Swiss and Asian students tackled issues of entrepreneurship over the course of a newly devised programme in Vietnam.
From 1 – 12 August 2018, 63 students from South East Asia and Switzerland were participating in the project “Social Entrepreneurship for Economic Development” in Vietnam. Participants came from Banking University Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), De La Salle University Manila (Philippines), Prince of Songkla University (Thailand), Thaksin University (Thailand), University Malaysia Kelantan (Malaysia), Parahyangan Catholic University (Indonesia). FHNW sent 22 students from the School of Business, the School of Applied Psychology and the School of Engineering.
The project opened with a workshop about entrepreneurship, highlighting the significance of entrepreneurship in the social context. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the culture and economy in Vietnam, students visited the city of My Tho, the Dong Thap Muoi Nature Reserve and Buddhist temple, and went on a boat trip on the Mekong river.
Presentation of Business Cases
During five intensive days, the students worked in groups on real-life cases provided by five different companies. The cases included challenges regarding eco-tourism, the farming of organic vegetables, dragon fruit and pineapples and the production of pineapple candy.
The students had to identify the challenges facing each company and the opportunities provided by different regions. They then had to evaluate various solutions for the challenges at hand and finally focus on one solution statement.
The outcome of this project was a business plan, which was presented to the company owners and local authorities at the Banking University Ho Chi Minh City.
“Since I study computer science and not economics, many topics were new to me. It was interesting to look at the individual companies and to analyse how they work exactly. When the company owner contacted us after our end presentation to get more information, I realized that we could provide him with important information so that he could expand his business. In this spirit, we were also able to support him and his employees. Just like a Social Entrepreneur would!”
Roger Hunn, student
As common tradition in Vietnam, the delegation went to visit pupils the rural part of Vietnam and made a donation of 2000 CHF sponsored by the FHNW IM Alumni.