Opportunities for Student Cooperatives Startup at Ilam University: Guidelines for the Development of Agricultural and Service Cooperatives

Considering the importance of student cooperatives as a suitable approach for developing entrepreneurial competencies and reducing unemployment of graduates of the Iran's higher education system, the present study was conducted to identifying the opportunities for student cooperatives startup at Ilam University. The present study was qualitative in terms of paradigm, applied according to the purpose, which was done by Delphi method. Delphi panel members included 68 faculty members, staff and students of Ilam University. After two rounds, 26 opportunities for student cooperatives startup at Ilam University were identified, which were divided into two categories: "Opportunities for agricultural student cooperatives startup" and "Opportunities for service student cooperatives startup" were categorized. According to the results, the most important opportunities for student agricultural cooperatives startup are "production, processing, packaging and sale of medicinal plants and spices", "growing fruits, vegetables", " Cultivation of flowers and ornamental and apartment plants ", " processing, packaging and distribution of dairy products from university farms "and " Production, packaging, distribution of honey (beekeeping) ". Also, the most important opportunities for student service cooperatives startup are "holding startup events, conferences, celebrations and various university ceremonies", "offering tourist tours with the aim of introducing recreational and historical places and Cultural of the region "," Providing services for translating and editing English, Arabic and Persian articles and dissertations "," Providing services related to the installation, commissioning and repair of computer programs and systems " and "providing services related to programming, web design and graphics, etc."