During our second full day in Vietnam we visiting FPT University and the FPT office building. At FPT University we took a tour of the campus and learned what college is like in Vietnam. FPT University is mostly student majoring in technology and software, however there are many business students as well. The campus we visited has 5000 students, but there are several other campuses, as well. FPT has a high school and elementary school associated so the students move through each school. As they get older the focus in school is more technology and they start to learn how to code. There are about 800 internationals students and 2% are American. As we walked around the campus we noticed there were many signs and posters in English because the school likes to be internationally friendly.
After we visited the school, we drove just a few minutes away to the company’s campus. At their headquarters, we were first given a tour of their beautiful campus before we were given an overview of the company. Transitioning from their college campus to their headquarters, a FPT employee highlighted how 70% of students that are enrolled at FPT University are recruited and employed by FPT upon graduation. As a leading provider of technology, FPT is one of Vietnam’s largest software companies with a known presence in markets outside of the country, such as the United States. With offices in Dallas, Washington, California, and Colorado, FPT is exponentially growing, making it’smark in the software industry.
After our office visit, we stopped by a local restaurant (La Vong Restaurant) near FPT’s campus to indulge in a traditional Vietnamese lunch. The restaurant served us traditional Vietnamese items such as fried corn, tofu and pork shoulder, but incorporated a hint of home by serving us french fries on the side.
Once we finished lunch, we headed back into Hanoi to visit the Thang Long Imperial Citadel which is a complex of historical imperial buildings. The citadel signifies the historical and cultural importance of Vietnam. It is full of artifacts and items dating back to the 6th through 20th centuries. It was not open on the day we went so we weren’t able to go inside, however we walked around the outside of the building. After that we returned back to the hotel for an evening of free time.
business and culture of the pacific rim 