If my personal experience as a college student is anything to go by, it can be really hard to find a conducive space to study, especially during exams season.
Although students could visit a library or cafes, various limitations often make those options unviable. The people at Jerry, a coworking brand with spaces in TTDI and SS15, understand that.
“We had the chance to speak to a guest of ours, a PhD holder student who struggles to book a space in the institution library due to social distancing and other restrictions,” said Reene Low, the senior marketing executive at luxury coworking space Colony, the company behind Jerry.
From that conversation, the team realised that there was more they could do for students. Thus, they’ve launched a special deal.
Investing in productivity
If there’s a demographic that’s all about the affordability Jerry preaches, it’s college students. The budget-friendly coworking brand already offers its private rooms for RM30 per day or RM610 per month, though the pricing is dynamic.
According to Timothy (Tim) Tiah, co-founder and Executive Director of Jerry, the pricing will increase as its occupancy goes up, and down when it comes down.
However, Jerry’s student rate retails for as low as RM9.90 per pax, per day.
Of course, students could visit the library for free, but the company has heard stories about how it’s difficult to study in the library since the reduction of capacity. Furthermore, reservations for study rooms are often capped, typically at a maximum of four hours.
“Plus, most cafes are imposing a 90-minute time limit on seating times, which isn’t ideal for students who plan to sit and study for as long as they desire,” Reene said.
Currently, Jerry hasn’t publicly rolled out the programme but has instead chosen to collaborate directly with student bodies that will help share discount codes for students to use.
This is because the team doesn’t want others to abuse the student discount, as they have not created a system to verify whether someone is a student or not.
So far, the team has been able to partner with Sunway College and is still rolling out the programme with other institutions.
“The big difference with Jerry and other coworking spaces is that we offer private offices at prices lower than the hot desks of other coworking spaces,” shared Tim.
The private offices can range in size from 1-4 pax, and student groups are welcome to book the larger private offices together. The pricing is still RM9.90 each per day.
Having a private room means group discussions can be freely had, and students can get comfortable and remove their masks, compared to public spaces such as libraries and cafes.
Perks of studying at a coworking space
Other than privacy, Jerry offers students the standard coworking space amenities such as high-speed and stable internet and filtered water refills.
Having worked in Jerry at SS15 myself quite a few times (we wrote a full review here), I can say that the airconditioned and relatively quiet space was conducive to productivity.
Though most coworking spaces pride themselves on creating a space for community engagement with hot desks and open office plans, Tim previously told us that having only private cubicles was an intentional move to focus more on a great location, fast internet, and a comfortable office.
With your own office also comes better security, whereby your belongings don’t have to be stuffed into a locked drawer every time you leave your table.
There is a digital lock on each office door, with a unique passcode given to you by the e-concierge each time you make a booking. This way, you can enter and leave as you please between 9AM to 6PM without worrying about your pricey electronics being stolen.
Speaking of electronics, there are plenty of plug points available in the rooms so you never have to hunt down plug points or worry about running out of battery.
Other than these basic features provided by Jerry, the team is looking into a special benefit for students.
“It’s still early for us to learn whether this strategy works as we are still closely monitoring the results, but we have thought of packaging our student rates with provided meals by collaborating with food vendors nearby Jerry’s outlets,” Reene shared.
Even if meals aren’t provided by Jerry, there are plenty of affordable food options nearby, especially for the SS15 location. Students will be pleased to know that there is an LRT station just minutes away from both the TTDI and SS15 locations.
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Personally, Jerry has proven to be a distraction and worry-free zone with all the basic amenities I need to focus on my work. I believe students who want to focus on their studies will also find the space to be conducive to their productivity.
For less than RM10 a day, Jerry makes for a comfortable and safe study space for students that doesn’t break the bank. Perhaps postgraduates doing their studies may find the most use out of this deal since libraries and cafes don’t often make the most conducive spaces for long-term work.
