UH program in Vietnam sees first graduates

Advertiser Staff

The first 25-person graduating class of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Executive Master of Business Administration program based at the Hanoi School of Business in Vietnam will receive certificates today.

The certificates mark the first time an American university has successfully delivered a complete degree program in Vietnam, said program administrator Kim Fujiuchi, who is in Hawai'i.

The two-year program, known as VEMBA, involved 16 three-credit courses and was taught in English by professors from the Manoa campus. But it offered American expatriates and Vietnamese citizens an opportunity to study abroad and gain an American MBA.

"Most of the class are working professionals who went to school and took classes while they continued their jobs," said Fujiuchi, who is director of executive education in the College of Business Administration at Manoa. "The courses were compressed during the day and some in the evening. It was pretty intensive."

The program partners the Manoa College of Business Administration with the Hanoi School of Business, and classes were held there, Fujiuchi said. Twelve to 16 faculty from Manoa rotated into Hanoi for intensive week-and-a-half teaching sessions.

One of the students, Greg Wong, plans to continue his education at Harvard University, where he will pursue a master's in public administration with an emphasis on globalization.

"This program is bringing rising executives together in a learning environment that celebrates differences and explores opportunities for economic growth," Wong said.

"My experience in the VEMBA program has opened my mind to the immense possibilities of Vietnam's transformation from a planned socialist economy to a free-market model."

Llewellyn Howell, former director of the UH-Manoa VEMBA program, said UH is the only American university in Vietnam that provides its own faculty to teach every course.

UH President Evan Dobelle praised the Manoa College of Business Administration as a "pioneer" in the field of international business and said these new graduates have a multicultural understanding and the education needed in the growing global economy.

A second class began in January and a third will potentially begin next fall, with applications being accepted now.