Nurturing startup spirit

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 Lac Hong University's students transferred automatic aluminum cutting machine to LIXIL Global Manufacturing Limited Company (Long Duc Industrial Park, Long Thanh district, Vietnam).

 The Electro-Mechanics – Electronics faculty of Lac Hong University, for many years now, have had many group of students seeking research and technology transfer contracts with businesses. This activity is very similar to the business’s technology transfer model.

 

 

Dr. Nguyen Vu Quynh, Dean of Electro-Mechanics and Electronics Faculty of Lac Hong University, said that these groups of students of the faculty have studied, fabricated and transferred quite a lot of automatic production machines and equipment to foreign invested enterprises in Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau; typically, automatic conveyors for shoe processing materials at Changshin Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Vinh Cuu District), inductor assembly machines at Nec / Tokin Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Loteco Industrial Park)  and Plus Vietnam Industries Co., Ltd (Bien Hoa Industrial Zone 2) ...

 

Currently, a group of students of Faculty of EM & E are working on to transfer 20 automatic aluminum cutting machines to LIXIL Vietnam Global Manufacturing Co., Ltd (Long Duc Industrial Zone, Long Thanh). Each machine is priced at 30 million VND, helping businesses replace manual cutting method and increase labor productivity by 5 times. Nguyen Van Toan, head of technology transfer group, said: "We do our own research and invent technology according to the requirements of the enterprise. The company found it feasible and agreed to provide capital for our production. After deducing cost, each machine will bring us a profit of about 5 million and the more the production we have while the lower the costs are, the more profit we will have. "

 

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Van Tan, Dean of the Faculty of International Economics at Lac Hong University, said that the content and start-up knowledge had been introduced to help students gain more access through typical success story at seminars and workshops on startups. It is not easy for every student to start a successful career, but through entrepreneurial spirit-building activities, the ideas of startup become clearer. Dynamic students can develop them into feasibly applicable projects.

 

 

Headmaster of Dong Nai University of Technology Phan Ngoc Son said that in order to equip students with start-up knowledge, the school has been cooperating with Dong Nai Young Entrepreneurs Association to organize the game show called “key to success”, young CEO training sessions for senior students; thereby helping students gradually form startup ideas in the near future. The school is also working to establish a start-up fund to support students whose projects that are deemed feasible.

 

Nguyen Duc Binh, Director of Center for Supporting SMEs at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said: "Successful start-up for a first-time entrepreneur is difficult but not impossible. Sometimes failure in start-up is a very useful lesson for students to know why they fail, nurture a more reliable startup idea with a higher chance for success." Mr. Binh also said: "The startup idea of a student at the very beginning in the lecture hall needs attending to so that students feel more confident with the idea of starting his own business."

 

Mr. Nguyen Truong Son, Senior Lecturer of the International Labor Organization (ILO), said that students who are well-trained and dynamic are a very important force to be able to respond to the entrepreneurial spirit that the Government has been promoting. Universities or associations should establish start-up funds for students. Such funds can be associated with schools and business associations as well. Before funding a student's start-up idea, it is important to evaluate the likelihood of success and the degree of risk involved in starting a business.