Badminton Tournament 2023, organized by Tan Binh District with the participation of 14 IVC players was taken place at Tran Badminton Academy at the end of August.
With the slogan Head to the top-Refuse to lose, all IVC players contributed lots of eye-pleasing matches to our spectators. Although competitors were very well-performed and sometimes repeatedly attacked us, IVC players were great as well to hit them back. Our players hadn’t got the top prizes of this tournament as we targeted, but we showed our fans with the lust of victory and never-give-up spirit. We were proud of what our players did in the last tournament.
We would like to give a special thanks for BOD for giving IVC players a great chance to take part in this playground. Also, we appreciated all fans and support team to cheer players’ spirit to perform matches well. Last but not least, big thanks for the amazing effort of all players who performed excellently in this tournament. All deserved a big round of applause for their contribution to tournament’s success.
The Badminton Tournament 2023 has closed and left us with many memorable moments. See you guys and we will be back with more breath-taking matches next year.
If you want to become our players, do not hesitate to join us and meet at IVC Badminton Club every Tuesday & Thursday. Hope you stay strong and always healthy!
If March 8th is known as International Women's Day, at IVC, we also have another very special day - August 3rd to honor IVC’s men and their contributions to our company. It is the date of IVC Soldiers.
In order to celebrate a meaningful IVC men's day for our soldiers, we have called meetings with our young ladies to collect the ideas 2 weeks before the event's day and then…“a series of surprises” was created on that day - last August 3rd. Let's take a look at the highlights of that day!
First, our stunning girls represented the company and the union to present surprised gifts to men colleagues. Not only that, a special “drinking counter” was created to offer a variety of nutritious drinks to our gentle men. We had a lot of fun during the break time together!
At the end of that day, a gorgeous girl appeared suddenly on stage on behalf of all IVC ladies to send the meaningful message to our soldiers. There were wishes from the bottom of our hearts that only can express on special opportunity like that day.
“Each man has his own identity, personality, strengths, weaknesses, goals, dreams, and challenges. Each man has his own story to tell.
On this special day, we - IVC women want to say thank you for inspiring us, motivating us, and supporting us.
Thank you for making us happy, making us laugh and making our company a better place.
You are strong and brave. You deserve respect, care, and support.
You are not alone. We are here for you”
Here is a short quote from this inspirational speech.
And finally, a fun lucky draw took place right after that with a very lively atmosphere.
We really hope our IVC men enjoyed this “series of surprises” and had a memorable day.
Once again, warm wishes on IVC Men’s Day to all our men colleagues. Let you become men of words, men of honor, and men of conduct to make our company a best place to work in.
E-club #4 - English is an optimal means of communication
After a period of operation, E-club has acquired a few permanent members, however, every E-club session welcomes new faces, and that’s really great. We can assume this is a good sign because more people are starting to take an interest in practicing their English speaking skills.
Here are a few topics that have been discussed by the E-club recently. Please take a look!
E-club took us back to childhood with the topic "Ticket to childhood". Participants had no difficulty recounting in English what they had experienced as children. With open-ended questions from the host, we took turns talking about where we grew up, the games we used to play, our childhood friends, and our vivid memories. Most of us are children raised in different regions, so it is quite interesting to hear about other people's childhoods.
In order for participants to talk a lot without limited information, the topics of E-club often revolve around life. Coming to the topic "Weather", the members reviewed the English names of some weather phenomena and some commonly used vocabulary in this field. Diving into the topic, participants discussed the relationship between weather and people. A nice weather makes us happy, and cloudy weather may make us depressed without energy. Taking turns analyzing and giving real examples, all participants unanimously agreed that mood and behavior can be affected by weather.
A topic that is also close to daily life was organized, called "Do we need a hobby?". To warm up the atmosphere, we join in a word-guessing game. Each group appoints one person to describe the words, the rest try to guess that one. After the warm-up, the members continued to tell each other about their leisure pursuits. We talked about why we started, why it became our hobby, when we started doing it, and what we think it's beneficial to do. Everyone has at least one hobby.
English is like any other language in the world, the main purpose of each language is to communicate and convey messages to others. But to be able to convey that fully, easily, and effectively, we need to practice using that language well. We can start with familiar topics revolving around daily life, such as activities, weather, hobbies, etc. Then, from there, improve with specialized vocabulary on that topic.
Join us on the journey to practice speaking English!
Up to now, the first half of the journey of 2023 has passed in the situation that the economy is currently recovering, but there are still many difficulties and challenges in general.
To give an overview of the Company's business situation during this time to all employees, the Second Half (2H) Kick-off meeting was held at IVC office in the middle of July 2023 with the participation of all IVC employees. In this meeting, the General Director and Senior Managers shared about the Company's business results in the first half of 2023 in comparison with the target plan, and pointed out what we have achieved and not yet achieved. Based on the actual results, the updated business plans for the next phase were drawn up, to adapt flexibly with the economic situation in the second half of 2023.
