During my trip to Vietnam, I also had an opportunity to visit University of Economics – The University of Danang. I delivered a research presentation on my main research areas of attention and cross-cultural marketing. The faculty from the International Business and Marketing departments Anh Truong attended the presentation and we had a great conversation regarding this area of research, especially in cross-cultural research.
In the afternoon, I gave a teaching presentation about the current trends in digital marketing to more than 100 marketing students (2nd and 3rd year), which was very well received. The students were eager to learn and asked a lot of questions about new trends in the US. It was a fun, engaging session.
I would like to thank the University of Danang faculty and students for a warm welcome and interest in my research and teaching topics. This was the first time I visited Vietnam and everything went very smoothly. I hope to be back soon and am looking forward to future collaborations with the University of Danang. #research #teaching #digitalmarketing #crosscultural
Last week I had an opportunity to visit University of Economics-Hue University in Vietnam. I gave a research presentation to the marketing faculty where I discussed my community engagement research on healthy consumption among vulnerable populations and my experience working with various community partners including my most recent partner – Haymaker Farmers Market.
I also gave a teaching presentation on the Critical Trends and Issues in Integrated Marketing Communications to more than 300 students, which was very well received. The students were very engaged and interested in new trends in marketing and social media. It was the biggest class size I have taught to date 😊
One of my research interests is how to increase and promote healthy consumption among vulnerable populations (i.e., kids, low-income individuals, and refugees). I have been working with Haymaker Farmers’ Market in Kent, OH on the Power of Produce kids program, which is a program that encourages kids to try and learn about fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. I help them design and assess the success of the program. With my help, they use the data and results to secure future funding for the program.
They are a great community partner and we have been tracking the effectiveness of this program at the market since 2022. We hope to disseminate the results of this intervention and share them with other farmers’ markets, stakeholders, academics, and policymakers. We hope that through implementing this program at farmers’ markets around the country, children will have more knowledge about and a positive attitude toward fresh produce, which will lead to healthy eating.
This summer I had an opportunity to present my research at NIDA Business School. They are one of the leading business schools in Thailand. I mostly discussed my research area in attention and multitasking and some cross-cultural gift-giving research.
Several faculty and PhD students attended my talk and they found that it was helpful and inspiring. I cannot wait to collaborate on future research with the faculty and students at NBS 🙂
This blog is about the detailed schedule of our Study Abroad Thailand 2023 program.
Pre-departure
March 2023 – First pre-departure meeting. At this meeting, I talked about the expectations and overall theme/itinerary of the trip. I also let the students introduce themselves and meet each other.
April 2023 – 2nd pre-departure meeting. The students did some research and gave a presentation on what they found fascinating about Thailand. I also talked about Thai customs and culture. The students also learned some basic Thai words like Sawasdee (hi), thank you (Khob Khun), A-roi (delicious), etc.
May 2023 – 3rd pre-departure meeting. At this meeting, we covered the important information that students need to know during the trip. I also talked about what they should pack and gave them a cheat sheet for emergency contact. I also introduced the Thai client for the course.
Itinerary during the trip
May 16: The big group departed from Cleveland. Some students traveled separately and met with the big group in Bangkok.
May 18: We arrived in Bangkok and stayed overnight at the hotel near BKK airport.
The students received crossbody travel bags as welcome-to-Thailand gifts sponsored by Chinchana Group 🙂
May 19 – First day on WU campus: We left Bangkok for Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) in the morning from Donmueng Airport. We arrived in NST around noon and received a warm welcome from Walailak University faculty, staff, and students.
May 20– Morning lecture and Buddhist ceremony: Today we started the class with an ice-breaking activity to get the American and Thai students to know each other. Then, I gave a lecture on international marketing and cross-cultural consumer behavior.
In the afternoon, the students participated in a local Buddhist ceremony at Wat Phra Maha That. The weather was really hot but it was a great experience for everyone. This activity is very local and cannot be found on Tripadvisor
May 21 – Morning lecture, a sustainable tie-dye workshop, and city tour at night: On this day, I gave a morning lecture on how to write a business plan, and conduct SWOT analysis and competitor analysis.
In the afternoon, the students participated in a tie-dye workshop where the dye was made from a natural ingredient. This workshop is one of the social enterprises in NST.
After the workshop, we met with our client from NST Chamber of Commerce to listen to the scope of the project. The goal of the project is to promote old town tourism in NST. Then, we took a tour of NST at night sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (NST branch) to learn more about NST.
May 22 – Departuring for Krabi, eco print workshop, and sustainable tourism at Nateen Community: In order to propose a plan to help NST promote its tourism, we visited its competitor, which is one of the world-famous destinations – Krabi. The students participated in the eco print workshop and learned about sustainable and net zero carbon tourism. In the evening, they attended a Thai dessert-making class and palm oil painting at Nateen Community. These tourist activities are designed to reduce carbon footprint.
May 23 – Wellness hotel management seminar and eco-tourism kayaking: In the morning, the students attended a seminar and learned about wellness hotel management at Aonang Princeville Villa Report. Wellness and medical tourism have become a popular trend globally and Thailand is one of the famous destinations. In the afternoon, we went kayaking at Klong Rhood as part of the low-carbon tourism at Nai Nang Community.
May 24 – Islands hopping tour: Today we did an islands hopping tour. We visited several world-famous beaches in Thailand where famous movies were filmed. After the tour, we stayed overnight on Koh Lanta.
May 25 – Sunbathing at sunrise on Koh Lanta. Back to NST: Sunbathing at sunrise (Arb Aroon) is an eco-tourism activity on Koh Lanta (Lanta Island), which I considered to be the highlight of this trip. Aab Aroon (sunbathing at sunrise) is a low-carbon, eco-tourism activity. We rode a gondola out to the mangrove area, and watched the sunrise and animals while enjoying morning drinks and traditional Thai desserts.
May 26 – Return to WU campus and project time: After the students got ideas from Krabi tourism, they came back to WU campus to put together a presentation to promote old town NST tourism.
May 27 – More project time and river cruise in Pak Panang: After project meetings on campus in the morning, the students went on a river cruise in the Pak Panang river. During the cruise, they learned about the history of NST and sampled green curry rice noodles (Kanom Jeen Kang Kiew Whan) and Pad Thai sponsored by WU student’s family.
May 28 – Project presentations and farewell party: After 2 days of hard work, the students gave a presentation to Nakhon Si Thammarat (NST) Chamber of Commerce on how to promote NST tourism to attract international tourists. This experience gave them an opportunity to apply what they learned in class in a real client project (great for the resume!). It also taught them to work in a real cross-cultural team where they had to find a way to get over cultural differences and the language barrier. All students (Thais and Americans) said that it was a challenge but they learned so much from this trip/class.
In the evening, WU threw us a farewell party and gave all students a certificate of completion. A representative from each university talked about their experience and impression of this program. WU also had traditional Thai dance shows for us and WU students surprised us with a dance performance and Elena’s and Josh’s birthday cake!
May 29 – Go back to Bangkok and the US: We left NST and flew back to Bangkok in the morning. Some WU students also came to say goodbye at the airport. While most students are flying home that night, some students extended their stay in Thailand and went to Chiang Mai for more Thailand experience. The big group had some time to kill in Bangkok. So, we went to the shopping malls in the city before coming back to the BKK airport in the evening.
Sydney Chinchanachokchai, Ph.D. 