knowledge-based economy

Fall 2011 Update: U.S. Businesses Are Discovering the “V” in CIVETS

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , , ,

This fall 2011 update is from Vietnomics, a global sourcing consultancy that links US and Vietnamese investors and companies.  Thanks, Jeff!  Summary  The Vietnam opportunity in the 3rd quarter attracted more attention from global investors, who now have a catchy acronym to go with their enthusiasm:  CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa) is replacing … Continue reading Fall 2011 Update: U.S. Businesses Are Discovering the “V” in CIVETS

Hey AIESEC! What’s Up? (A lot!)

Mark A. Ashwill Events, Organization , , ,

AIESEC, originally an acronym for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales, is the world's largest student-run organization with a presence in over 107 countries and territories and a membership of over 50,000.  "Focused on providing a platform for youth leadership development, AIESEC offers young people the opportunity to be global citizens, to … Continue reading Hey AIESEC! What’s Up? (A lot!)

Summer 2011 Update: Despite Economic Instability, Things Are Looking Up in Vietnam

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

This summer 2011 update is from Vietnomics , a global sourcing consultancy that links US and Vietnamese investors and companies.  Thanks, Jeff! Summary Still reeling from the 2009 global recession, Vietnam’s economy has been challenged in the first half of this year.  Businesses are coping with runaway inflation, high interest rates, an increasingly unsettled workforce, and inadequate … Continue reading Summer 2011 Update: Despite Economic Instability, Things Are Looking Up in Vietnam

Industry Takes the Initiative: An Intriguing Example from Central Vietnam

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , ,

There are number of companies in Vietnam, large and small, that are attempting to creating pipelines of qualified employees by engaging selected universities and offering various types of support.  Enclave  is a small U.S. software engineering firm based in Danang that specializes in providing offshore delivery centers (ODC) for information technology outsourcing (ITO) and information technology intensive operations … Continue reading Industry Takes the Initiative: An Intriguing Example from Central Vietnam

The Fourth Education Conference

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Conferences , , , ,

I recently joined several hundred other attendees at the 4th Education Conference on 9 April in Hanoi, organized by the US Embassy, the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and National Economics University (NEU).  Sponsors included the Henry Luce Foundation, the Vietnam Center at Texas Tech University, Johnson & … Continue reading The Fourth Education Conference

Internet Use and Top 20 Sites in Vietnam

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

Back in 1996, I remember going to one of the few Internet cafes in Hanoi, which featured exorbitant fees and very sluggish service.   In 2000, there were an estimated 200,000 Internet users in Vietnam.   As of December 2010,  26,784,035 people were online, according to the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center.  That's 30% of the  population (!).  The estimated “reach” of … Continue reading Internet Use and Top 20 Sites in Vietnam

Vietnam Begins 2011 with Critical Political Decisions

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

Below are some excerpts the winter 2010 Vietnomics update.    Summary Vietnam ended 2010 facing internal challenges and a chorus of foreign analysts raising questions about whether the government has the will and the wherewithal to handle them.   Fortunately, the answers will begin coming in January (though not necessarily to the satisfaction of the international business community) when … Continue reading Vietnam Begins 2011 with Critical Political Decisions

GE Sponsors $1 Million Training Center for Vietnamese Students

Mark A. Ashwill Announcement , ,

GE is another excellent example of a multinational company in Vietnam that has adopted a proactive approach to improving the quality of higher education in fields relevant to its business(es).  This high-tech center, housed at the University of Technical Education (UTE) in HCMC, will give 100 students a day the opportunity to train on state-of-the-art … Continue reading GE Sponsors $1 Million Training Center for Vietnamese Students

SaigonEduCamp: 12.12.10 share, collaborate, educate

Mark A. Ashwill Events , , ,

According to its organizers, this "un-conference," defined as a conference in which participants use their interests, knowledge and experience to generate discussion topics," is for anyone involved in education to meet, share, collaborate and educate.   At SaigonEduCamp: Everyone is a participant, no one is a spectator. It is informal: there are no proposals, papers or … Continue reading SaigonEduCamp: 12.12.10 share, collaborate, educate

Offshore Development Centers “Off the Beaten Path”

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , ,

As promised and following up on my recent Intel post, here are a few words about Enclave Offshore Development Centers, a small forward-looking U.S. IT company in Danang.  For some background information about Enclave, check out this 2008 article entitled Da Nang's transformation into Vietnam's 'next place'." While Enclave obviously doesn't have the resources Intel … Continue reading Offshore Development Centers “Off the Beaten Path”