Present at the ceremony were Professor David Wood, Pro-Vice Chancellor (promoted to be Deputy Vice Chancellor for International from October 2009), Humanities, Curtin University of Technology, Dr. Christopher Ward, SEAMEO RELC Deputy Director; Assoc. Prof. Do Huy Thinh, SEAMEO RETRAC Director, the graduates and their relatives.

The Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics Program, jointly conducted by Curtin University of Technology (Australia), SEAMEO Regional Language Center in Singapore (RELC) and SEAMEO Regional Training Center in Vietnam (RETRAC), was launched in 2006.

So far, nearly 150 English teachers in Ho Chi Minh City and nearby provinces have successfully completed the program. The MA-Intake 5 with a cohort of 40 participants commenced in July, 2009. The program has proved to be a successful one in Vietnam due to its practicability, flexibility and reasonable costs.