Empowering Young Leaders in a Vibrant Economy

BIS Hanoi’s Business and Economics department are privileged to be working with our students who have potential to be Vietnam’s future leaders.

Vietnam is described as one of the most dynamic emerging countries in East Asia by the World Bank organization and with good reason. There has been a strong, resilient economic growth rate, dramatic reduction in poverty, an increase in health and education services and substantial infrastructure improvements over recent years. It is a real pleasure to teach our subject in such an exciting and positive economic environment. In the four years that I have lived here, I have been inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit which is ubiquitous in this city.

BIS Hanoi’s Business and Economics department are privileged to be working with our students who have potential to be Vietnam’s future leaders and we aim to provide them with the tools they need to be key contributors to the continued growth of Vietnam’s economy. We find that we are a naturally popular subject and that many students intend to complete Management or Economics degrees abroad in order to come back and contribute to the economic development here.

This year we welcomed Mr Allison who has helped to bring our subject to life with many relevant case studies found in Vietnamese news. Mr Kelly has introduced IB Economics to the department with IGCSE Economics coming in August. Mr Kelly has been to visit year three students to teach them the basics of business for an enterprise project. Our first cohort of IB Business Management students will complete the course in the next couple of weeks in what has been an incredibly challenging two years. What I have enjoyed most about this course is that it develops our students to be critical thinkers with a social conscience. Not only will they be equipped with the knowledge that they need to understand business environments and their economy, they will be mindful of the impact of their decisions and caring for others in the process.

In term one, we were lucky to be invited to visit the Samsung factory in Bac Ninh province. We relish the opportunity to visit businesses and see how they operate live. This is a learning opportunity that we can’t replicate in the classroom. Students were in awe at the sheer scale of operations there and the lean production methods employed were very impressive indeed. We also learned about how Samsung motivates their staff and how they address wellbeing issues that may arise from long hours working on a factory floor.

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish year 11 and year 13 the very best of luck in their upcoming IGCSE and IB examinations.  Year 13 have been integral to the growth of our department and our profile in the school. Mai Trang, Hieu Anh, Hanh An and Thuy Tien have been committed to BIShop since its inception, and more recently the development of Epicure’s new café, which they have named Queen Bean! They, and the rest of their cohort will be sorely missed. We hope to see year 11 students in August, taking on the challenge of the IB in either Business Management or Economics. We wish all students moving on the very best of luck.

Rachel Stevenson

Business Studies Leader