Innovations That Inspire
To Alleviate Poverty in Rural Areas: Crafting Over 20 Projects on Brands & Marketing Strategies
In this innovative partnership, Shenzhen University College of Management (SZUCM) integrates academic curricula with government poverty alleviation initiatives. Embedding the real-world economic challenges from rural counties Haifeng and Lufeng into the college’s curricula fosters creativity and social responsibility among students.
Call to Action
“No Poverty” stands at the forefront of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Recognizing the significance of rural poverty alleviation, China unveiled a rural revitalization strategy in 2018 that aims for basic modernization by 2035.
Developing rural businesses has been the key strategy to achieving rural revitalization. The method calls for in-depth reform to improve rural economic structures. Rural revitalization would not be possible without the support of science and technology, or without effective talent management. Integrated development of industry, agriculture, and the service sector has been essential in rural areas.
Since 2024, SZUCM has embarked on a three-year plan to develop innovative curricula and courses that address real-world issues to eliminate poverty. The projects are sponsored by the Guangdong government’s Double Hundred Initiative and Shenzhen University, a partnership that provides a sustained platform for collaboration between rural governments and business schools.
In a significant strategic initiative to alleviate poverty, the college has implemented various influential practices—specifically, to tackle the marketing challenges of local agricultural products and cultural tourism in Haifeng and Lufeng. These rural counties, located in Guangdong Province, were among the 28 most poverty-stricken counties in the 1990s. SZUCM recognizes that these counties are still far from being fully modernized despite having been lifted out of poverty.
Innovation Description
In response to government and industry calls for revitalization, SZUCM has launched a groundbreaking educational program that merges academic coursework with poverty reduction efforts to address the tangible challenges faced by Haifeng and Lufeng.
In the public elective course Brand Creation Techniques and Practices, students engaged in brand planning for over three months based on their thorough investigations of agricultural products in Haifeng County. Through knowledge accumulation, data collection, field visits, and group discussions, 36 students from 25 majors across the university completed eight brand planning projects. These projects encompassed a marketing plan with the core product Red Lantern Lychee as well as different brand positioning strategies for Haifeng White Shrimp.
Meanwhile, the Marketing Planning course for marketing majors also explored the cultural tourism charm of Lufeng. After a semester of knowledge accumulation and field visits, 32 students presented eight professional marketing plan proposals. Aiming to bring the city’s rural treasures to the taste buds of more people through marketing strategies, students focused on the flavors originating from Lufeng’s mountains and seas.
To showcase the students’ course achievements, SZUCM organized two consecutive events. During the first, each team passionately presented their brand planning projects and received questions and suggestions from expert judges, including faculty, government officials, and alumni.
In the second, a carnival-style event, students displayed their marketing proposals in the hopes of injecting new vitality into the agricultural products and cultural tourism projects of rural areas.
Innovation Impact
SZUCM’s innovative measures have had a profound impact. The creative tourism proposals by faculty and students for the two impoverished areas, Haifeng and Lufeng, have received high praise from expert government officials in their role as judges. Moreover, the project successfully garnered attention and coverage from Chinese mainstream media outlets, such as Guangming Daily and China.com.
The media coverage not only broadened the influence of the event but also elevated the profile and reputation of the once-unpopular destinations of Haifeng and Lufeng, along with their distinctive agricultural products and cultural tourism resources. The extensive media reports generated positive public opinion for Haifeng, attracting more tourists and investments and thereby fostering the county’s sustained economic development.
The college’s innovative teaching and learning model demonstrates that business schools can play a pivotal role in addressing poverty through strategic partnerships with local governments. By leveraging their expertise in economics, management, and finance, schools can work with local stakeholders to identify the unique challenges and opportunities of impoverished areas. Together, academia and government can devise innovative, tailored solutions that harness the region’s strengths and resources to foster long-term economic growth and prosperity.
Although this endeavor requires patience, collaboration, and a deep understanding of local contexts, business schools are already making strides in this direction and achieving notable improvements in the lives of those in need. This collaboration in Guangdong can serve as a model throughout China and the world.