Technopreneurship Study Mission: Vietnam 2010

Nineteen SMU students from across the different schools visited IDG Ventures (Vietnam) and ten other companies over a week from the 5th to the 10th December 2010. This visit gave the students a first-hand introduction to the technopreneurial activities in Vietnam. All the ten companies were investee companies of IDG Ventures Vietnam which is the dominant early stage venture capital company in Vietnam for Technology Media and Telecommunication. The companies visited ranged from web aggregators to a company that allowed Vietnamese to invest in gold using Internet.

The visit resulted in internship opportunities for the technopreneurship track and other normal internships from nine of the ten companies visited. The team was also extended a joint venture opportunity by two of the companies.

The students found out that Vietnam adopted a fast follower model. Given that Vietnam has 85 million people, a number of them young and Internet Savvy, such a model works for them. Many of the founders were experienced people either within Vietnam or from countries such as US who chose to return to Vietnam sensing the rising tide of opportunities. The visit energized several students into thinking about starting their own companies. Three of the students were very surprised that IDG ventures invited them for a dinner meeting upon hearing their proposed business idea. Such immediate response was not expected and welcome with pleasure.

The students also got to visit Cuchi tunnels in Ho Chi Minh city to get an appreciation of the history of Vietnam.

The highlight of the visit was the final dinner where the students had an opportunity to spend significant time with the CEOs of the different companies they visited and learn more through informal interaction.

Technopreneurship Study Mission: Israel 2009

When we think of science and technology, the countries that often spring to mind are Japan, Germany, and the United States. Twelve students embarked on a trip to visit Israel’s buzzing technopreneurship scene. Israel in fact ranks fourth in the world in scientific publications, and counts IBM, Microsoft, Intel, HP, Cisco, Google among its list of technology heavyweights that have opened up R&D and regional business centres in Israel.

Over the weeklong trip, students had the opportunity to meet professionals from a wide spectrum of technopreneurship activity: venture capital firms, start-ups, research institutions, and government agencies. For the pre-trip class projects, the students worked in groups to present an up-and-coming start-up and propose a new business idea. The highlight of the trip was when the students met some of the entrepreneurs from these start-ups; the students finally got to quiz the entrepreneurs on their experiences, and even pitch their business ideas in person. The projects became more meaningful and vivid, and made for an inspiring learning experience

Entrepreneurship is so ingrained in Israeli society that it is the norm rather than the exception. Various speakers attested to this – the social environment is encouraging when one embarks on an entrepreneurship journey, and there is an established infrastructure where entrepreneurs can get both financial and administrative support. This study mission also saw the burgeoning of working relationships between the SMU Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and various Israeli institutes.

Of course, no trip to Israel is complete without paying homage to some of her most famed sites. The students visited several historical places of interest such as Bethlehem, the Yad Vashem memorial for the Holocaust, and the Western Wall. The icing on the cake was without a doubt, the rejuvenating dip in the Dead Sea.