SWISS-ASEAN LEARNING AND TEACHING

 From 1 – 12 August 2018, 54 students from South East Asia and Switzerland were participating in the project “Social Entrepreneurship for Economic Development (SEED)” 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), and University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (Switzerland). For the first time SALT organised the SEED project in cooperation with the Banking University of Ho Chi Minh City in the Tien Giang province of Vietnam.

During the twelve intensive days, students learned about the importance and characteristics of social entrepreneurship and had the opportunity to apply their knowledge to a real business case. In order to get a deeper understanding on the economic and sociological context in Vietnam, students participated in several cultural excursions and events. One highlight of the trip was surely the a boat ride around the unicorn islands, the visit of several pagodas in the region and an international cultural exchange program organised by the Bao Dang resort in Tien Giang (watch video here).

The overall objective for the students were to write a business plan for one of the following cases:

• Eco-tourism
• Bio Framing
• Dragon fruit plantation
• Pineapples plantation
• Pineapple candy

Students were working in groups on one of these cases and identified 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 during the final presentation at the Banking University Ho Chi Minh City.