The purpose of this project was to contribute to the improvement of business management education in Vietnam, by sharing the expertise of developed East Asian countries. Case study methodology was taught to project participants at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City and at Hanoi Agriculture University, and business cases were developed taking into account Vietnam's business management environment. During the first year, the project provided lectures summarizing case study methodology and examining business case development methodology, and sent instructors from these two universities to business schools in Japan, South Korea and Singapore to conduct research and gain an understanding of pedagogical methods for MBA courses in developed Asian countries.
In the second year, full-scale development of the teaching materials began. The Vietnamese instructors received guidance and advice from Japanese and Singaporean business management specialists while compiling 14 case studies (12 by the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City, and 2 by Hanoi Agriculture University). These instructors were also sent to Japan, South Korea and Singapore to learn more about case study pedagogy in developed countries.
In fiscal 2008, the final year of the project, the Hue College of Economics in central Vietnam joined as a new project partner, and 16 case studies indicative of Vietnamese business ventures as a whole were compiled (13 by the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City, 1 by Hanoi Agriculture University, and 2 by the Hue College of Economics). To provide guidance in the compiling of case studies, the project held workshops on the methodology of business case study for Vietnamese university instructors, led by specialists sent from Japan and South Korea. The project arranged a study tour for the 18 instructors who compiled case studies, to further their understanding of pedagogical methods using case studies and typical business management practices in Asia. The study tours visited China (Chinese European International Business School, Tongji University and Shanghai University), Singapore (Singapore Management University), South Korea (Yonsei University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), and Japan (Hitotsubashi University, Waseda University, Keio University and the Tokyo Stock Exchange). In March 2009, 30 case studies developed during the second and third years of the project were published in English and Vietnamese as business management teaching materials. Finally, a briefing on the final reports was held on March 27, 2009 at the University of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City. There, in front of invited business management instructors, government officials and business managers, the first case study teaching materials in Vietnam were unveiled.
Over the three years of the project, business cases for Vietnamese enterprises were developed in a systematic and organized manner. This made it possible to raise the expertise of participating Vietnamese university instructors, and to establish a research network of business management
specialists in East Asia.