The Saigon Enterprise Challenge tasks secondary students from international schools around Ho Chi Minh City to research, design and produce an innovative new product to bring to market. This process nurtures and develops key soft skills such as creativity, innovation, teamwork and leadership which are essential in today’s competitive workplace. With the finals taking place at BVIS HCMC in April, let’s take a look at the entries from our Year 12 students here at the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City. Introducing Aroma, Evexia, Elysian and Sepia...
At Aroma, we aim to improve mental health by distributing fragrance related products. Science has shown that different fragrances have different health benefits. For example, vanilla is widely credited as a calming substance that creates positive emotions and evokes a feeling of warmth and happiness; simultaneously helping the emotionally drained.
We were inspired by the fact that there are many people who struggle with mental health every day, whether it’s stress, depression or anxiety. We, as global citizens, felt the need to tackle this issue. Nowadays, students, feel they don’t have the time to do activities that improve their mental wellbeing. Our homemade organic candles can be used at any time, and can be used with little effort.
We have two distinct goals that we aim to achieve:
120,000 VND per candle
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In today’s developing world, people tend to worry too much on school, work, finishing deadlines, and generally “getting through the day”. They, as a result, forget to take care of themselves; their mental and physical well-being. Therefore, we think it is very important for students to relax and take some time for themselves in order to achieve the best of their abilities, not only to “get through the day” but to “thrive during the day”.
We have developed these wellbeing and mindfulness books to help accomplish these goals based on the PERMA model: Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishments. Half of the content in this book will contain wellbeing and mindfulness activities such as mood tracker, water tracker, gratitude jar, important people in (your) life, bucket list and many more. The rest will contain plain lined paper so that it can be more practical in students and teachers’ everyday life.
Mental health is a huge subject globally, but we have not seen much availability of resources and materials in Vietnam that tackles issues associated with it, especially on a day to day basis. We have spent a lot of time researching the contents to put into these booklets in order for it to be both enjoyable and successful in achieving mindfulness and wellbeing. Our slogan is “Focus on the Positive” and overall we believe this can make a big difference in how people today approach their day to day life.
We will donate 100% of our profits to Diep Son primary school in Nha Trang. With just 28 students, providing the best learning environment is almost impossible. We want to provide the children of Diep Son with an equal opportunity to access education, free of cost. Giving children a comfortable environment to study allows them to achieve wellbeing. It gives them meaning every day and a chance to accomplish something they're proud of.
120,000VND per book
To order or for any other information about the wellbeing booklets either:
We are Elysian and we are a business selling organic handmade soap made by less abled people in Quy Nhon to raise awareness on the importance of sanitisation. We’ve partnered up with Nguyen Nga Center, an orphanage that provide helps to people with special needs and physical disabilities to find jobs. By partnering up with them, we are lending a hand to those that are finding it difficult to fit into society while providing them with jobs and life stability. The soaps are 100% organic and are made up of only a few components: Coconut and olive oil, natural scents and essence. We offer soaps in multiple scents including: jasmine, honey, lemongrass, cinnamon and lavender.
In Vietnam, just 35% of Vietnamese schools have hand washing areas and of those, less than 5% have soap available for hand-washing. We believe that these children have a right to access a bar of soap. Elysian will be using ALL of our profits to donate bars of soap to orphanages, hospitals, and people in need. We will also educate them on the importance of hygiene.
80,000VND per bar of soap (approximately 100g)
To order or for any other information about the handmade soap:
We produce high-quality, self-designed drawstring bags. Our design is a fresh, light and dark blue striped top, and a navy bottom with our logo. Comfy strings and a front zipper with an extra pocket for more storage. Our bag can be used for most purposes—sports, going outdoors, vacation, hangouts…you name it. 
We will be donating 100% of our profit to the VinaCapital Foundation, in particular to their campaign to provide scholarships to ethnic minority girls. Although primary school education is officially free in Vietnam, families are responsible for books, uniforms, food, housing, transportation and school maintenance costs when there are still families who earn less than $240 per year. Join us in our journey to increase educational opportunities for children in Vietnam!
140,000VND per bag
To order or for any other information about the handmade soap:
It is clear from each of these projects that the notion of 'giving back' is embedded in our students' philosophy. Although the competition rules state that at least 10% of profits should be donated to community partners, it is wonderful to see that each team has decided to donate 100% of their profits. Business and Economics Teacher Mr Alexander says, “Each team is working closely with a charity. I am very proud of the work they have put into the project so far and their motivation to use the enterprise project for social good.”
The soft skills learned during co-curricular activities such as the Saigon Enterprise Challenge are invaluable in today's job market. The 2019 Global Talent Trends report from LinkedIn discovered that 92% of employers state soft skills such as leadership, communication, creativity and collaboration matter as much or more than traditional hard skills.
"This has given all of our team members the opportunity to handle a small scale business. My position as Managing Director has taught me a lot about communication, leadership and keeping everyone happy! As the process has gone along, I have learned how to deal with conflicting opinions and make better business decisions." - Atharva, Managing Director of Aroma
“My highlight from this entire process is the business experience I’ve picked up. I’ve learned that in life you’ve got to go out there and work for what you want. I’ve also learned as MD to delegate jobs more evenly, how to manage finances and I now understand how to give clearer instructions when communicating with my team members. In the future I want to manage my own fast food restaurant so these management skills will definitely come in useful! “– Hang Bui, Manging Director of Evexia
Although these soft skills can of course be taught in the classroom, they are often better learned through real-life experiences.
“I think it’s really important to experience these projects outside of the normal curriculum as it enables real life application of the knowledge and skills we garner in the classroom. The skills we’ve learned will definitely be useful in the future.” - My Khanh, Managing Director of Sepia
101 Thao Dien Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Junior Campus
225 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Secondary Campus
246 Nguyen Van Huong Street,
Thao Dien Ward, Thu Duc City,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
