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(Program brokering brings SIAST to the world…continued from page 1) SIAST students in the Business Administration diploma program at HUI are currently in the process of forming their own student association. SIAST is facilitating the links with existing SIAST student associations and planning greater cooperation between the two institutions. Ideally, HUI and SIAST hope to begin student exchanges in the brokered program areas in the near future. “Collaboration between HUI and SIAST not only creates a good opportunity for our students to gain professional knowledge and necessary skills,” explains SIAST in Vietnam SIAST is delivering an innovative and ambitious program that brings quality business education and training to Vietnam, a gateway to continental Asia and a country many are calling the next Asian ‘tiger.’ SIAST is delivering its two-year Business Administration diploma program at Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh University of Industry (HUI) in the heart of the city formerly known as Saigon. The brokerage agreement was signed between the two institutions on March of 2006. Classes began in October 2006. This venture marks the first time that SIAST programming has been delivered internationally. In January 2007, HUI president Mr. Te inaugurated the new SIAST office on-campus amid a throng of student performances and a signing ceremony for the second year of SIAST’s Business Administration program. SIAST president Dr. Bob McCulloch and David Harvey were present to speak to the students and faculty and took part in the signing ceremony. This also marked the extension of the brokerage project for an additional five years. PAGE 2 HUI President Mr. Te, “but also enhances HUI’s staff management and teaching competency approaching the advanced levels in the world. SIAST’s instructors are professional and enthusiastic in teaching. The program has actually contributed to the development of HUI in particular, and Vietnam in general.” International program brokering holds real promise for SIAST. New programming opportunities are being explored in India and Vietnam. Potential also exists with partner institutions in the Philippines, China and Ukraine. International program brokering is a cost-recovery program so the recruitment of fee-paying students is the key 2007/08 SIAST Vietnam student association executive. 114 students are enrolled in the two-year Business Administration program. Training is being delivered under the guidance of visiting SIAST instructors and a Canadian representative from SIAST to guide the overall program, monitor academic standards and manage instructor support. The entire program is being delivered in English because students must meet predetermined English language requirements to gain entry into the program. The students have finished their first year of English training to prepare for the SIAST program and have completed their first four Business Administration courses. They have now begun their second set of five first-year classes. The graduates at HUI will have options to enter the local labour market — largely with foreign companies that seek employees who can speak English and understand Western business practices. criterion as SIAST evaluates future international partnership opportunities. “Many international institutions and international students are willing to invest significantly into SIAST education and training services. This is a very strong indicator of the quality SIAST brings to its clients” says David Harvey, director of SIAST Business Development and International Partnership (BDIP). “I’m gaining good knowledge and I am in contact with the best study methods in the world through SIAST.” The Business program helps students learn Western business practices and, upon graduation, will give them the opportunity to work with expatriate companies. The students will also have the opportunity to receive transfer credit to continue their studies at a Canadian university. SIAST is currently working on an agreement that would see Athabasca University deliver Years 3 and 4 of a business degree program at HUI. The response from students has been outstanding. First-year Business Administration student Vu Nam Thai, 26, said, “I really like SIAST’s HUI project co-ordinator, Miles Fahlman (back left) poses with Vietnamese Business students. (continued next page)
(SIAST in Vietnam…continued from page 2) top: SIAST Business students in Vietnam. bottom: SIAST Business students Vu Nam Thai and Dinh Hoang Bien. the course content, the texts include websites with extra exercises, and this is new to Vietnam.” The SIAST office has become a regular haunt for students; although most are shy, they still come in to volunteer, practise their English and search the Internet. “It’s great to come into the SIAST office,” Thai said “We can work here, and I can also improve my English.” Fellow first-year student Dinh Hoang Bien, 21, echoes Thai’s sentiments, “SIAST has an interesting program that is great for the students. This helps because Vietnam has a lot of hurdles to overcome in education right now, and I want a good job in the future.” “I’m gaining good knowledge, and I am in contact with the best study methods in the world through SIAST,” Bien said. Their progress has been remarkable; many students are, for the first time in their lives, learning to interact with Westerners, and are rapidly developing their written and spoken English. The skills being passed on to the Vietnamese instructors and the students are invaluable in Vietnam, as the developing country opens up to foreign input. The courses are delivered by the Vietnamese teaching staff that is becoming well-versed in SIAST instructor protocols through course content, interaction with visiting SIAST staff, and interfaculty contact online. The “train-the-trainers” technique has proven to be one of the best measures of the course thus far, as it has built the training capacity of the faculty at HUI, while also educating the students attending the program. SIAST Palliser Campus Communications instructor Linda Wrigley spent four months at HUI at the start the Business program. She was instrumental in getting the Canadian curriculum up-and-running. New name and expanded role builds on international success In January 2007, the SIAST board of directors approved International Services’ name change to Business Development and International Partnership (BDIP). The new designation was put in place to accommodate an expanded mandate. Building on its success internationally, BDIP helps coordinate the marketing and management of larger training and service contracts domestically. In cooperation with division extension consultants, BDIP manages contract training efforts across academic divisions. The expanded mandate gives BDIP the opportunity to develop new partnerships. Enhanced collaboration with larger provincial and national private sector firms and with federal private sector departments and agencies is a particular priority. “We believe there is significant untapped potential for SIAST to work with larger provincial, national and international organizations that are willing to invest in customized training services,” says David Harvey, director of BDIP. Aside from the expanded mandate, BDIP continues as a “cost recovery” unit within SIAST. Likewise, BDIP’s operational focus remains on marketing and management. The implementation of training and service contracts remains the responsibility of SIAST’s academic divisions. New developments at BDIP A number of new initiatives are being developed at BDIP: SIAST’s history in Ghana in new documentary In collaboration with the Wa Polytechnic in the Upper West Region of Ghana, SIAST is implementing a one-year project under the Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) Stand Alone Public Engagement Fund (SAPEF). The project will see SIAST staff and students travel to the Wa Polytechnic and document on video the successes of both the Wa Polytechnic in general, and more specifically SIAST’s involvement in the project. Upper (continued next page) “HUI is a place of enormous youth, energy and movement,” states Wrigley. “Both the staff and students are eager to learn and to be successful. SIAST could not have chosen a better International partner for its first brokered Business diploma program.” Based on the consistent presence on campus, SIAST is extremely lucky to have been granted an office on the second floor promenade. This central location gives SIAST great exposure in the student classroom building. SIAST is looking forward to expanding its partnership with HUI and growing SIAST’s student population overseas. PAGE 3
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