Over two years, the student cooperative model at Tra Vinh University (TVU) has proven effective in promoting creativity and responsibility of students. The model also helps students practice the skills learned at the school, connects, and turns the laboratory results into products suitable to the tastes of consumers.
►Being a co-operative member with only 200,000 VND
TVU Cooperative has established in June 2018. This is a school cooperative model supported by TVU, Tra Vinh Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development Project to support funds, business licenses for 20 types of occupations, service. In addition, the cooperative is also supported by the Center for Cooperative Development (CCD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, helping to identify opportunities and build business plans with the aim of accelerating the school cooperative development.
With only 200,000 VND, students will become members of the cooperative and will be able to use the cooperative services with the most preferential prices. In particular, cooperative members have the right to stand for election to the leader board, to manage various types of cooperative services. This is an opportunity for students to experience and learn many fields such as business, administration, accounting, marketing … Moreover, when becoming a member, students will have many opportunities to work in groups, improve personal responsibility to the collective, and be more proactive with other community activities. Members are also given priority to become part-time employees in cooperative service models with an attractive income.
Currently, the cooperative has 558 members who are form students and students.
►Expanding business
Every year, Tra Vinh University has over 8,300 full-time students, 1,100 part-time students, over 1,100 officials, lecturers, and employees. This is a favorable condition for the cooperative to expand its business of services. Recently, Tra Vinh University Student Cooperative has opened a general business store (convenience store Coop store) on campus. This store deals in Tra Vinh specialties, general department stores, fresh food, basic necessities, cosmetics, and drinking water service.
“Coop store is built on campus so it is very convenient for students, lecturers, officers and employees of the school to buy goods. In particular, the store has a door-to-door (shipping) service if customers request and depending on the number of orders. This will be a convenient service channel to support the output of products for students and farmers after harvest”- Ms. Do Thi My Huyen – Deputy Director of TVU Student Cooperative said.
Mr. Tran Van Thanh, who lives near Tra Vinh University, said: “In the past, every time I went to the market, it took me a long time to go to the stalls to buy meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and necessities. When I heard the students organized Coop store, I could buy a lot of essential items for my family.
The cooperative operates with the aim of improving life, saving time in learning, working, and living for students, lecturers, officials, and employees of Tra Vinh University. This is also a new model to create an environment for students to promote creativity and responsibility at work, practice skills learned at school; bringing the results of research in the school laboratory into a product suitable to the tastes of consumers; enhancing the brand of Tra Vinh University to create a premise to expand international cooperation; taking care of members’ welfare, mutual support between members and cooperatives, between cooperatives and local communities.
“Each month, the cooperative achieve 50-60 million VND in revenue. Soon, when implementing more other services, it is expected that revenue will continue to increase. The cooperative has helped me and many other students have a very useful experience before going to work. Personally, when I finish postgraduate, I will continue to stick with the cooperative ”- Ms. Huyen said.
The business lines of TVU Student Cooperatives include post-harvest services (linking, selling products produced and processed by TVU students); vehicle repair, motorcycle washing; general trading stores; services for drinks; specialized design activities (phone decoration); other credit activities (internal credit); research supporting and application of the affiliated units of the university; travel agency (organizing tours); organization of commercial introduction and promotion (organization of events, commercial services); tutoring; sports facilities (soccer fields, volleyball); computer or communication equipment repairing; textile and fur products; working as hired labor in households; car parking at the student dormitory.
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