Doing business in Thailand & Vietnam

This month-long program allows students the opportunity to learn in-depth about Thai and Vietnamese cultures, their ways of life and most importantly what’s like to do business in two of the world’s hottest destinations in recent years.

Request for proposal

Highlight

“Doing business in Thailand and Vietnam” is a platform for students to:

Learn about Thai and Vietnamese cultural, economic, and political contexts. What do they mean in terms of doing business? How do they influence the way people do business in the two countries?
Gain initial/deeper insights into different models of business, including but not limited to: locally-owned businesses with/without a global presence, FDI companies & local social enterprises
Gain more understanding of Thai and Vietnamese cultures through close contact with local students, staff, professionals from diverse backgrounds as well as numerous guest lectures and visits to local destinations, including ancient towns, national parks, temples and pagodas, floating markets, mountainous areas, world’s natural heritages, etc

Description

Tentative locations: Bangkok & Chiang Mai (Thailand) and Hanoi (Vietnam)

Duration: 4 weeks

Tentative Program Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Bangkok, Hotel check-in

Day 2: Orientation & Welcome dinner

Day 3: Bangkok City Tour

Day 4: Guest lectures on doing business in Thailand

Day 5: Company visits

Day 6: Thai cooking class

Day 7: Cultural Exchange Day with local families or local students

Day 8: Floating Markets Tour

Day 9: Free day & Farewell dinner

Day 10: Departure for Chiang Mai

Noon: Welcome lunch

Afternoon: Orientation & Welcome session with Chiang Mai University (CMU), Chiang Mai City Tour

Evening: Cultural Exchange with CMU students

Day 11: Guest lecture on tourism in Thailand and Site visit

Day 12: Guest lectures on Thai economy and trade relations with other countries and Company visit

Day 13: Excursion to learn more about the Thai elephants, no elephant shows

Day 14: Company visit and cultural exchange with local students

Day 15: Excursion to learn more about the natural beauty of Chiang Mai and farewell dinner with CMU

Day 16: Departure for Hanoi

Noon/afternoon: Arrival in Hanoi, check into hotel

Evening: Welcome dinner

Day 17: Orientation & City Tour

Day 18: Guest lecture on Vietnam’s politics and economic index and Company visit

Day 19: Company visits & evening reflection session

Day 20: Company visits and evening reflection session

Day 21: Company visits and evening reflection session

Day 22: Guest lecture on how culture affects the way people do business in Vietnam & free exploration

Day 23: Excursion to Ha Long Bay

Day 24: Guest lecture on Vietnam’s investment law and labor law and Company visit

Day 25 & 26: Trekking tour in Sapa

Day 27: Back in Hanoi & afternoon reflection session

Day 28: Final presentation, closing ceremony, farewell lunch & departure from Vietnam

All activities listed above are subject to change in case of unexpected circumstances or companies/organizations' unavailability.

Dates and fee

We customize the itinerary to best meet your needs and objectives; thus there will be no programs at the same price.

What's usually included in our price?

Airport transfer
Accommodation: 3-star hotel, twin room, same-gender/room, single room for university faculty, free Wi-Fi and room service
Meals: Breakfast at hotel; welcome and farewell dinners; other meals as listed in the itinerary
Program development
Program coordinator accompanies the group in every activity for the whole program;
Local buddies arrangement (if requested)
On-site orientation;
Company visits arrangement;
Guide and entrance fees for all excursions as listed in the itinerary
Transportation as described in the program itinerary
24/7 emergency contact number (SOS card);
All gratuities to bus drivers, tour guides and/ or similar;
Fee for at least 1 faculty or employee from the university to join in program activities with students in Vietnam.

Procedure

Step 1: Please take some minutes to fill out this online questionnaire. Our Program Manager will then contact you for a free consultation meeting to discuss your customized program in more detail.

Step 2: We finalize and send you the program proposal(s) for your institution’s approval.

Step 3: Partnership agreement/Program Contract signed

Step 4: Implementation

Things to do on your end:

Market your program on campus & process students’ applications
Approve and finalize academic content for the program
Work closely with ABROADER's Program Manager to finalize all activities and logistics needed for your program (airfare, housing, airport pickup, classroom, excursions, etc.)
Collect students’ program fees
Hold pre-departure meeting and orientation

*If you feel overwhelmed, please rest assured that we are always here to support any of the things you are supposed to do at this step.

