A school’s international capability profile is the document sent to foreign partners so they understand who the school is and what areas it can collaborate in.
This is an asset used for years, appearing at every point of contact with a partner, and is often the first impression a foreign educational institution has of the school.
This guide sets out the six-part structure, how to choose figures, and the mistakes that get a profile passed over.
How long does the recipient spend reading the profile
This question determines the entire approach to writing it.
The person in charge of international cooperation at a foreign school receives many profiles each month. They skim for a few minutes and decide whether to read closely.
Three things they look for in those few minutes.
Who this school is and how large it is. The answer must be on the first page.
Is there anything relevant to our field. If they have to flip to page four to find out, chances are they’ve already stopped.
What they want from us. A profile that only introduces without stating a proposal will not lead to any action.
The practical implication: a profile should fit within four to six pages, and the three answers above must appear within the first two pages.
Six-part structure
Part one: quick identification. Half a page. Official name, type, year established, number of students and faculty, main fields of training, recognition status with the name of the accrediting body.
This section should be presented in an easy-to-scan format, not as long paragraphs.
Part two: specific strengths. One page. Three to four things that set the school apart, each backed by evidence.
This is the hardest part to write and also the most decisive, so it’s addressed separately below.
Part three: current international capacity. One page. Active partnerships, international activities carried out, number of faculty able to work in a foreign language, courses taught in a foreign language if any.
For a school just starting out that doesn’t yet have much, this section should be honest about the current state while clearly stating its direction. Exaggerating here will show immediately in the first conversation.
Part four: proposed area of cooperation. One page. State specifically what the school wants to cooperate on, in what form, and at what scale.
Part five: what the school contributes. Half a page. The most often forgotten part, and also the part that makes the recipient consider seriously.
Part six: contact. A specific contact person with title, an email address on the school’s own domain, and working language.
Writing the strengths section persuasively
Most profiles fail at this section because it is written in a way that can’t be verified.
The ineffective way. Sentences like an experienced faculty, modern facilities, quality training that has been affirmed. Every school writes this way, so none of these sentences creates any difference.
The effective way. Each strength comes with a specific fact that others can verify.
Instead of saying an experienced faculty, state the number of faculty holding a doctorate in a specific field, or the number of publications in the past three years.
Instead of saying strong ties with businesses, state the number of students doing internships at businesses each year, or name a few organizations that take them regularly.
Instead of saying it has international experience, state the number of active partnerships and one specific joint activity that has been completed.
General principle: if a sentence could be written word-for-word by any other school, it shouldn’t be in the profile.
Which figures to include
Three principles.
Choose figures relevant to the proposed cooperation. If the school wants to cooperate in a specific field, figures for that field matter more than school-wide figures.
Each figure comes with a year. No exceptions. A number without a time reference casts doubt on everything else.
Do not include figures that cannot be verified. If the school states an employment rate after graduation, it must be able to state the survey method and response rate. A nice-looking number without a method will be questioned.
For figures that need context, comparative data across education systems from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) can be used as a reference, helping foreign readers understand what the school’s numbers mean in the Vietnamese context.
Language and presentation
Write directly in the target language if someone capable is available. A translation from Vietnamese often keeps Vietnamese sentence structure and reads oddly.
Have it proofread by someone fluent in that language. This is a small but mandatory expense. A profile with errors in specialized terminology reduces credibility right at the first impression.
Present it so it can be scanned. Clear headings, short paragraphs, tables and lists for figures. Avoid pages that are all text.
Use real photos of the school, not generic stock images. Real photos show the actual scale and environment.
Have both a print version and a lightweight file version to send by email. Files that are too heavy often don’t get opened.
When should a school’s international capability profile be updated
This is a living document, not something made once and left alone.
Update annually the figures section and the current international capacity section. A profile listing figures from three years ago suggests the school isn’t really investing in international activities.
Update immediately when a major change occurs: opening a new program, achieving accreditation, establishing a significant partnership.
Record the version and date in the footer, so both sender and recipient know which version they are looking at.
Keep old versions in an archive, since they’re sometimes needed for comparison later.
There should be one person responsible for this profile, with updates built into the annual work calendar rather than done in a rush when needed.
A short version and a full version
For a school reaching out to many partners, it’s worth having two versions.
A two-page short version used to send with a cover letter or hand out at events. It includes only the quick identification, strengths, and contact sections.
A full six-page version sent once the partner has shown interest.
This approach respects the recipient’s time in the early stage and provides enough depth once they genuinely want to learn more.
For certain fields, it may also be worth making a specialized version focused on one faculty or one group of disciplines, for use when approaching partners in that field.
Five mistakes that get a profile passed over
Quá dài. A twenty-page profile won’t be read in full, and the most important part is often buried in the middle.
All claims with no supporting facts. Already analyzed above and the most common mistake.
No specific proposal stated. The reader doesn’t know what the school wants and has no reason to respond.
Outdated figures or figures without a year. Raises doubt about how serious the effort is.
An unproofread translation. Grammar errors on the first page cause the rest of the document to be judged poorly.
For content related to degree recognition and learning outcome standards, citing the framework of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) helps foreign readers place the system the school belongs to.
Summary
A school’s international capability profile should fit within four to six pages, with the three most important answers appearing on the first two pages.
The decisive part is the strengths section, and the writing principle is that each strength comes with a specific fact that others can verify.
And the part most often forgotten is the one stating what the school contributes to the partnership, even though this is exactly the part that makes the recipient consider seriously.
Next Steps
Take your school’s current capability profile and run a test: mark every sentence that could be written word-for-word by any other school.
What remains after removing those sentences is the real content of the profile, and it is usually much shorter than expected.
