Student Affairs Division, Prince of Songkla University (PSU) held the "Benevolence and Respect: the PSU Sapling Scholarships Ceremony" on March 9, 2015 at Meeting Room no. 1, Sport Complex, Prince of Songkla University. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worawut Wisutmethangoon, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Affairs and Asst. Prof. Dr. Niwat Keawpradub, Vice President for Planning and Finance chaired the event. The occasion presented a great opportunity to take suggestions and comments from interested parties, and provided a good chance for high school and undergraduate students to display respect towards the benevolence of the scholarship's sponsors.
Prince of Songkla University operates the PSU Sapling Scholarships, established in 2005. Initially, it offered 3 scholarships by the Southern Development Foundation. In subsequent years, the initiative gained substantial support from a group of individuals and organizations, both domestic and foreign. Notable contributors include the Chin Sophonpanich Foundation (2009). Furthermore, from 2010 to present, His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Kingdom of Bahrain, graciously made a generous donation to PSU in the name of "His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Trust Fund" to support charitable activities, including PSU's Sapling Scholarships and four altruistic projects designed to subsidize activities under PSU's guiding principle "Our Soul is for the Benefit of Mankind". Such activities aim to strengthen education for students in need at PSU Pattani Campus; to foster the collaboration with universities in Bahrain; and to sponsor graduate students writing Bahrain-related theses. It is due to such generous donations that the PSU Sapling Scholarships project continues to thrive and fulfill its goal, in accordance with the university's plans and policies, to provide equal access to educational opportunities to the disadvantaged and to fulfill the increased need to help students struggling with economic difficulties, by seeking education funding outsourced to companies and individual sponsors.
The objective of PSU Sapling Scholarships is to identify impoverished students of good character and academic standing, and provide them scholarships to support their education, from high school to undergraduate level, in order to encourage good people to take part in joint social development.
PSU Sapling Scholarships has contributed to student welfare for more than one decade. In the academic year 2014, eight scholarship recipients graduated with Bachelor's degrees; 48 scholarship recipients are studying in high school and 28 scholarship recipients are continuing education in higher education, resulting in a total of 84 people supported by scholarships. The PSU Sapling Scholarships working group, together with the Student Affairs Division, revised plans to develop operations by taking into account community conditions, community needs and fairness in the distribution of scholarships opportunities, in order to better conform to PSU Sapling Scholarships' noble intentions.
