Canadian International School Vietnam
Canadian International School Vietnam (CIS; Vietnamese: Trường quốc tế Canada) is a private international school based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The school belongs to The Canadian International School System (CISS), along with three other campuses: the Bilingual Canadian International School (BCIS), Albert Einstein School (AES) and Canada – Vietnam Kindergarten (CVK).
Founded in 2009 by Khoi Nguyen Education Group (KNE Group), CIS was consulted by the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN), becoming the first international school in Vietnam to offer a Canadian curriculum. In 2010, a $21 million campus was launched in Bình Chánh district, serving 30 classes from kindergarten to grade 10. Established in 2014, the current campus in Phu My Hung (District 7) has a total area of 39,000 m with a total investment of $46 million. That same year, CIS began its partnership with Toronto District School Board, Canada's largest school board. Established in 2014, the campus in Phu My Hung (District 7) has a total area of 39,000 m with a total investment of $46 million. CIS officially received investment from EQuest Education Group in December 2022, becoming the first international school in Vietnam to offer a Canadian curriculum.The Canadian International School (CIS) is also an official member of the Council of International Schools.
CIS is among international schools recognized by the Ministry of Education and Training (Vietnam) with a 100% English curriculum according to the Ontario Ministry of Education (Canada) standards from kindergarten to grade 12. Since 2015, CIS is an accredited International Baccalaureate school. Its students have received scholarships from Boston University, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Alberta, and Ottawa University.
CIS heavily promotes sports activities for its students; the school has established 41 sports teams as of 2021, with the participation of students from 7 to 18 years old. Its stadium, named Maple Leaf Center, has been chosen as the home field of Vietnamese professional basketball team Saigon Heat since the 2014 season.
In September 2021, Excelsior Capital Vietnam Partners (ECVP), a fund that focuses on Vietnam and is part of the Hong Kong-based private equity firm Excelsior Capital Asia, declared that it had invested in KNE Group, the founder of CIS. This marked their second deal in Vietnam. A year later, Vietnam-based education group EQuest, which is backed by private equity firm KKR, has acquired a controlling interest in KNE Group. According to DealStreetAsia, the investment values KNE Group at nearly $100 million and ECVP has exited the company.