Prince of Songkla University is one of ten universities in Thailand that received funding from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation under the project “Reinventing University System”, aiming to drive international and digital development towards becoming a leading university in the country and the world.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Thakerng Wongsirichot, PSU Vice President for International Affairs, revealed that PSU is one of the leading universities in Thailand that has been classified as one of the world's leading research groups (Global and Frontier Research). In 2020 and 2021, the Reinventing University System project has been transforming PSU in four areas: Internationalization, Digital Science, Tourism, and Agriculture.
PSU’s ongoing efforts towards increased internationalization and development of digital technologies are the university’s answer to the rapidly changing world, driving PSU’s implementation of the Reinventing University System project via four sub-projects:
1. Leveraging international accreditation by selecting outstanding courses of international standards, along with fostering the creation of more dual-, double-, and joint-degree programs.
2. The PSU Open Mobility project is a large scheme further comprised of four sub-projects: Virtual Exchange, Virtual Visiting Professor, International Virtual Seminar, and World-class Self Learning (MOOC). All campuses invite foreign professors and researchers to hold online seminars for PSU students, and opportunities are provided for PSU staff and students to study international programs online on the world's largest platforms.
3. The Reinventing Global Visibility project creates awareness among universities by working with world-class organizations such as the QS Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education (QS-APPLE) Conference and Exhibition, organizing meetings with global partners.
4. The Internationalization at Home: Enhancing Global Competency for Innovation, Creativity, and Research project focuses on organizing activities that promote internationalization for students on all five campuses by inviting experts abroad. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic however, activities are held online with foreign partners, while digital science is fostered via projects such as the “Digital science to create innovations for economic, social, and human resource development, and the environment”. Such projects are ideal to develop manpower and increase capabilities in various fields, bringing prosperity to rural areas by offering Data Science courses at the Master's and Doctoral level. This project has about 40 first-batch students currently learning online, with the first graduates emerging soon.
“The university aims to operate under the Reinventing University System project for the benefit of our students. We are ready to support the self-development initiatives of our students at all levels, along with those of our lecturers as well. We have hired about 40 young researchers with high expertise and abilities, thus creating a good relationship between professors and foreign experts. In addition, our lecturers can also study online to improve themselves. These opportunities will also benefit our supporting staff who want to develop their skills in languages and technology,"
Dr. Thakerng concluded.