In this meeting, Mr. Onogawa Yasuto - our General Director also spread an inspirational message to all managers, leaders and staffs. The efforts, cautions, and cooperation of each individual will always be important factors in building the company’s success. We believed that opportunities only come to those who are well-prepared and have the ability to adapt flexibly. So, now is the time for us to look back and develop ourselves, well-preparation will help us always be in a state of readiness to accept the coming opportunities.
From ISB Group, Mr. Wakao Kazufumi, ISB Representative General Director, also expressed sincere thank-you message to all employees for the daily efforts and contributions of each employee in each company to the growth and development of ISB Group. This was motivation for all of IVC employees to fight harder and harder in the second half 2023 - we believed!
Certainly, the efforts and persistent contributions of each excellent individual will always deserve to be recognized. Also in this meeting, the Company congratulated the employees who have successfully completed the challenging goals, to step up a new ladder in their career path at IVC through the promotion ceremony.
Once again, congratulations our warriors on this next step up on your career!
The meeting ended with an intimate Pizza party, in a cozy space at IVC office. This is also a time for everyone to freely discuss, share and increase the connection among all employees.
This meeting was great for us to kick off the second half with a lot of energy and we are looking forward to seeing all of you at our explosive party at the end of this year!
We firmly believe that June is the month that all children eagerly look forward to because it marks the official beginning of summer holidays and a very special day – the children’s day.
Children’s Day on June 1st is a holiday that celebrates the happiness, healthy growth, and bright future of children all over the world. It may be a day of remembering our own childhood or learning about the childhood of parents, grandparents through the real story from them.
Children’s Day is also a day of thoughtfulness, family, lots of fun and especially, it is a day for IVC to express the company’s care & love to the little and lovely children of all IVC employees.
We hope the small gifts given by the IVC company and the IVC Traded Union will make all IVC children have a meaningful day with love and laughter. IVC always accompanies our employees in their journey to bring the best well-being to their families and loved ones.
Finally, wishing all the kids in IVC families - our lovable angels a very Happy Children’s Day. May your world be filled with joy, laughter, and endless adventures.
Learning English is the journey of life, your English knowledge will be collected through every learning and practicing activity every day!
Various energetic and enjoyable discussions are still going on in the IVC’s E-club. Let’s have a sit and review three topics held in March.
The English Club immediately seized an event not to be missed within the month - 8th March, to open the topic "Why do we need International Women’s Day?". With a not really unfamiliar topic, attendees freely promoted their thoughts and gave very interesting answers, as well as some highly surprising ideas. There was no exact answer to that big question, anyway, the comments made that day also received the agreement of all those who attended. Females nowadays have the opportunity to be involved in many fields due to they have strived for equal rights in the past. In an all-male working environment like IT, ladies are a breath of fresh air in the office. That topic was closed by the wishes on the occasion of International Women’s Day for the girls who participated in this activity.
For new and rarely encountered topics, participants frequently find more resources on the internet by phone. And have you noticed that cell phones have become an inseparable part of many people’s lives today? So, have you ever wondered what would happen if your phone suddenly vanished from your life? “Life without phone” shows joiners a view of how life will be altered today if they do not have a phone. We considered the role of phones in life, work, study, entertainment, etc. for each individual. According to a survey of the participants, the phone was a convenient tool for them, but they not reliant on it. How long do you think you can live without your phone? What is your limit? Someone said one day, someone said ten years, much or little, we believed that life would have changed without the phone and we could adapt to it, like the way phones appeared for the first time.
There is one other thing that also changes and updates constantly, like the phone, and that is Social Media. In recent years, Social Media has been constantly innovating and developing and has become the most influential and effective means of communication. For instance, Social Networks (one branch of Social Media) are rapidly growing and spreading, especially during the pandemic. Everything in general and Social Media in particular has two sides, but the purpose and the way we use it can determine whether it is good or bad and how it affects our lives. "Social Media" was also the topic that closed E-club's March.
IVC's English-speaking series is still in the consolidation and development phases. Thank you all IVC staffs very much for your consistent participation, this is the motivation for the E-club to keep being creative and delivering interesting activities continuously.
Training Trip in Japan #2 – A Journey of Youth Experiences
(*The blog is based on the personal opinion and experience of one of the members participating in the training trip in Japan)
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What makes a quality training trip but still brings a lot of interesting experiences??? Follow me on the 4-day long journey, coming to the land of cherry blossoms – Japan to find the answer.
