From 17 to 21 April 2023, CAS will host a delegation of students & senior lecturers from IfM, University of Cambridge. During this Study Tour, the delegation will be visiting several companies in Hanoi & HCMC. It is such a great opportunity for VinUni students to meet, greet & exchange culture & knowledge with peers and professors from one of the most prestigious institutions in the world.

Details of the Study Tour and IfM can be found below:

ISMM C57 International Manufacturing Study Tour Introduction

The Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) is one of the six divisions of the Cambridge University Engineering Department.  It brings together expertise in technology, management and industry policy to address the full spectrum of issues which can help industry and governments create sustainable economic growth.

Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management (ISMM) course is a one-year MPhil master’s degree programme run by the Institute for Manufacturing (http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/ismm/). The course is a combination of taught modules, industry-based projects and a research dissertation. During the year the graduates visit approximately 50 different industries in the UK across a variety of manufacturing sectors and the international study tour adds to this learning by providing an experience of manufacturing in other overseas countries.

This year’s study tour in Vietnam and Japan will have a total of 20 people (18 ISMM students and 2 tutors) and visit manufacturing companies from 16^th to 29^th April 2023.

This year’s study theme is about (re-)industrialization during the changed global manufacturing contexts. In the past decades, the manufacturing industry has successfully penetrated into the middle and lower levels of the market in the world, which was traditionally dominated by developed countries, thanks to its comparative advantages in resources and labour as well as policy.

The industrial situations in both Vietnam and Japan have undergone great changes in recent years, and it is necessary to explore some recent developments. Vietnam and Japan have very different industrial journeys, experiences, and levels because industrial starting points, structure, international competitiveness, and policies differ. They are, however, very complementary, demonstrating distinctive characteristics and great potential for comparison and integration.

In order to thoroughly understand the strategies and approaches via which the companies compete and grow in the re-globalized and configured manufacturing industry, the following are as can be specifically explored:

• Company Internal Operations: manufacturing management capabilities evaluation in terms of principal function capability maturities, and coordination capabilities between functions in order to achieve lower cost, faster delivery, quicker response, and better quality.
• Holistic Supply Chain Management: firms transform into inter-firm networks, outsourcing, specialisation, the collaboration between companies, and integration mechanisms between companies, partner management.
• Innovation and Upgrading: new product development, new process development, new business model development, new industry creation, e.g. penetrating into the service areas to create higher value, and greater technology adoption.
• Cultures and Values: explore and identify Vietnamese and Japanese cultures and values, and understand their impacts on sustainable manufacturing development including both business sustainability and environmental sustainability.
• Internationalisation: The firms’ internationalisation and MNCs localisation: motivations (why), phases and modes (how), as well as core skills, challenges, experiences, and key barriers or challenges.
• Sustainable Development: industries’ strategies and practices to reduce all kinds of pollution and carbon footprints and pursue environmentally friendly industrial systems.

A typical visit would last approximately 2.5 hours with an introduction to the company development, a tour of the production areas, and finishing up with an opportunity for the graduates to ask questions.

CAS is collaborating with CBM to recruit students to join the Study Tour to learn as an alternative option for the signature 5in5 internship.