VNU-USSH students and their passion for Green Business Startups

The workshop program includes a series of 03 sessions taking place from July 19 - 21, 2023 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU with the participation of many experts, CEOs at organizations, businesses and students from a number of universities in Hanoi. This activity is within the framework of the International Workshop "Impact Startup" under the Green Business Startup Competition (ClimateLauchpad Vietnam - ClimateLaunchpad Bootcamp: Training in Green Start-ups).
The workshop received the attention and participation of leaders of units under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU: Dr. Trinh Van Dinh - Head of the Department of Scientific Research Management; Dr. Pham Hoang Hung - Head of the Department of Cooperation and Development; Dr. Ta Thi Bich Ngoc - Secretary of the University Youth Union; MSc. Duong Tat Thanh - Deputy Secretary of the University Youth Union, President of the University Student Association; Le Nguyen Cam Ly - Vice President of the VNU-USSH Student Association.
The workshop was honored to welcome Mr. Michael Siegner - Chief Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation Vietnam (HSF); Ms. Trinh Ngoc Mai - Director of HSF Vietnam Program; Mr. Nguyen Hong Long - Director of the Center for Research, Consulting on Innovation and Sustainable Development (CCS); Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Tan - Director of the Institute for Research and Development of Applied Natural Compounds, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and more than 30 students from universities in Hanoi participating in the Green Business Startup Competition.

Green Business Startup – fueling the entrepreneurial passion of VNU-USSH students
The 5 Good Student Movement of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has been launched and implemented since the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year with a series of different activities, of which, the 5 Good Student Week - Twinkle Week 2023 has returned with a new form, scale and in-depth practice through the coordination of the Youth Union, the Student Association of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, together with the Hanns Seidel Stiftung Foundation (HSF) and the Center for Research, Consulting, Innovation and Sustainable Development (CCS). In this program, VNU-USSH students were able to compete in the Green Business Startup (CLP) competition with students from many prestigious universities across the country.
CLP is the world's largest green business startup competition, originating in the Netherlands in 2014 and has been held in 60 countries to date. Vietnam started participating and organizing CLP in 2019 and by 2022, there were 02 teams participating in the Global Final.
Students participating in CLP will improve their knowledge of impact business, business model improvement, financial management, greenhouse gas emission calculation in the product life cycle... by leading domestic and foreign experts. Students will be supported to access clean energy projects, sustainable production and consumption, access finance from potential investors and sponsors; be supported to expand the green startup network, participate in startup communities, networking events with relevant ministries/departments/sectors and experts in the field. In addition, participating projects will have their brands promoted to the international green business startup community.
At this competition, students will participate in discussion sessions with Vietnamese CLP experts, such as: Dr. Tran Luong Son - Senior Expert on Business Strategy and Impact Assessment for Start-ups; MSc. Dang Bao Khanh - Senior Expert on Finance and Product Development; Mr. Ron Bloemers - International Expert from CLP Netherlands with over 25 years of practical experience in the global clean technology industry; Mr. Richard D. McClellan - Independent Strategy and Policy Advisor, Member of the Jury of the CLP National Finals 2022...

Speaking at the workshop, Dr. Trinh Van Dinh - Head of the Department of Management and Scientific Research said that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, as a core member of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, with the mission of leading in training high-quality, highly qualified human resources, has created favorable conditions for awakening creative potential, thinking and entrepreneurial spirit in many generations of students. The companionship of organizations and businesses with VNU-USSH students in the Green Business Startup Competition will contribute to realizing students' passion for business and startups right from when they are still in school, helping them learn from the experiences of the domestic and international startup community. Dr. Trinh Van Dinh emphasized that the keyword "Green Startup" throughout the series of seminars of the program will also be part of the luggage of VNU-USSH students in the process of starting a business later.

Appreciating the eagerness to learn of students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, Mr. Michael Siegner - Chief Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation Vietnam (HSF), said that HSF is proud to accompany and support university students, including VNU-USSH students, in the process of starting a business. The representative of the organizing unit also hopes that the students will develop ideas from the competition to start a successful business.
At the workshop, VNU-USSH students listened to experts in the field of green startups with the topic of promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in universities, entrepreneurship in impact business. Many new knowledge and lessons learned from experts gave VNU-USSH students a comprehensive view of green business startup models in Vietnam and around the world.

VNU-USSH students and the advantages to realize their passion for starting a business
From a student's perspective on the story of innovation and entrepreneurship, student Khuat Thi Thanh Mai - Vice President of the Support Club for Humanities Entrepreneurship Community (SURE) said that students, especially students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, are very excited and have a lot of potential and passion for entrepreneurship.

From the first year, with 02 compulsory subjects:“Startup” and “Creative thinking and idea design”, Thanh Mai and many other VNU-USSH students were inspired and equipped with some knowledge and skills to ignite their passion for entrepreneurship. Accordingly, during the learning process, VNU-USSH students were inspired with business ideas right from products in daily life.
According to Thanh Mai, she was supported by her teachers and the Youth Union to bring the idea of ​​"Recycling electronic waste" to participate in competitions, in which the above idea entered the Top 24 of the VNU Startup - Innovation Competition in 2021, winning Second Prize in this competition in 2022. The VNU-USSH student is continuing to develop her product to participate in the innovation competition in Taiwan in 2023.
The K65 student majoring in Social Work, Faculty of Sociology shared: “Students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU have great potential in developing start-up ideas as well as receiving support from the school to realize those ideas. Therefore, VNU-USSH students are completely confident to pursue their passion for starting a business while still in the classroom.
From her experience in starting a business in her second year, the student advised that when students realize their startup business ideas, they should look for like-minded friends who always trust each other and are knowledgeable about the startup field. In addition to finding partners who are experts in fields such as business administration, human resource management, product development, communications, marketing, etc., startup students need to cultivate, learn and expand relationships in the community.Eagerness to learn is the prerequisite for developing entrepreneurial skills." - Thanh Mai said.  

In response to students' questions about the difficulties of students in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities when starting a business, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Tan - Director of the Institute for Research and Development of Applied Natural Compounds, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, assessed that students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have many advantages when starting a business with active startup clubs, the school cultivates skills through courses as well as supports students in the process of starting a business. In particular, students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, have creative thinking and are eager to learn, so starting a business is not difficult.
The ClimateLaunchpad 2023 competition will take place from January 2023 to October 2023 through the following rounds:
Single round: 01/03 – 10/05/2023
Application selection round: June 2023
Bootcamp Training Series with International Experts from the Netherlands: July 2023
1:1 Training Series with National Advisors on Green Startups: July-August 2023
National Final (10 teams selected for the Final round): August 2023
Asia Regional Final (3 winners of National Final): September 2023
In-depth consulting for 10 National Final teams: August-October 2023

Below are some pictures at the Conference:          
   
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