieu Tran worked for several years for Baker McKenzie Vietnam, the Ministry of Justice and the prestigious Dzungsrt & Associates LLC, among others. This academic year, he is studying for a Master's degree in Maritime & Transport Law. ''Erasmus University Rotterdam was a logical choice,'' he says. ''Rotterdam is the maritime heart of Europe and offers the international experience I wanted. We learn about legislation and regulations and visit companies in the maritime industry, such as the leading Royal IHC. I have been selected to represent our university with a team at the International Maritime Law Arbitration Moot in Sydney. It's a great honour. Thanks to the talent scholarship from the Erasmus University Rotterdam Fund, I get to experience all of this. I feel at home in Rotterdam, even though the climate is less tropical than in Vietnam."
Ambitions in Vietnam
Hieu Tran has lots of plans. "After graduating, I hope to stay in Europe for a few more years. That way, I can expand my network and gain more experience. After that, I would like to work for a law firm or a company in the maritime industry in Vietnam. My big ambition is to advance maritime law in Vietnam. The current Vietnam Maritime Code is not very up to date and not very practical. But a revision is underway, and I would like to contribute to that. I also want to write a textbook, which does not yet exist. I learned a lot in Rotterdam, under the supervision of Prof. Frank Smeele and Dr. Frank Stevens. Hopefully, I will be able to put this into practice later in Vietnam."