Assumption University of Thailand (AU) launched its Youth Volunteer Project 2025 with a field visit to the Chan Krung Community Enterprise on June 14, 2025, supported by the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Under the theme “From Chan Krung Sugarcane to Creative Products: Adding Value and Building Sustainability,” the initiative brought AU students and faculty members together with the local community to explore opportunities for transforming locally grown sugarcane into innovative, value-added, and market-ready products.
The project aims to strengthen the potential of Chan Krung’s local agricultural resources by applying knowledge in product development, branding, creativity, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Rather than focusing solely on the production of new products, the initiative seeks to establish a more sustainable community enterprise by creating economic opportunities, strengthening local identity, increasing the value of agricultural resources, and encouraging community members to develop products that can compete in wider markets.
For AU students, the field visit provided an important experiential learning opportunity, allowing them to move beyond classroom learning and apply academic knowledge to a real community context. Through direct engagement with community members, students participated in understanding local needs, identifying challenges and opportunities, exchanging ideas, and exploring potential value-added products. This hands-on approach strengthened students’ problem-solving, teamwork, communication, creative thinking, and entrepreneurial skills while encouraging them to become socially responsible contributors to community development.
SDGs Alignment
- SDG 4: Quality Education – Provides students with experiential and community-based learning opportunities, enabling them to apply academic knowledge, develop practical skills, and learn collaboratively with local communities.
- SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Supports sustainable community enterprises, local entrepreneurship, value creation, and opportunities for sustainable livelihoods through the development of market-oriented local products.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Promotes innovation and value-added product development by transforming local agricultural resources into creative and marketable products.
- SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – Strengthens local communities by promoting local identity, community resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and the development of community-based enterprises.
- SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production – Encourages the efficient utilization and value enhancement of locally available agricultural resources through sustainable product development.
- SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals – Demonstrates collaboration among AU, government agencies, students, faculty members, and the Chan Krung Community Enterprise to jointly advance sustainable community development.
The 17 Goals
