AT IOB
19
Enriching Encounters …
On the morning of Monday 19 December 2016, IOB had the honor of welcoming back two former students from Vietnam, Pham Vu Thang and Le Hong Viet. Pham Vu Thang and Le Hong Viet studied jointly in Antwerp in 1998 and later on got married … a true‘ IOB couple’.
Le Hong Viet is professionally active in a Vietnamese local government, while Pham Vu Thang( PhD) is the director of the Center for Economic Development Studies( CEDS) at Vietnam National University in Hanoi as well as the director of Thriive Hanoi. Thriive provides pay-it-forward financing for production equipment to ambitious small business entrepreneurs, helping to expand their businesses. Through this ThriiveCapital system, loans are not repaid in cash, but instead“ paid forward” with donations of basic necessities and job training to vulnerable community members.
Looking for synergies between both academic institutes on research and education, several IOB staff members engaged in interesting discussions with the two alumni on academic research, alumni relations and promotion of the IOB Master programmes. Hopefully, this visit was only the start of more intensive exchanges in the future.
Exchange to change January 2017