Things we do on our end:

Finalize the overall program schedule
Produce or support the production of marketing materials for your program
Arrange all necessary logistics, and cultural excursions for your program
Provide support for the pre-departure meeting and orientation

Step 5: Your program starts - you and your students arrive in Vietnam or another program location in Southeast Asia.

Step 6: While in the program location, you teach the course, we take care of all the other activities and logistics for your program.

Step 7: Your program ends – the group departs from the program location. After you return home, there will be an evaluation meeting for us to review your program for future improvements and planning.

We endeavour to guarantee that through every stage of our process, issues like power and privilege, diversity and inclusion, community voice and reciprocity are taken into full consideration to make sure that every stakeholder is heard and included.

My experience was very unique in the sense that it was first virtual internship. I was not expecting to have one so I was little sad at first but in the end it was really fun and educational experience. Even though it was virtual, I was engaging with local buddies at Vietnam all the time as if we were friends for the longest time and learning and talking about Vietnamese culture every week. We also had some good events amongst ourselves which I will cherish for a long time. The company I worked at was also great. The supervisor was helpful and communicative for the most time. I learned so much working wise also. What was the most surprising thing you saw or did? Singing happy birthday song in Vietnam was definitely one of things I was not expecting to do!

Jae Joon

Business Assistant Remote Internship ,Princeton University

Being in Vietnam is the best experience in my life so far!!! I cannot believe 6 weeks have actually gone by. I love my internship at Siten. People in the company are really helpful and understanding. They are like a family. Like when I was sick and asked for a morning off, they told me to stay at home for the afternoon so that I can truly feel better. My Thuan – my supervisor has taught me so much. He actually encouraged me to go explore Vietnam – so different from other leaders I know. He let me do what I want to do. The largest problem was the language barrier but we managed to communicate with each other quite well. They said I inspire them to learn English. So yeah, everything is pretty perfect. The best experience in my life so far! At Siten I worked on a project for learning English in which I helped develop the website and prototyped games. The staff also me HTML which I really enjoyed learning. Besides going to work, I spent all of my weekend travel to new places like Sapa, Hoian, Danang, Ha Long Bay. I met with so many nice people who are so friendly and they really want you to immerse into the culture. If there is one thing I feel that I have grown, it must be my ability to talk with people, to be more open towards anything. Before coming here I knew pretty much nothing about Vietnam. Still I managed to live here and was actually never lonely my whole time being in Vietnam. I am glad that I came here. I cannot believe I am gonna leave this place so soon. Thank you all so much!

Zareen Fazleabas

IT Internship ,Pennsylvania State University, USA

Before, I didn’t really like my personality as I was a timid girl and afraid to speak up for myself. I am also a perfectionist and would like to spend as much time for preparation as possible before I do something. However, the internship in Vietnam changed that for me. Through interacting with my students and fellow interns I opened up a lot and become more outgoing. In my work, after going through some troubles with cultural difference, I realize one thing for myself that is: Preparation is not always good and if you don’t prepare you are given the chance to do things more freely and more out of the box, so next time even if you’re asked to do something when you’re not prepared “Just Do It"

Nana Mihara

Education Internship ,Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan

I feel satisfied about the services provided by ABROADER Vietnam while I was here; almost everything was sorted out before arrival so there was definitely no messing around with organizing things. The accommodation they provided me was good but I personally prefer one that is closer to my place of work. Before starting my internship in Vietnam, I was informed of the work that I will be doing and the skills involved, therefore there was time allowed for me to learn certain CAD programs to help my work. As for the workplace environment, the company where I got an engineering internship in Vietnam was a company that is in the Aerospace Engineering field, all the employees here helped me settle in by talking to me at work and sitting with me at lunch times. I got on well with my co-workers and my supervisor and they were there to help during my internship. Regarding my responsibilities in the company, I felt like even though it was not the most critical work, it sure was of great use to the company. If there is one thing I would recommend them do for the new interns the next time was to have them go on a welcoming tour to show off the office facilities e.g toilet, kitchen appliances available etc which makes it easier for them to navigate around the office. Beside this, I think I am overall very satisfied with my internship placement and the services provided by ABROADER Vietnam and I would highly recommend it.

