One-year reflections

Hi all!

As this is the last week of this year, I started looking back and did look far back to my childhood days. It's amazing how I still recall some of my questions when I was quite young...several like why people had to shout and cry hysterically when they saw the Beatles (why did they have to wait patiently to greet them too:))!), why people wanted to gain power to rule the world (influence from watching lots of Japanese movies ka!), and why the fruit had clean (consumable) juice even when the water was from dirty soil. The last question was the very first I felt brave enough to ask my primary school teacher out of my curiosity.

I sure asked quite a few "why's" when I was very young.

For the passing year, I think my "why's" turns to be more "why not's." like why not try a little further, why not do/observe/think/write/share more, which simply encourage my own self not to lose hope and continue doing what I'm passionate in....and yes! education for human beings with beautiful hearts of caring and high caliber.

Two other aspects I learned are leadership and internationalization. I managed to compile a few lessons and will polish the two documents further to share with our education community. They seem to be interdependent yet for many, internationalization is still very abstract and may not have caught their close attention.

One final lesson I've learned quite a bit this year is happiness, especially from research results from over 70 years of study, shared on TedTalk (Robert Waldinger). It is clear that a good life is seen from those being more family and social connected as well as the quality of the relationships. 

In looking back, I know as each year comes and goes, I've grown more with increased understanding of my own self, my own life, and my own passion. I'm sure you all have matured to another stage of life as well.

For 2016, let us all actively do what will be for the better Thailand, the better quality of our own Thai people and education so we can share more for our communities and beyond ka! Why not, right?

A better life filled with inner happiness and passion in learning and sharing in 2016 na ka!

Leadership and strategic thinking

A very happy Monday to all ka!

Last week, I had an opportunity to observe a training on strategic planning conducted by Dr.Pisit Leeahtam, who currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Chiang Mai University.
I learned a lot from his sharing about his leadership and thinking over the main agenda on strategic planning ka.

1. Because ranking gives more weight to IZN and research than other aspects, he decided that the two are his highest priorities.

2. I like the term 'management debate' as it shows the maximization of similar and diverse ideas to the best solution (was thinking of 'de Bono's Six Thinking Hats' too ka!) It is also one of the existing challenges in our Thai cultural traditions, especially in the public services and university administration.  

Dr. Pisit pointed out this very cultural aspect that needs to be taken into serious consideration as it is different from the West and the business sector, which allow more open and free discussions.
As interactive discussion is part of my wish for Thai people to know and act better, I wanted to learn more how he (with his high profile) handles his team. My curiosity rose further in this training. It was quite obvious that his team has shown so much grengjai'ness and respect, which could make it even more challenging for him to engage them. 

Fortunately, I had a chance to ask him in person how he could encourage people to share their ideas. He said it worked best during the retreat outside the normal environment. He separated the whole team of ajarns and staff by age groups and let them discuss key questions he raised. It turned out to be quite fruitful.

I immediately thought of 'diversity management', the term that we still don't quite understand, nor do we try to capitalize on it yet.

3. To internationalize his faculty members and staff, he stressed the importance of English proficiency. He admitted that he hasn't added other components with the learning of the language as yet. At least what he has been doing is bearing fruit.

If English language proficiency is one and only focus, I'd get so concerned ka. However, when talking with him during lunch, he has had clear and deeper thoughts that are linked with IZN at the macro picture, e.g. how he foresees the advantages of study-visits, offerings of a program in Myanmar, invited foreign speakers; and how he agrees to have lesser content for language acquisition, etc. I didn't get to chance to ask him if he actually tabled out the other 'real' benefits to his team but again, being on the EdPEx route, it depends on him to decide what's best in his particular context lae ka.....I only am eager to learn more how he increases his team's awareness of the benefits, and wish to hear more from his team on this matter as well!

4. On university administration, he expressed that Thailand is far too rule-and-regulation-based ('strict management by the written rules' from those who need to understand the rules and the overall implications in real practices lae ka!....my own words!) and it'd be better to have more flexibility and room for universities/faculties to work, which would increase efficiency and effectiveness.

5. One statement I love is don't be happy with "คำป้อยอจากข้างนอก" (compliments from outsiders). Persist in doing what we're good at and where we want to reach ka.

Having heard and talked with him in person, I know we have so much more to do strategically and more importantly, collectively. Without capable leadership, similar huge challenges stay on.
I also hope that our Thai education community goes beyond our own selves/ faculties to become very inspired and motivated with shared values for the best of our university(ies) and country so there'll be increased labor of love that drives our slow quality-move Thailand to another firmer step of development ka.

