Lam Ngoc But is in the second year of MBA in VJU. In 2019, she moved from Binh Duong – a southern province to Ha Noi capital to do further study. This was the second time she went away from her family to get well-prepared for her own project.

With a passion in Japanese culture and language, she made her first trip to Japan in 2012. Two years in Japan, But tried her best to learn Japanese by taking courses and interaction with the local. In addition to her study, she found a part-time job which connected Vietnamese and international students in Japan to services and part-time work. Each year, she introduced hundreds of those jobs to students who were living in Japan. Two years of diligent work and study, But’s level of Japanese has been upgraded while she has made a good network of small businesses and service providers that were in need of international students. She then returned to her hometown and start to do her own business.

But started up with a service to offer Japanese courses in her hometown in Binh Duong. “At that time, demand for workforce that can speak Japanese language in Ha Noi was high, but in my hometown, it was not. People did not think Japanese language was a good opportunity in employment. However, I think that Binh Duong will be a good place that Japanese companies want to invest in in the future, so, I decided to start up in language training. It was in 2014 and we got a few learners at the beginning.” But shared.

 “When I run my company, I realized that I was in lack of business management. I found difficulties in HR management and some other “holes” in my knowledge needed to be filled up. I searched for a suitable course and VJU’s course in MBA came up on time. I took my decision to do further study in business management and wrapped up to come to Ha Noi for a long trip.”

So far, But is now in the middle of the course duration. At weekend, But works and supports her company in marketing management. In this semester, But does focus in some specializations such as Marketing Management, Strategic Management, Economics Management, HR Management… But is now more confident in her management knowledge as she is brought to the updates in management. “I feel more standardized, especially in the areas that I have previously did by myself such as marketing, HR planning… Now I am more confident working with partners and customers, and I can answer their difficult questions.”

The advantage that But found when she broke her work to do further study is that she can compare what she has done to the knowledge in the course. She sometimes raises her own issues in class for discussion. “Directly apply what I have learn to my work is a good practice. At the same time, I look back at the record that I have done, see clearly the meaning of the steps and analyze the ones that can be done better”.

Before joining VJU, But has got N3 in Japanese. Now But can learn more Japanese with native speaker with a modern approach, and her language skills are improved much. “I can speak Japanese more fluently, not depending much on grammar”.

But shares about her plan “After graduation, I will find a teaching job in a university in Binh Duong to fill my passion. For my business, I can apply what I have learnt to run it more effectively. I’ll try my best to do both works because they I love both of them.”