PSO MBA Cohort 11 students: Youthful, Talented, and Passionate

On April 6th, the Orientation Day event for PSO MBA Cohort 11 welcomed the incoming students along with representatives from the university.

The event featured the participation of Assoc. Prof. Tran Ha Minh Quan – Dean of ISB, Dr. Douglas Foster – Vice Dean of ISB, Mrs. Le Lan – Project Director of PSO, and Mr. Tang Thuong Phat – Academic Director of the PSO Project.

MBA leads to success when you follow the right path

To start the ceremony, Dr. Douglas Foster shared that a degree truly gains value when you approach your studies seriously. He emphasized that PSO MBA is a program that demands high academic standards and focuses on each individual’s problem-solving abilities. Unlike other programs that primarily emphasize mastering business knowledge at the management level, PSO MBA equips students with the skills to tackle daily business challenges within enterprises.

He highlighted that having the right mindset will create many advantages for students, emphasizing “Right mindset today, more benefit later”. He encouraged everyone to be ready to connect, collaborate, and develop together. Dr. Foster concluded by acknowledging that the MBA journey ahead may pose challenges, but with the right mindset, support network, and program engagement, the development potential of each individual knows no bounds.

Career Acceleration Pathway for PSO MBA

Continuing from the sharing session by Dr. Douglas Foster and Assoc. Prof Tran Ha Minh Quan – Dean of ISB, has provided insights into the PSO MBA curriculum and expectations for Cohort 11. Assoc. Prof Quan introduced the four stages of the PSO MBA program as follows:

• Stage 1 – Focuses on building a foundation of contemporary management knowledge for participants through two components: (1) MBA Academic – Knowledge, and (2) MBA Executive – Practice. Particularly, the MBA Executive component includes a series of MBA Talk workshops taught by current industry experts holding senior positions in enterprises, aiding participants in honing practical skills.
• Stage 2 – Strategic management skills such as Integrated Business Experience and Economics for Business are designed to outline a comprehensive picture of the economy and how businesses operate. As strategic vision plays a crucial role in enterprise management, each company allocates resources differently despite facing the same issues.
• Stage 3 – Business Innovation Management in PSO MBA emphasizes providing technology skills to help students adapt to the era of big data. “In the future, all businesses will leverage data-driven technologies; therefore, you need to develop more knowledge and skills in technology; for example, in the course, Data-driven in Digital Marketing – considering success and failure factors from analyzing data from Digital Marketing campaigns”.
• Stage 4 – Problem-solving skills within organizations. PSO MBA students will understand that decision-making yields results and risks in business operations. Stage 4 presents a valuable opportunity for students to transform theoretical knowledge into practical experience by addressing persistent challenges within enterprises.

Conclusion 

Inspired by International Sports Day (April 6), an event was organized to facilitate networking among the students through a team challenge consisting of 5 stations with different skills: jump rope, squats, javelin throw, endurance, and hula hoop. Collaborating as teams right from their first meeting, Cohort 11 students quickly got acquainted and bonded as they strategized and tackled the challenges together.