August 21, 2020, 9:00 a.m. at the First Floor of the administration building of the Northeast Science Park – Khon Kaen University by the Northeast Science Park launched The Beegins Co-Working Space – the space for business creation. Prof. Thidarat Boonmas, Ph.D., Vice President for Innovation and Enterprise of Khon Kaen University made an opening address. Asst. Prof. Dr. Teerawat Laonapakul, Deputy Director for Structural and Innovative Economy Zone of the Science Park conveyed a reporting speech.
Prof. Thidarat Boonmas, Ph.D., Vice President for Innovation and Enterprise said that Khon Kaen University has a policy to open a creative zone for transferring knowledge to the students as well as to have an incubating resource for entrepreneurs, which would assist in propelling economy under the university’s spiritual strategy that emphasizes collaboration-coordination projects and creative economy.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Teerawat Laonapakul, Deputy Director for Structural and Innovative Economy Zone revealed that The Beegins Co-Working Space in the administration building of the Northeast Science Park, Khon Kaen has been subsidized by Office of General Secretary of Science Park Promotion Commission, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation. It is aimed at providing a space for the younger generation to create innovative business ideas, especially the Start-up groups. Usage can very well be adjusted according to requirements. Inside this zone, there are shared space, small-group discussion rooms, Outlet by KKUSP or the zone for selling products of the entrepreneurs under the business incubation unit. This zone will connect people together while a network built for exchanging of ideas and building business interactions, that will, in turn, lead to the true ecosystem of innovative business development in the locality.
Besides the small-group discussions at the event and students’ booths under the Solar Floating, Startup Thailand League, Business Brotherhood projects and the booths of entrepreneurs under the business incubation unit in the morning, the afternoon session featured Pitching Stage Competition and Solar Floating System for Smart City Mini-Hackathon, supported by the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The goal is to expand the ideas of the project participants to develop prototypes items.
Mr. Kunanon Sookthon, a second year student of Faculty of Economics, Khon Kaen University related that Science Park supported them by providing the learning space, staff and, and professors who gave advices in drafting the start-up business project until his group was able to make the lay-out of their business successfully and got ready to present the work in the Solar Floating System for Smart City Mini-Hackathon project. The innovation his group came up with is “Khon Keng” application, which supports loss-free transportation, with benefits incurring among the entrepreneurs, companies and drivers. The principle is that when a driver has transported the goods to a province and does not want to drive back without any load, he can enter the application to find a service customer wanting to transport goods to a place. The transaction can be in the form of bidding for the price. This means benefits for the driver, the company and the individual wanting to transport goods.
“Khon Kaen University provides the creative space, which responds to the present educational system. We are able to pair with friends from other faculties and create innovation together effectively. I myself am an economics student who is interested in logistics, public transportation and commerce. I joined these upper-class students from industrial engineering who have knowledge in manufacturing and design of applications. This has worked out well. It was not only to compete, but what we have done can be useful for the society and can solve certain problems as well as bring back some money to the producer. It was great fun doing the project,” Kunanon concluded.
News / Photos: Jiraporn Prathumchai
[ Thai ]
