The partnership between Vietstar – a Vietnamese management consulting and executive education institute specialising in leadership development, organisational transformation, and international management training – and Indiana University in the United States, was announced on October 22, to develop leadership education programmes tailored to the challenges of the AI era, strengthening Vietnamese business leaders’ capacity to integrate technology into management, drive organisational transformation, and enhance competitiveness.
This reflects Vietstars broader strategy of expanding international academic collaboration and developing executive education programmes that combine global management knowledge with the practical needs of Vietnamese businesses.
Pham Thi Thu Hang, CEO, Vietstar Institute of Management and Consulting. Photo: Thu Hang
According to Pham Thi Thu Hang, CEO of the Vietstar Institute of Management and Consulting, AI is opening up significant opportunities to innovate management, production, and business operations. However, access to technology alone does not guarantee business value. Companies need leadership teams capable of identifying the right challenges, making sound investment decisions, and guiding their organisations through change.
“In the AI era, this approach is becoming increasingly essential, as competitive advantage depends not just on access to technology but also on leaders’ ability to translate AI’s potential into business value,” Hang told VIR.
“The focus is not simply on updating technological knowledge, but on developing strategic thinking, integrating AI into governance, transforming operating models, and improving decision-making. These capabilities will strengthen the transformation capacity and competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses,” she said.
The programmes are designed for CEOs, board members, business executives, and professionals responsible for innovation, digital transformation, and human resource development. By combining academic knowledge and international management experience with the challenges facing Vietnamese companies, they aim to help leaders respond more effectively to AI-driven changes in business.
Hang noted that, over nearly two decades, Vietstar has sought to give Vietnamese leaders opportunities to learn from advanced economies, including Singapore, the United States, South Korea, and France. Such international exposure, she said, should go beyond learning about successful models in other markets. Its real value lies in translating global knowledge into practical leadership capabilities.
Connecting international experts with the actual challenges facing businesses can encourage leaders to question established practices, strengthen management skills, and develop more sustainable approaches to creating value. However, management models that work in developed markets cannot necessarily be replicated unchanged in Vietnam. Leaders need to understand the principles behind these models, the conditions required for implementation, and how they can be adapted to their organisations’ resources, cultures, and objectives.
Prof. David Silbersweig, Harvard Medical School. Photo: David Silbersweig
As AI assumes a greater role in analysis and decision-making, the human capabilities that underpin effective leadership are also coming into sharper focus.
Prof. David Silbersweig of Harvard Medical School, who in November will lead discussions for Vietnamese business leaders in the US on how the human brain and nervous system can continue to develop and enhance their capabilities in the age of AI, approaches this challenge through cognitive neuroscience, raising questions about how the brain can continue to develop, perform, and adapt in an AI-driven world.
Rather than viewing leadership solely through operational models and technological tools, this perspective highlights human capabilities that algorithms cannot fully replace – integrating information across different levels of thinking, moral intuition, deep empathy, and cognitive resilience when navigating uncertainty.
“Understanding how the brain processes pressure, supports strategic decision-making, and maintains mental wellbeing can help business leaders develop a more human-centred approach to management,” Silbersweig said. “Such capabilities are increasingly important as organisations combine human judgement with AI-powered analysis and automation.”
He added that the objective is not to position human intelligence against AI, but to understand how the two can complement each other. Technology can expand analytical capacity and improve efficiency, while human judgement, empathy, and resilience remain essential to navigating complex situations and making decisions that account for broader organisational and social considerations.
For Vietnamese businesses, the challenge is therefore twofold: building the technological capabilities needed to remain competitive while developing leaders who can guide people and organisations through rapid change.
Hang from Vietstar believes national competitiveness in the AI era depends on technological development and leaders with a global outlook, an understanding of technology, and the ability to drive transformation. International education and academic partnerships can contribute to this process, provided that the knowledge acquired is translated into practical improvements in business management.
“What matters is that international knowledge and experience must be applied in ways that reflect the realities of Vietnamese businesses, helping leaders strengthen their management capabilities and adapt to the changes brought about by AI,” Hang said.
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