GTIIT features innovation and entrepreneurship education. During their undergraduate studies, students can learn about innovation and entrepreneurship systematically through relevant courses. Dr. Victor Huang not only focused on cultivating students' international perspectives,  but also set up the "Launch Start" project to help students improve their innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities. Follow us to know more!

"We extracted three main colors from the company's logo and designed several product packaging solutions including the vintage style, the Chinese style and the trendy style, taking into account the aesthetic interests of young consumers nowadays." After researching the enterprise, one team of GTIIT students proposed a plan to upgrade the product marketing in view of the unclear positioning and a lack of attractive packaging.

Welcome to the GTIIT Entrepreneurship course. Nine teams of students were conducting business roadshows. Representatives from Guangdong United Foods Co., Ltd, Guangdong Longhu Science & Technology Co., Ltd, Guangdong Ozkoalas Information Technology Co., Ltd and Shantou Haoran Environmental Technology Co., Ltd etc., were invited to give guidance to the students.

Interdisciplinary students were divided into different "entrepreneurial" teams under the guidance of GTIIT faculty members and worked with companies to set up projects, conduct research and complete business plans etc., for two months.

The first batch of enterprises participating in the project were extremely supportive in terms of sponsorship of funds and guidance of research on topics, which allowed the students to boldly envisioned schemes, carefully conduct research, and have a better understanding of the enterprises' technical pain points and future development directions. Valuable projects including Applications and Business Prospects of Self-repairing Building Materials, Application Prospects and Online Marketing Strategy of Reverse Osmosis System, Ozkoalas Park Management Integrated Platform, Market Research and Development Prospect of Cereal Dietary  Nutrition Products were created respectively.

Cai Zhe said that they learned a lot from visiting companies on site. "Zheng Yue, General Manager of Guangdong Ozkoalas Information Technology Co Ltd, led us in a 2-hour brainstorming session, which helped us quickly understand the cutting-edge application scenarios of intelligent pension, intelligent property management, etc., and we identify our topic in the process." Wang Ziming and his team members conducted a thorough market research - launching questionnaires online and conducting offline product experience events to collect multi-source data. By doing this, they could get close to the target consumers' needs and make the product convenient, refreshing and satiating for them. Zhang Pengmiao also consulted Professor Harold Corke in Biotechnology and Food Engineering Major about their project. "The teacher not only answered our questions patiently, but also explained the basic ratios of the ingredients to us in plain languages."

At the roadshow, students made presentations on products and services, marketing and competitiveness analysis etc., and answering questions from experts, such as "what is the difference between the positioning of your product and VIPS", "how do you connect different systems to the integrated platform", "are you considering setting up AR and VR functions on the platform to increase the interaction between pets and their owners". The students said that the suggestions given by the mentors were very pertinent and helpful for the follow-up project.

Liu Zhen, Deputy General Manager of Guangdong United Foods Co., Ltd, spoke highly of the performance of students he worked with. "They really did a good job! They were down-to-earth in research and proposed creative solutions, which were very inspiring for our product enhancement." Huang Zhuang'an, Executive Deputy General Manager of Guangdong Longhu Science & Technology Co., Ltd, said that although the participants were only Year 2 students, their logic and English communication skills have impressed him a lot. "From this point of view, GTIIT has gradually achieved success on talent cultivation, and I hope there will be more opportunities for cooperation with GTIIT in teaching and research in the future."

"We hope that our students can combine the business frameworks they have learned in class with the actual situation of enterprises and apply the science thinking to solve practical problems, thus to creatively promote enterprise upgrading or transformation," said Dr. Victor Huang.

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs