Revamping e-commerce education: Universities turn to livestreaming to teach soft skills and adapt students to modern business

In a move to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit and find talent, a group of digital content businesses have partnered with universities to teach livestreaming to students. On June 26, Phuong Oanh Daily and Huynh Bao, the “Closing Stars” duo who rose to fame from the KOC Vietnam 2023 contest, appeared at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade to demonstrate livestream sales techniques. The duo showcased how to introduce products, pin shopping carts, try them out, and close orders in front of the camera. Additionally, they demonstrated different job positions in the live session operation team, resulting in nearly 1,000 orders being closed in just 90 minutes.

This soft skills training activity is one of several initiatives jointly implemented by Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade and Startup Uni 5.0. The organizers hope that this activity will help students develop their soft skills and increase their chances of success in e-commerce after graduation. Other colleges and universities have also recently introduced livestreaming into their teaching both extracurricularly and curricularly.

In mid-June, Gia Dinh University and Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) organized a free livestream course for students to experience with experts from House of Deera MCN. Meanwhile FPT Polytechnic College integrated live streaming sales into its curriculum through specialized activities and direct interactions with speakers before incorporating it into their training program. Master Thai Hoang Khai, Representative of Startup Uni 5.0 stated that choosing live streaming as a form of demonstration for students is because it is a modern tool that helps them practice and develop soft skills effectively.

Livestream sales have been popular in Vietnam for the past eight years on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, Sendo as well as social platforms like Facebook. With live streams becoming increasingly “feverish” last year with huge sales being announced regularly. Dr Bui Hong Dang Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade said that to succeed in the modern business environment students must be creative and adapt quickly to change introducing live streaming into teaching helps students quickly adapt