Jake Thompson

Electrical Engineering Internship ,University of Exeter, England

Doing my internship Vietnam, will be an unforgettable experience for me because reflecting back to the past 4 months staying in Vietnam I have learned quite a lot in Vietnam in terms of culture, people, work ethics and values, it grows me as a person to become a better person with the way I interact with people, working with them on a project and how to deal with problems whether big or small. At the end of day, people are people, they are not going to be your ideal circle of friends or co-workers that is going to go your way all the time, but what you can do is to make the best out of it and always end on a positive note :)

Kang Feng Wei (Derek)

IT Internship ,Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

The three weeks that I spent in Vietnam gave me a unique insight and greater appreciation into the world around me. Going to Vietnam has made me value the things I take for granted in Australia, such as just being able to drink clean water from the tap. I discovered that the people of Vietnam are so generous and forgiving. I made many new friends during the study tour and learned a course all whilst touring a great country. The study tour was very enjoyable and I had lots of fun along the way with the activities planned by the local buddies. The course itself was interesting and I genuinely enjoyed the content, despite it being so condensed into a few weeks. My advice for students wanting to go on ABROADER study tour would be to just enjoy the trip while it lasts and take as many photos as possible, because the time goes so quick. A huge thank you to all the organisers of the trip and to the local buddies for making this trip possible and the best it could have been.

Dante Staneke

Electrical Engineering & Computing Study Tour ,University of Newcastle, Australia

Words cannot describe how much I gain from this internship. The time here have been productive, meaningful and of course an unforgettable one! When I first came to Ho Chi Minh City for the internship, I was overwhelmed by the culture difference. To the roads packed with motorcycles to the food, everything was different for me. Honestly, I thought it would be very hard for me to adapt to the culture in Vietnam, however, ABROADER Vietnam provide us with a lot of support! They have local buddies that bought us around Ho Chi Minh City, teach us their culture and are very open and happy going! They even bought us to grocery shopping which we needed desperately! :) What’s more they gave me an internship in one of Vietnam’s top IT outsourcing company! The team was professional, always looking for ways to improve and welcoming! They always try their best that i am doing great! Thank You ABROADER Vietnam!

Gerald Heng

IT Internship ,Republic Polytechnic, Singapore

The experience of doing an internship in Vietnam certainly was not easy for me but I have no doubt that it was tremendouly valuable. At first, I actually had a lot of culture shocks, for example, sometimes it was hard to communicate with Vietnamese people because not a lot of people speak English and some had very strong accent. However, Vietnamese people were very kind to me and took well care of me especially the host family and program coordinator. I realized that it’s difficult to understand another culture but it’s also really necessary to accept other culture, their life and their way of thinking. At the hotel where I did my internship, I could learn a lot of things. For example, I learnt how to communicate politely with customers, how to make them satisfied and how to manage the hotel. Everyone from the supervisor to my co-workers was helpful and accommodating, I was included in all the daily meetings and the supervisor was very open to share her knowledge about hotel management which was really helpful to my future work. I really had a good experience in Vietnam. I appreciate the people I’ve met and the experience I’ve had. This is going to be very useful in the future. Thank you ABROADER Vietnam so much for the valuable opportunity to learn about my field of work in your beautiful country!

Kaoru Mori

Hospitality Internship ,Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, Japan

ABROADER, you have made my experience in Vietnam an incredible one!! For me, having a local buddy as a support system during my Social Work internship in Vietnam has been the most helpful. My work at CSAGA helped me understand social services from a Eastern Asian perspective, helped me acclimate to Vietnamese lifestyle, and understand the process that non-profits go through to obtain funding. ABROADER is always so supportive and has made me feel at home. Thank you so much and I encourage you all to keep changing lives and doing what you do.

Haley Perry

Social Work Internship ,University of Oregon, USA

Great internship in Vietnam! I recommend Westerners to go there at least one time to see things differently. ABROADER is very helpful (even if there is only women here haha) and found me a very decent internship. Time flies very fast, so you know what to do if you like the heat and cheep beers. À bientôt Vietnam!

Hugo Boitel

Environment Internship ,Polytech Montpellier, France