Thanh Bui joins hands with Singapore's leading university to help start-ups

Australian-Vietnamese artist and educator Thanh Bui has brought Singapore's start-up training model to Vietnam to help young people start their businesses.

"Many years ago, when I participated in a workshop on entrepreneurship for thousands of students, I realized that there is an extremely strong wave of start-ups in Vietnam. Everybody wants to start a business. When I asked students why they wanted to start a business, their answer was to make a lot of money," said Thanh Bui.

But only 3-5% of start-ups are thriving. The reason is that they still lack the soft skills to develop their potential.

Thanh Bui, founder of the Education Embassy and representative of the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

"For me, success is not just about getting rich and having a lot of money. Success is about getting rich, making practical contributions to society, and finding ways to solve difficult social problems. That is the value of sustainable success," said Thanh Bui.

So, what do you do to become successful? Thanh Bui said we have to learn from professional skills to soft skills, learn to be a good person, learn from each other, work together, compete, and learn from developed countries like Singapore.

Then Thanh Bui and his Embassy Education (the creative education ecosystem) decided to coordinate with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to bring the Success Academy training model to Vietnam.

The Academy will serve as a key nexus for academic and industry partners in Singapore and Vietnam, catalyzing partnerships aimed at unlocking new experiential learning and real-world training opportunities for students and professionals alike. Based on SUSS' commitment to lifelong learning and social impact, the Academy will also develop well-rounded future leaders who can excel and make positive contributions in the rapidly evolving world.

The Academy will offer two tracks: Personal Success and Professional Success, to unlock individual potential and cultivate a lifelong learning mindset.

A key initiative is the Impact Start-Up Challenge (ISC), a credit-bearing course that offers a platform for students from Singapore and Vietnam to learn together, experience the start-up ecosystem and work collaboratively to generate ideas, test and pivot their proposal in a real-world setting. The ISC in Ho Chi Minh City will be launched in July 2024 in partnership with Van Lang University, with a sustainability theme. Drawing on the expertise of SUSS, the first iteration of the course will focus on entrepreneurship and ideation that translates into positive social impact.

Success Academy will also collaborate with industry partners for work placements, internships and Industry-Based Study Programs (IBSP). A signature program of SUSS, local IBSPs will be co-designed and co-delivered with Vietnamese institutions such as  FPT University and Fetch Technology Vietnam to enable Singaporean students to learn and receive mentorship directly from industry practitioners.

Professor Robbie Goh, Provost of SUSS, said the SUSS curriculum is designed to enrich the student experience with opportunities such as experiential learning placements overseas.

"The launch of Success Academy in Vietnam is the first major step in our regional plans. With the help of our trusted and invaluable partners, such as Embassy Education, we will build a strategic network of alliances that will expand our influence and impact for the benefit of both our students and the societies in the region," he said.

Thanh Bui was born in Australia in 1982. He has been a professional artist since 2004 with his band North. They have performed in many Asian countries. He became famous when he reached the top 8 of the Australian Idol singing competition in 2008. So far, he has composed about 600 songs. Now, he works as a music producer, educator and judge of music contests.