Inside Haposoft’s Japan-Focused Internship Program with FTU and Shitennoji University
Haposoft successfully completed a one-week internship program in collaboration with Foreign Trade University (FTU) and Shitennoji University, bringing together students from Vietnam and Japan. The program focused on a real business challenge in the Japan market. Students were able to see how a Vietnamese IT company approaches client development in practice. Instead of staying within academic frameworks, they worked directly with real market context and business questions. A Practical Collaboration Between Haposoft, FTU, and Shitennoji University The program brought together 4 students from Foreign Trade University (FTU) and Shitennoji University in a shared internship setting at Haposoft. Students from Vietnam and Japan worked alongside each other on the same problem, which naturally led to different ways of thinking and discussion. Instead of being split into separate groups or activities, everyone followed the same working flow. This made the experience feel closer to a real working environment rather than a structured classroom setup. The dynamic came more from interaction and discussion than from any fixed format. The program was built around a real business question that Haposoft is currently exploring. Rather than working on prepared case studies, students had to approach the problem using actual market context and available information. There was no predefined direction, so most of the work came from researching, comparing, and discussing different approaches. Some ideas overlapped, others went in completely different directions. That process itself reflected how similar questions are usually handled in practice. What stood out was not a final answer, but how students approached the problem over time. They had to deal with unclear information, different assumptions, and changing viewpoints during discussions. Instead of being guided step by step, they had to figure out what mattered and what didn’t. This made the experience less predictable, but also more realistic. By the end, the value came from how they thought through the problem, not just what they concluded. Program Recap: What Students Worked On During the Internship Throughout the week, students didn’t just observe from the sidelines; they were deep in the process of solving a tangible business challenge. At the heart of the program was a single, strategic question that Haposoft navigates daily: "How can Haposoft effectively attract and engage more Japanese clients for its software development services?" To build a comprehensive answer, students moved beyond academic frameworks to research and analyze the problem through three critical lenses: The Big Picture: Analyzing the current Vietnam IT outsourcing landscape to understand the country's competitive positioning. The Client Perspective: Identifying the specific expectations, cultural nuances, and working styles that Japanese enterprises prioritize when choosing a technology partner. The Market Strategy: Evaluating how successful IT firms approach, build, and sustain long-term client relationships within the Japan market. This was more than an analytical exercise. Alongside the research process, students also had the opportunity to engage with Haposoft team members who are directly involved in the Japan market. By the end of the week, the value came from their ability to turn market data into actionable ideas, moving beyond theory to reflect how real-world business challenges are solved. By the end of the program, each group presented their proposed approaches based on what they had explored. Rather than aiming for a single correct answer, the focus was on how each team framed the problem and developed their direction. Exploring How Vietnamese IT Companies Enter the Japan Market The discussions were built around how Haposoft is currently approaching the Japan market, rather than general theories about outsourcing. Using this context, the program focused on a few recurring challenges that come up when working with Japanese clients, from how projects are sourced to how relationships are developed over time. Understanding Vietnam’s IT Outsourcing Industry One part of the program focused on how the IT outsourcing industry works in Vietnam, using Haposoft’s working model as the reference point. Instead of going through abstract definitions, we walked through how projects are structured, how teams are set up, and how work is delivered when working with overseas clients. The discussion stayed close to how things actually run inside a company, from internal coordination to day-to-day execution. Understanding the Outsourcing Needs of Japanese Companies The discussion then focused on the outsourcing needs of Japanese companies and the expectations that come with them. Clients tend to require a high level of clarity before work begins, which affects how requirements are prepared and how communication is handled from the start. In practice, this means keeping information consistent, making potential issues visible early, and maintaining a level of transparency that both sides can rely on. Communication here also depends on how well teams adapt to the client’s way of working, not just language. How IT Companies Identify and Develop Clients in the Japan Market The program also covered how IT companies identify and develop clients in the Japan market, based on how Haposoft is approaching it. We shared how projects often come from partner networks or initial introductions, and how relationships are built over time instead of through one-off sales conversations. This also ties to how materials are prepared early on, since company information and past experience are usually reviewed before any decision is made. Bridging Talent with Real Market Expectations This program showed how market expectations differ from what is usually taught in class. Working on a real question made that gap more visible in a short time. It was not about finding the right answer, but about how the problem was approached. That shift is often missing in a typical learning setup. From Haposoft’s side, these are challenges the team deals with regularly when working with Japanese clients. Market entry, communication, and long-term relationships are part of the daily work, not separate topics. Sharing this context helped make the discussion more grounded. It also gave a clearer picture of what is actually required beyond technical skills. Haposoft didn’t run this as a standard internship. We’ve worked with universities for a long time and continue to support student training through these kinds of programs. It’s also how we stay close to the way collaboration between Vietnam and Japan actually happens. We hope this gives the next group of talent a more grounded starting point as they move into the global market. Conclusion Haposoft are glad to have had the opportunity to bring students from different backgrounds into a shared, real working context. Even within a short period of time, the program created space for them to experience how market questions are approached in practice, beyond what is typically covered in class. Seeing how different perspectives came together around the same problem was also a meaningful part of the process for us. Haposoft will continue to expand its work in the Japan market, focusing on how client relationships are built from the early stages. This is an ongoing direction in how the company approaches market entry and long-term collaboration. If you are looking for a software development partner for the Japan market, Haposoft is open to connecting and discussing how we can support your plans.
