From 03/04 to 09/04/2022, students of MBA Program from Vietnam Japan University (VJU) had a great opportunity to visit Hue city in an internship program. The trip was occurred with the participation of Dr. Yoshifumi Hino – JICA Expert/Lecturer of MBA Program, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong – Program Assistant and other 7 MBA students of 5th intake.
In this 7-day internship trip, the students had chance to visit many companies in different fields, especially Japanese companies which have a close relationship with VJU for years.
The first company was a Japanese company named Hue Foods. VJU students were welcome by the Japanese technical manager – Mr. Satoru Sekiya, Ms. Nguyen Dieu Cam Tu – The sales manager and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung – Fermentation Department Chief. Students participated in some presentations and then enjoyed a visit to the factory to see directly Sake production. The most impressive thing was that every employee had a high attitude toward their job and always say “ohayo gozaimasu” to visitors with a nice smile.
The next company of the field trip was Brycen Vietnam Co., Ltd, which is in the IT industry. To welcome VJU students, the vice director of Brycen Vietnam – Mr Le Hong Son made a presentation about the company, products and services, partnership, and other activities in Vietnam. He also shared several challenges when running IT business in Vietnam, some difficulties during the period of Covid-19 and solutions to these problems for further development in the future. To continue the meetings, the CEO of company – Mr Yokoyama Masayuki had a short conversation with JICA expert – Mr Hino Yoshifumi and all students.
In the same day, MBA students also visited another IT company named DMI Hue two members of company limited. In the DMI Hue company, the general affairs officer – M.s Dang Thi Thu Phuong and the head of the technical department – Mr Dang Chau Anh welcomed warmly VJU students with much useful information. Although newly established, the company has attracted about 100 employees with an employee retention rate of about 75% – 80% of employees. This confirms that the IT field has a strong attraction in the future, especially for young people.
Cooperation Plus Investment and Consultancy JSC (CoPLUS) is the next destination of VJU-MBA students. At the meeting, CoPLUS and VJU’s student (along with a JICA expert – Mr. Yoshifumi Hino) had a chance of communicating about fundraising activities for start-ups as well as the human resource management (HRM) according to the daily activities of CoPLUS. The meeting took place in a cozy environment with sharing from both sides. The blending of academic knowledge from VJU’s team, as well as practical work from CoPLUS, was very helpful for any participants.
The next company that MBA students visited was Flint Vietnam Company Limited. By witnessing the machines in action and listening to the factory’s managers introduce themselves, the students gained a better understanding of the production management and operation of the Japanese precision machining firm situated in Thua Thien Hue province. Moreover, Flint’s production management is unique in that it allows for flexibility in controlling each department since each Vietnamese department head is taught in Japan for four to five years before returning home; they then maintain contact and make periodic reports to the heads of departments in Japan. Flint Vietnam’s corporate structure has been designed to be as small as feasible in order to save expenses.
Lastly, to end the field trip, MBA students visited Thua Thien Hue Institute for Development Studies and Innovation Startup Center. Director Cung Trong Cuong introduced the new development direction of the province. Before Covid 19, the province mostly focused on tourism; nevertheless, the pandemic provided a boost for Hue to focus more on manufacturing such as beer, textile, canning, and others. Another focus is on developing a green economy since Hue is rich in natural resources and sightseeing. After the introduction, the fifth intakes asked the HueIDS team about Thua Thien Hue Province strategies regarding logistics and the IT industry. From the discussion, Thua Thien Hue Province aims to focus on building a logistics hub in the province with future plans to expand the current airport and the seaport. Hue is in competition with Danang City and depending on the freight load, some companies have to use ports from HCMC instead. The students also joined the two-day forum hosted by the Institute for Development Studies on “Developing businesses with Creativity – Technology – Sustainability”. All in all, the experience with Hue Institute for Development Studies was very rewarding for the students.
