KKU opens new course to promote students’ startups and innovations and hosts an Innovation Playground 2019 to mobilize the plan, citing that startups and lucrative incomes are not out of reach for the students.
On October 16-17, 2019, KKU hosted the Innovation Playground 2019 Fair to help exchange ideas on startups. The activity is a tripartisan corporation between Startup Club KKU, Innovation hub KKU and Creative Economy. The activity goes under support from The Department of Innovation and Enterprise, under the administration of Prof. Supachai Pathumnakul, a vice president for innovation and enterprise. The project is chaired by Asst. Prof. Prasert Wijitnoparat, an assistant dean for academy and plan of the faculty of economy. This year fair is exhibited with the theme “New sight and New taste”.
Asst. Prof. Prasert Wijitnoparat said that there were about 1300 people attended the two-day activities. There were 25 boots which were divided into 14 startups and 11 others were creative economic boots. Online application was used as a mean for payment during the fair. The activities represented in the startup category were from the students’ creativity in the course: GE363 879 Innovative Entrepreneurs. Included in the startup boots were: What to Grow (Using IOT system to analyze a type of plant that is appropriate for a particular type of land), Happy Pet Application (a compilation of pet shops in one application). Qupic (finding a partner to share cost on services and goods), Villa (an all-rounded security application working with AI system), Coe (an interactive game application that encourages real players’ contact), Blood Refill (an application that is a platform to encourage blood donation to ensure sufficiency blood supply), Thai Maxi (an application that helps a tourist find their match tour guide), FX (a compilation of sneaker shops), Wash Easy (an IOT innovation that controls the operation of a washing machine to reduce the time it takes on doing laundry). After three months of obtaining the product patent, this Wash Easy application generates some hundred-thousand baht of a monthly income to the operator. KKU Library, Micro Brain Academy and MDI KKU also presented their innovation at this fair.
Professor Supachai Pathumnakul said that KKU has a policy to encourage the creation of new knowledge based on the students’ creativity and startups. A course entitled, Innovative Entrepreneurs and KKU Innovation Hub have been operated to serve this purpose. The course aims to cultivate the students’ startups and it is taught by successful startup owners from various fields. The students have to create one startup and present the prototype before graduation. After two years of operation, there have been many startups developed from this course. The students enrolling in this course also began Start Up Club which help produce a lot of innovations. The need to disseminate their successful startups led to the creation of Innomarket. Due to limited innovation to attend the Innomarket, Innovation Playground is established as play station of innovation. It is a place for the students to trade their creativities on starting up business. It is hoped that the Innomarket would light up fire for many students to think of creating their own startup to help make KKU a university of innovations created from the students’ creativity and knowledge.
“In accordance with KKU strategies, there are many ways to serve the community such as encouraging research and innovations that can be used for commercial gains. However, promoting students’ creativity via startups can be a measure that best fit in response to the university’s strategies”, said Professor Supachai.
Jet Atchewin Niyomphan, a developer of What to Grow which is an application that uses IOT system to analyze a type of plant that is appropriate for a particular type of land, said that his innovation costs only 6000 baht, or a monthly rental rate of 590 baht. The application was used with the farmers in Somsoong District whose products are available at the shelf of Top Supermarket. Interested farmers are advised to visit Facebook : What to Grow (ปลูกไรดี)
Art Pichet Dapha said Blood Refill is a platform that he develops to help notifying to the public about the need to blood supply. The revenue recurring from this application is used to expand the platform. This innovation is a media that encourages people to attend regular blood donation every three month.
Jay Thanawoot Nabandit said Villa is a system that helps secure houses. With the application of AI, the application can precisely analyze the car number of the house’s owners. The application can be merged with other existing security tools. The application costs 30,000 baht. Interested persons may call to: 061 053 1556.
Should you need more information about Innovation Hub KKU, please visit the office at KKU Complex, 3rd Floor. Telephone: 043-306907 E-mail : innovationhubkku@gmail.com
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News/photos: Watchara Noichomphoo