MOOC: Introduction to Business in East and Southeast Asia

C - Shanghai Pudong 3 2006 Lauri Paltemaa

Introduction to Business in East and Southeast Asia (3 credits)

Level: Introductory

Language: English

Course time:

  • Course time, spring 2024: 8.1. – 7.4. 2024
  • Registration period: 8.1.-18.2.2024. The maximum number of student enrollments in this course is 200.

Organiser: Center for East Asian Studies, University of Turku / University Network for Asian Studies

Contact person:  University lecturer Outi Luova

Goals: East and Southeast Asia has one-quarter of the world population and is a fast growing economic region. This course provides you with basic information about business and management practices in this macro-region. As transferable skills students will learn to search and summarize new information, and to identify and understand key issues related to business in Asia.

Contents:  The course is based on the textbook Doing Business in Asia. The course covers various aspects of business and management practices such as location decision, market access, and supply chains. Students learn about individual countries as well as regional economic integration.

Taken as:

  • This course has 6 modules: Introduction to the region; Location decisions; Market access and modes of entry; Supply chains; Multicultural communication; China.
  • Each module contains reading materials, online materials and various assignments such as quizzes, summaries and discussion tasks.
  • Students take the course independently in the DigiCampus learning environment without the teacher’s supervision.
  •  Students can complete the coursework in their own schedule during the course period. There will be some exercises in February that need to be done within that month.
  • Grading: pass / fail.
  • Textbook: Doing Business in Asia. Suder, Tsai and Varma. Sage, 2020.
    – The book will be available in the libraries of the member universities of the University Network for Asian Studies, and also in some other university libraries. If the book is not available in your university/municipal library, you can make a book acquisition request.
    – Available for purchase in electronic and printed form.

Enrollment :

This is a free online course available for anyone to enroll. The maximum number of student enrollments in this course is 200.

Students who hold a valid study right at a member university of the Asia Network, and self-paying students of the Asia Network, can also register to this course through the Asia Network application process. They will get study credits once they have passed the course. Information about the application period and the application process is available here.

The course is arranged in the DigiCampus learning platform. Sign up using your Google password or your HAKA-credentials (students from Finnish universities or polytechnics)  on this page. Information about the application periods can be found on the DigiCampus website.

Certificate and study credits:

Everyone who enrolls in the course and passes the course may download an automatically created course certificate for free in the DigiCampus learning platform.

Students who are accepted to this course through the application process of the Asia Network, and complete successfully the course work, get study credits. The credits are recorded in the Peppi Credit Registry at the University of Turku. The students are responsible for transferring the credits to their own university/department. For detailed instructions, read the Study Guide.

Asia Network does not provide study credits to other students. If you want to get study credits from this course, check in advance with your university/polytechnic if it gives credits against the MOOC-certificate.

More information about how to take MOOC-courses is available here.


Students at the member universities of the Asia Network, and self-paying students  can complement this course with the 2-credit course “Introduction to Business in East and Southeast Asia: Country study”.  Information about the course is available here.

Photo: Lauri Paltemaa, Asianet Material Bank