Digi Me brings youthful energy of UEF students to Soc Trang province

In the first week of December, the project ‘Digi Me – Soc Trang’ completed the report on product handover to the Soc Trang Center For Social Science Engagement (SCSE) after three months of operation with many positive results. The report session recorded the presence of Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Huong, Director of SCSE; Ms Nguyen Quoc Giang, Deputy Director of SCSE; Ms Dinh Nguyen Thien An, Director of the UEF Center of Service-Learning (CSL) along with experts and staff of both centers. 
Digi Me is a Service-Learning project managed by CSL to support non-profit organizations and social enterprises in implementing digital marketing and communication activities, thereby raising students’ awareness of social work. In particular, Digi Me – Soc Trang had nine members with the main activities of accompanying and supporting SCSE to implement two categories: Brand identity development and Website design.
   
The project started recruiting members in August 2021 and received much attention from UEF-ers, especially those who love creativity and are dedicated to community activities. The chosen members of Digi Me – Soc Trang have then gone through introductory and training sessions following the model of ‘learning through experience’ to fully understand the customers.

Team of Brand identity development: Professional yet affectionate
The Digi Me – Soc Trang’s Branding team was led by Nguyen My Uyen Phuong, a senior in the Faculty of Information Technology and a young student leader who has won prizes in many prestigious competitions. The members were mostly students who had experience working at businesses and great expertise, so the group work was professionally coordinated. With the thirst for knowledge, they acknowledged the demand to understand the needs of partners to serve the community better. Since then, the team has applied many methods to meet the expectations of partners.
 
 
Receiving the positive and enthusiastic support from Mr Nguyen Quoc Giang (SCSE), the team conducted an in-depth analysis of the needs and applied a lot of professional knowledge to create a brand identity following the motto of the organization, which is ‘Cohesion for development’. From the theoretical basis, they have subtly created products for brand identity (the Logo, the business card template, the uniform model,...) full of technical elements: Proximity, Closure, Continuity, etc. 
   

 

The pressure was inevitable when operating in a community project where the products would be put into practical use; however, UEF-ers were always full of positive energy in meetings. They have not met in person, yet the members always knew how to support teammates when they were in difficulty, and personal opinions were exchanged sincerely on the basis of ‘sharing is caring’.

Team of Website development: Creative and persistent
The Website team consisted of five students in the Faculty of Information Technology (IT) coordinated by Le Trong Hieu, a senior majoring in Software Technology with a passion for scientific research, especially in computer science. Many of them initially participated in the project intending to apply the accumulated knowledge to social activities. However, after learning about SCSE partners, they felt that their achievements would help bring useful information to the vulnerable community in Soc Trang (the beneficiary of the community organisation), thereby gaining more motivation to launch the website.   


 
Meetings with partners, which took place at a fast pace with high accuracy, were actively planned by UEF students. Despite having to balance their study loads, they were always present on time.
Receiving advice from Mr Cao Minh Vinh, Faculty of IT and Mr Nguyen Quoc Giang, MSc., the Website team has completed the work in the least amount of time. Specifically, within just three weeks, the work from back-end to front-end was quickly deployed to create an important framework for the next stages of the site. The functions were gradually perfected according to the needs of being constantly analyzed and updated by the partners. 

 
The process of website development took place with many challenges. Technological limitations or technical errors arising unexpectedly seemed to have deterred future programmers; however, because of the motivation to contribute to the community, they never gave up on finding materials to solve difficulties together. It was when many of them learnt their lesson: When there’s a will there’s a way.

Important contributions of students
During the report session with the presence of many experts and representatives from all parties, UEF’s products received high appreciation and gratitude from partners. Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Huong (Director of SCSE) shared she could see their efforts had an vital role in the communication work, wherein they helped spread the image of the organization more effectively, especially when it was hard in the beginning. Despite their inexperience, the positive attitude and professional skills expressed through the products showed the real value of UEF students.
 
Mr Nguyen Quoc Giang, Deputy Director of SCSE also shared his thoughts as a companion. During more than three months of working with students, he noticed valuable traits in the members when he said that they had a professional way of working expressed through communication, and the ability to listen and focus highly made the exchanges always very effective. He was most impressed by their patience and personal identity, which made the products appear creative but stay true to the needs of the organization. It was their enthusiasm that made him and the ladies at SCSE believe in the good deeds from community work throughout the years. 
 
 
The project closure left the sense of responsibility and understanding of UEF students. Starting with the desire to gain more practical experience, they gained useful skills such as communicating at work, analysing needs, giving feedback positively, and establishing synergy. When they start working with compassion and responsibility, they can make an impact on not only themselves but also the community.