After a 6-hour long flight, we arrived at Narita International Airport early in the morning. Immigration check-in was very quick with enthusiastic support from international volunteers. The weather at that time was very cold - about 1 °C, thanks to the well-preparation in advance, our group quickly adapted to the weather there.
This trip was a combination of training and visiting some famous places in Tokyo, trying some Japanese foods, and also having time for us to freely explore other places at night in Tokyo.
Our training and cultural exchange program was co-organized by ISB Corporation and IVC. In this training session, we were divided into small groups, including IVC members and Japanese members from ISB and other subsidiaries in the corporation. We had time to discuss some topics, such as cultural characteristics, trendy technologies because almost members in group are mainly software engineers. In addition, we also shared with the group about the individual achievements and also the difficult points in the work that everyone had encountered. The training took place very happily and joyfully, everyone was always willing to share, although there were still language barriers. This training session made us understand more about personality, characteristic of the Japanese working and living style. These points really help us a lot in the working with Japanese and easier to understand the customer's expectation in the future.
After interesting training hours, it was time for us to visit some famous places in Tokyo.
Japan is a country that is famous for having many temples and shrines, so through our trip, we had the opportunity to visit two famous places in Tokyo, Asakusa Kannon Temple and Meiji Jingu Shrine. At Asakusa Kannon, we could see the Japanese culture of the Edo period. There is a large 5-storey temple with a small street that sells a lot of souvenirs and typical Japanese cuisine. Besides, walking around the small street, we could also see tourists coming there in traditional Japanese custom - Kimono, with eye-catching colors. In front of such a beautiful scene, our team has recorded moments together here just via a mobile phone.
Contrary to the somewhat bustling atmosphere at Asakusa Kannon Temple, the Meiji Shrine is quieter. This is a sacred temple in Japan and is quite respected by the people, where the Emperor and the royal family are worshiped. Surrounding the temple is a primeval forest with neatly trimmed rows of tall green trees, a very peaceful scene, and fresh air with a quiet but dignified beauty. When visiting the Meiji Shrine, you can buy wooden prayer cards sold at the entrance to write down your wishes and leave them at the shrine, asking for blessings. Or you can also visit to buy lucky charms about health, career, or love that are sold a lot here as a souvenir, wishing for peace.
The time we came Japan was the time when plum blossoms were in full bloom. The pure white plum blossom, blooming brightly in a corner of the park in the early morning, was really a beautiful scene to record the moments when our team was here.
Tokyo is known as the most crowded city with the fastest pace of life in the world, we also had the opportunity to visit the Shibuya intersection, an intersection where millions of people walk every day.
However, Tokyo at night is quite quiet, the shops here close quite early, around 10 pm, many shops close. After a few minutes of walking to explore Tokyo at night in cold weather, enjoying a bowl of hot ramen was one of the ideal things to consider.
I was really happy to be one of the members participating in this training trip in Japan. The trip really brought me a lot of new experiences, it helped me feel more motivated to work hard and contribute to the sustainable development of the Company. Hope to see you in Japan one day soon.
Training Trip in Japan #1 - A Journey of Connection & Discovery
The year 2023 marks a memorable milestone for IVC – 20th anniversary of establishment and development in the Vietnam market.
To celebrate this memorable event, the Board of Directors (BOD) decided to organize Training Trips in Japan for all IVC employees. This was an inspiring plan that BOD had put much effort and cherished for a long time. With the desire to create an opportunity of exchange and connection, all participants could visit ISB Corporation’s office and join the training session with ISB employees, then meet ISB customers in the country of Cherry blossoms – Japan. Since this plan was announced in the New Year Party 2023, all IVC staffs have been very excited and looking forward to upcoming trips.
In order to prepare well for the trip and ensure not to affect the work progress, the whole employees would be divided into many batches to participate in this training trip. The first batch took place in some last days of winter in Japan but the weather was quite pleasant with nice sunshine and chilly air. Even though this was the first time almost all participants experienced the cold weather with temperatures below 10 degrees in Japan, all of us adapted very quickly and were eager to discover Tokyo.
On the first day, we had the opportunity to visit and had interesting experiences at Asakusa Kannon Temple, one of the must-see destinations when coming to Tokyo. Then we took a cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba in the afternoon, enjoying the panoramic view of Tokyo on the river.
The second training day started with full energy after all of us had a restful night at the hotel. On this day, we had a chance to visit Meiji Jingu - one of the Shinto shrines in Japan. It was so surprising that in the center of Tokyo with many high-rise buildings, we could visit a green space which is completely separating from the rushing city outside, it made us feel the energy from nature very clearly.
After lunch, we went to the parent corporation in Gotanda - Tokyo, to spend time interacting with young employees of ISB and other subsidiaries in the corporation – this was the main session of our trip. This training session took place in an intimate and open atmosphere, everyone got the chance to discuss related to cultural topics and technology trends in the IT industry.