Over to you for your thoughts ka!

Trust?

Hello everyone. These days, a few asked me why I write less often! It's strange I didn't really feel so but it must be true as I've set to write once a week or when I find some events/ articles/ issues that strike me most ka.

This time because of one little incident, I'd like to share it na ka.

I was trying to reach out one person but couldn't get her current address from my friends so I googled to find several home phone numbers.

One phone number worked and I guessed I got to talk to the one I was after. She appeared to understand at first though sounded a bit confused. Thinking that she is an elderly, I slowly explained my intention to her and she seemed to get it, questioning why the association didn't contact her directly. I told her I did it on its behalf ka. All of the sudden, she changed and said I was a fraud, trying to play a trick on her. Then she hung up the phone.

I called again only to make her more upset and that is the end of my story ka! It could be a wrong number or I didn't explain it well enough or she was unable to understand!?!?!

Anyway, the incident led me to think of my sister-in-law and my niece the other day. They went to a department store and my sis-in-law was approached to ask for her phone for an emergency call. She was a bit hesitant but because she didn't have her own phone, she had to ask her daughter to lend it to the person.

This person thanked them continuously, saying that she went around asking many people without success.

A few questions popped up and that has led me to write today lae ka!

Has our world changed?

Have we all changed 'not-to-trust strangers' even more?

Has the world of media scared us to the point that we tend to say no to everything to stay safe?

Have we experienced more cheaters than before and that has developed the feelings of mistrust?

While we seem to get closer and tend to trust typing-to-chat with strangers through all types of technologies, particularly the social media; we get more scared interacting verbally and face-to-face!?! Is it so ka?

With the Thai cultural traditions on love of our own families and circles, what we've also seen as years go by is that the word 'พวกพ้อง' has already led to some sort of destructive ends of nepotism and corruption.

Would it further make us shrink our own little circles too?

Would it make us  love our people and country even less (when our social/ public responsibility isn't so high on the Thai agenda?!?)?

Many more questions and thinking on my mind ka...and with the rise of plastic surgery, botox, and other facelift methods, how do we know who is who and who to trust dee ka?

IZN through mobility and diversity at Home!

Hope your long weekend went by not far too fast ka! I’d like to share several I got from my recent reading on IZN ka.

The first is entitled, ‘Europe needs internationalisation, internationalisation needs Europe’ from neth-er.eu on December 3, 2015 by Freddy Weima, Director-General of EP-Nuffic.

The author stresses the importance of intercultural understanding especially when the world has seen ‘enormous turmoil in Europe and the world, caused by ‘the refusal to truly accept the differences between cultures and countries.’ It is one of the main reasons why Europe needs IZN.

He then mentions about the program like ‘Erasmus’, which has positively enabled Europeans to understand one another better, and such a program needs to be continued for IZN to benefit more students.

The second article is, “Defining 'internationalisation at home'” by Jos Beelen and Elspeth Jones from University World News on December 8, 2015.

Even though mobility has its substantial advantages, it is limited to only a few who can participate so recently, discussions are around ‘internationalization at home’ ka.

The new definition “proposed in a 2015 publication, The European Higher Education Area: Between critical reflections and future policies, states: “Internationalisation at Home is the purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students, within domestic learning environments.”

It stresses “inclusion of international and intercultural aspects into curricula in a purposeful way while emphasizing the role of IZN for all students in all programs and “does not simply rely on mobility to offer international and intercultural perspectives.” It also means the effort to “engage domestic with international students; or exploiting diversity within the classroom. It also includes technology-enabled or virtual mobility, such as through Collaborative Online International Learning.”

These two articles have quite a few implications and are useful for our universities to think and ACT further to promote IZN properly.

IZN in our country could be seen, more often than not, activity-based approach or lip service or for PR purposes, which won’t impact the students and the whole community much at all.

Frequently, universities tend to complain that they don’t have enough resources to get the IZN efforts moving faster. There’s so much diversity on campus, going beyond just foreign students to individual students, lecturers and others in the workforce. We also have had access to high technology (with underutilization).  

As it is the era of diversity, creativity, and innovation, aren’t universities in the best position to maximize their capabilities and rich diversity to support all to learn with favorable outcomes?

Think, ACT, learn, improve, and grow toward IZN goals set loei kaaaa! 

Humans and robots

As many Thai universities and schools have taken the 21st century skills seriously, an article, 'Humans are Underrated' by Geoff Colvin in Fortune August 1, 2015, caught my attention (and you may have noticed how behind I was reading these magazines:))!

