For EMBA directors tired of study tours, the Venture Residential has executives build, test and pitch a real venture in Vietnam.
Next residentialHo Chi Minh City, 21–24 January 2027Sasin Connect+ Executive MBA
Proof of applied learning, safely abroad.
A four-day venture residential in Ho Chi Minh City. Teams test a real problem with customers, build a prototype with AI, pitch to investors and leave with a sponsor-backed plan. Your school keeps the academic frame; we run everything that makes going abroad hard.
- Teams test a real problem with customers
- They build a prototype with AI
- They pitch to investors and executives
- They leave with a sponsor-backed plan
Four days. Five phases. Every session ends in something they built.
See
Briefed visits to real operating environments. Each one ends in three evidence points and one implication.
Output Idea and evidence
Frame
The problem reframed and the model locked, with founders in the room.
Output A clear proposition
Build
Live customer calls, AI-assisted build sprints and a working prototype.
Output Proof and prototype
Pitch
Live to investors and executives, judged on framing, evidence and decisions.
Output Scored feedback
Deploy
The venture turned into accountable action back home.
Output Sponsor and plan
The week starts two weeks earlier and doesn't end on day four.
Prepare
Teams are formed and problems submitted. Customers are lined up for each team, with backups. A masterclass can open the programme.
Build
See, frame, build, pitch and deploy, with AI used on each team's own problem in every build session.
Follow through
Check-ins on each team's plan back home. Participants' companies can continue in the Civico AI Academy.
Six things your cohort takes away.
Build, not watch
Participants bring a real problem and spend the week testing and building against it, rather than visiting companies.
Doors opened safely
Hosts, founders and customers lined up in advance, with backups, so the week does not depend on one yes.
AI as a partner
Used in the room on each team's own problem during every build session.
A toolkit they keep
An AI venture toolkit each participant takes home.
Evidence it worked
Participants are asked what changed in how they work, and we share what they say with you.
A plan that outlives the week
Each team leaves with a sponsor-backed plan for what happens next at home.
Delivered in Hanoi. Asked back for Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi, 15–19 July 2026: about 40 executives in four venture teams. Participants rated the build sessions above the company visits, and scored the week 8.95 out of 10 on whether they would recommend it. Sasin asked us back for Ho Chi Minh City, 21–24 January 2027.
Participant feedback, N=20 respondents (14 promoters, 5 passives, 1 detractor). Quotes anonymised.
It shifted me from answer-first to evidence-first leadership: seeing real systems, testing assumptions, and building from validated problems.
It is eye opening on Vietnam speed and how AI can enable us to move faster and amplify the value.
It has put me on a different playing field, where modern leaders compete with two defining advantages: speed and AI.
Your school keeps the academic frame. We run everything that makes going abroad hard.
Your school
Learning outcomes, credits, certificates and the academic relationship with participants.
Civico
The programme design, the hosts and guests, the AI toolkit, and on-site orchestration of the week.
Your local agency
Travel logistics. We work alongside it rather than replace it.
Is this a study tour?
No. A study tour is a week of visits. Here teams build, test and pitch a real venture, and the week is judged on decisions that held up.
Why Vietnam?
The week depends on meeting founders, operators and customers who move fast, and Vietnam is one of Asia's fastest-moving places to do that. Ho Chi Minh City hosts the next residential.
Can teams bring a problem from their own organisation?
Yes, where the school allows. Each team can work on a real problem from a participant's organisation instead of an assigned case.
Who has run it?
Sasin School of Management's Connect+ Executive MBA, in Hanoi in July 2026. Sasin has booked the format again for Ho Chi Minh City, 21–24 January 2027.
Can you adapt it to our cohort?
Yes. We map the four days to your learning outcomes on a walkthrough call.
How do you handle safety and duty of care?
We agree a duty-of-care plan with your school's risk office before the week, and run the week on the ground with hosts and backups lined up. Travel logistics stay with your school's agency.
Download the programme brief
Both programmes in one short PDF: the Venture Residential and the Civico AI Academy, how they run and what participants leave with.
See the Hanoi residential, mapped to your outcomes.
A 45-minute walkthrough for programme directors. We show you how the four days ran in Hanoi and how they would map to your learning outcomes.
- A 45-minute call, no preparation needed
- A tailored outline after the call
- Your brief stays confidential