It didn’t stop there, ISB held a grand party to welcome IVC members to Japan with the participation of ISB’s BOD, IVC’s BOD and almost all participants in the training session. This was a great opportunity for all of us to recall the memories of the 20 years since the establishment and development of IVC and look forward to the 30th anniversary of IVC’s establishment in Vietnam. Looking back on memorable milestones in the past 20 years, IVC has faced many difficulties and challenges at times. However, thanks to the wise and ingenious leaderships of the BOD, the strong support from ISB side and the consensus of the entire company, IVC has overcome all barriers, developed strongly, and made itself gradually as one of the leading Japanese outsourcing companies in the Vietnam market.
On the next day, after seeing plum blossoms, attending a local festival held in a park, checking-in some popular landmarks, and shopping at some famous shopping malls, all of us had the opportunity to meet, exchange, and enjoy dinner with ISB customers who always support us in projects. Although we had worked together on many projects before, this was the first time almost IVC members had the occasion to meet ISB customers in Japan, making it a memorable party for the first trip.
In addition to the sightseeing and training, all members could be free to explore the nighttime bustle of Tokyo, such as taking the subway, discovering local restaurants, and checking in other famous places of Tokyo. In a series of articles related to this topic, we will upload some other blogs for the personal impressions of the members who participated in this training. We believe that through these blog posts we could give our readers a multi-faceted perspective on how IVC members felt when taking part in this Japan training trip.
It could be said that, after this training trip, Japan has left many unforgettable memories for all participants and the distance between IVC members, ISB young members and ISB customers became closer, laying out the foundation for more effective cooperation at work. Moreover, all IVC employees consider this trip a great motivation to put more effort into work and advance IVC more and more.
We are convinced the upcoming second training trip will also bring many special emotions and motivation to the participants. Stay tuned for the latest information about the next blog and next trip!
After the two first topics, E-Club has received much support from IVC staffs. That has motivated us to continue holding "English-only talks". In February, E-club organized two sessions and got contributions from participants. Let's look back at the highlights of these two topics.
February began with a quite lively topic: "Teamwork or Individual work." Participants were divided into two groups and proceeded to defend their group's point of view. By pointing out the pros of their teams and the cons of the opponent, many great ideas were raised. After that discussion, the participants had a broader view of teamwork and individual work. They could select the benefits of two working styles to take advantage of, and analyze the disadvantages of each way to find solutions to the extent possible.
The participants rated this topic as not easy since it is impossible to indicate which is better, however, it was an exciting topic. The joiners used all their vocabulary and knowledge to make their points and debate with the opposing team. This is in line with the E- club's goal - which is to have a communication and practice environment in English.
Another topic in February was “Cultural differences between Vietnam and Japan”. Although they contain the Asian culture, Vietnam and Japan still exist differences in the way they work, live, communicate, etc. IVC is a company with Japanese roots. Therefore, it is not too difficult for staffs to recognize a few differences in working culture. Some participants who have had the experience of living or traveling in Japan have added different points in life and communication styles. This discussion is a premise for participants to communicate more effectively with customers in the Japanese market.
E-club will continue to accompany IVC staffs on the path of practicing English communication. Hopefully, discussions of the E-club can contribute to people's enthusiasm for learning English.
March is the month of honoring women, highlighting all the sacrifices, contributions and achievements of women, helping to make a difference and changing society’s perspective. In this month, don’t hesitate to show our love, our care and give special gifts to our grandmothers, mothers, wives, aunts, sisters or even our girlfriends who always care for our both spiritual and physical life to help us have the best mood to work with full of energy every day. And it would be remiss not to show special care and thanks to IVC’s ladies, who always accompany and support us in daily work.
To cherish the dedicated IVC’s women, IVC organized a warm day for ladies on 8th March, 2023. Beginning the show was a great dance flash mob on the lyrics of song “See Tinh” performed by 12 handsome and talented male colleagues. We must say our ladies were very surprised and delighted with this well-prepared performance, they didn’t take their eyes off “the dancers” on stage and always had smiles on their faces.
Thank you to “dancers” for taking the time and effort to deliver this wonderful performance. We really love it!
The next surprise went on with the deep wishes from a Gentleman who represented all IVC’s men, to express the wonderful message through his speech. You made our day!
If you thought that the surprise stopped, you were wrong. All IVC’s women were excited to receive sunflowers bouquets as beautiful as them and lovely gifts from the Company and the Union given by IVC’s men plus with their best wishes.
Honestly to say, we could see the happiness and smiles on our women’s faces during this special event on 8th March.
Wishing all IVC ladies are Wonderful - Outstanding - Marvelous - Eligible - Nice all the time. Happy Women's Day!
