Students are not only learning in the classroom, but are also starting to gain entrepreneurial experience while still in school.

Some teams spent nearly a year developing their projects, while some students had to defend their business models for the first time, using financial, logistics, operational, and feasibility data, before a panel of experts. At Beyond Borders 2026, students are no longer doing assignments for grades. They are learning how to enter the market with the mindset of real professionals.

Dr. Le Thi Thanh Huong - Vice Rector of Dai Nam University, delivered the opening remarks for the program.

The Beyond Borders: International Business Competition 2026, organized by the Faculty of Logistics and International Business, Dai Nam University, brought together students from various educational institutions such as the Foreign Trade University, the National Economics University, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, the Banking Academy, the University of Transport and Communications, FPT Polytechnic, etc., creating a multi-faceted academic competitive environment with many projects aimed at solving practical problems of society and the market.

What's impressive isn't just the innovative business idea, but the way the students approach learning: not stopping at textbooks, not stopping at grades, but starting from real-world experience, from market needs and from the pressures of the professional environment.

Learn through experience, grow from market challenges.

Some teams spent nearly a year researching, testing, and refining their projects before submitting them to the competition. One group traveled a long distance from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi after conducting field surveys in the Mekong Delta to verify the applicability of their product.

Students from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City are presenting a project to utilize water hyacinth to create safe, low-chemical hair care products with natural fragrances.

Some students face a barrage of questions from a panel of experts for the first time, covering areas such as finance, legal matters, logistics, operations, market strategy, and the feasibility of their business model.

This is no longer just a typical student competition; it's a process where learners begin to confront the real pressures of their future careers. It's not just about having a good idea, but also about demonstrating the ability to implement it.

Unlike many academic competitions that only focus on ideas, Beyond Borders requires students to prove their projects with research, data, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. A good idea isn't enough; what's more important is the ability to transform that idea into a marketable solution.

The BOVEN+ team, with their project on a "fresh vegetable box" for busy people, won first prize in the Beyond Borders 2026 competition.

The BOVEN+ team, winners of the first prize with their project developing a "Clean Vegetable Box" service based on a recurring subscription model, is a prime example. The members spent nearly a year researching and testing the product, dividing the work among various areas such as product development, marketing, logistics, operations, and corporate legal matters; their approach closely resembled a real startup rather than a group of students participating in a competition.

Meanwhile, the "Five Great Talents" group from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City started their project not from their desks, but from field surveys in the Mekong Delta. This journey shows that today's students are no longer just studying to complete courses, but are learning to look at societal needs and find solutions to real-world problems.

The academic arena becomes a place for honing professional skills and developing an integrated mindset.

Dr. Le Thi Thanh Huong - Vice Rector of Dai Nam University - highly appreciated the competition, seeing it as an opportunity for projects to "reach out to the wider world".

According to Dr. Le Thi Thanh Huong, Vice Rector of Dai Nam University, in the context of AI, digital transformation, and globalization dramatically changing the field of international business, students cannot simply learn theory. More importantly, they must know how to transform knowledge into solutions that can be applied in practice.

This is also a process for learners to develop critical thinking, teamwork skills, adaptability, and gradually meet the practical demands of the labor market.

Dr. Le Thi My Ngoc - Head of the Department of Logistics and International Business, delivered the concluding remarks for the program.

Sharing her thoughts on the competition, Dr. Le Thi My Ngoc - Head of the Department of Logistics and International Business, said that Beyond Borders is not only an academic playground but also an environment that helps students develop an integrated mindset, an entrepreneurial spirit, and the ability to adapt to the global business environment.

From a university competition to an opportunity to step onto the international stage.

In particular, the top 3 outstanding projects will advance to the semi-finals of the Young Entrepreneur Innovation Competition organized by JCI Vietnam on an Asia-Pacific scale. This means that, from a competition within the university, students' ideas have the opportunity to move on to the international stage.

The participating teams took a commemorative photo with the organizers and judges of the Beyond Borders 2026 competition.

Amidst a growing demand from businesses for adaptable, problem-solving young people with practical experience, platforms like Beyond Borders are demonstrating a different approach to higher education: students don't wait until graduation to learn their profession, but begin accumulating professional skills from their very first projects in college.

Perhaps not every project after Beyond Borders will become a business. But at least, many students have begun to understand how the market works, what customers need, and what they themselves lack to enter their future careers. This also marks the point where learning is no longer just confined to textbooks.

The first prize in the Beyond Borders 2026 competition went to the BOVEN+ team.

The second prize and the Most Popular Team award at the Beyond Borders 2026 competition went to the NOVA Team.

The BIZFORCE team won third place in the Beyond Borders 2026 competition.

The Encouragement Prize in the Beyond Borders 2026 competition went to the Five Heroes and PLAY GIRLS teams.