These are what I've got from the article ka:

- Robots are getting smarter and smarter ..... it was mentioned that a robot from SoftBank could read 'your emotions by your words, tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language......and responds....' I started to feel uneasy and worried.

- There're quite few things that humans can continue to do (thank goodness!), which are: activities that require person(s) to be accountable, collective goal settings, tasks relating to satisfying deep interpersonal needs (working with others to solve problems, sharing through telling and hearing stories, creating new ideas, etc.)

- A test in this article helps us rate our own selves how ready we are to have 'deep human interpersonal abilities: empathy, social sensitivity, collaboraton, storytelling, leading, and relationship building.' These are in fact, the qualities we tend to talk about for leaders but they should be for all to survive happily (with the robots) in the future, right?

- One quote that I like is, 'Empathy is the critical 21st century skill' said Meg Bear, Group VP, Oracle.

While westerners are going for mindfulness and increased interpersonal relationship, unfortunately, Thai people are running to become far too systematic (robotic) in many cases, deserting our own treasures of warm hospitality, caring, and friendliness.

I keep thinking about us ka....we were born and have been living in the relationship-based culture (and yes...we've gone too far to witness nepotism, corruption, etc.) If we balance it well especially amid the social media craze with much less face-to-face human interactions, we should be able to lead our education to the right directions ka.

Enough isn't enough!

Good morning ka, everyone! A retiree just turned on her desktop…jealous mai ka?

This past Monday, I had a chance to listen to Ajarn Mor+ Nuthapong from Chiang Mai University (CMU) Medical School, sharing his experiences about the EdPEx journey! (Education Criteria for Performance Excellence, modelled after the Baldrige Criteria of the edPEx--US) I learned a lot from him, especially his passion and drive to do more.

Today, I got mail from Simon Tyler, who speaks, writes and teaches around the world on the importance and application of living and leading with simplicity and impact.

He is raising the issue of ‘enough’ to provoke our thoughts ka. He asks us to observe how often we use this word and how it can affect the ways we think and act ka.

He states that, ‘When left unnoticed enoughing causes stress, anxiety, tension and reduces moment to moment happiness. Someone enoughing is prevented from noticing opportunities to kick back, smile, laugh, chill out, take stock, and generally feel good. It also means that if we decide to push on, i.e. not enough yet, we move deeper into a deeply dissatisfying space.’

The statement I like best is, ‘Inspiration will leave the room when the ‘enough’ bell chimes!’

Immediately while reading about it, I thought of the EdPEx efforts exerted by Ajarn Nuthapong and his team at the CMU Medical School. They got over the set bar of 200 scores (out of 1,000), which could seem quite low. Yet, it has taken them so much brainpower, actions, and leaders’ support to reach this stage.

Had Ajarn Nuthapong said, ‘Enough’, the journey would have been stopped without any big improvement systematically and effectively to move on to the next level.

On the opposite, he pointed out that with the use of EdPEx, he has seen many issues and dimensions to be done. What he had overlooked in the past has now become essential for him to explore further, e.g. the overall strategy to enhance learning and well-being of students in other programs, not just medical students.

For him, the word ‘Enough!’ has disappeared from his EdPEx dictionary ka!

Seriously in the education circle, have we done enough or is it possible to feel hopeless to say, ‘Enough is enough!’ We can never afford to use ‘Enough!’ for the quality of the Thais that we’ve seen na ka!

Personally, I know I haven’t done enough and so in my little corner, I’ll continue my quality journey as long as I can ka!

Enough for today’s note kaJJ!

 

Thai and Japanese Cultural Clash

Hello to everyone kaaaa!

 

I finished reading the book I mentioned last time about 'Business Protocol in Thailand',by Imai Hiroshi and translated by Dr. Rangsan Lertnaisaat. It is about the perspectives of a businessman who used to be ExecutiveVice President of Toyota Motor Thailand. Quite interesting and fun ka.

 

These are what I've captured from the book:

 

How the Japanese look at themselves:

 

- Lack communication with their Thai colleagues (out of their feeling shy or insuffcient understanding about Thais and their own ways of work), seem to handle the projects (from headquarters) themselves, give clear instructions with set deadlines, tend to be hot-tempered,  work hard, favor hands-on/on-the-job training approach, prefer rotation as part of the professional development and career path, are loyal to their company

 

How they think of Thais:

 

-  love new things but resist to changes, tend to be quite generous, are used to top down administration (could be deeply rooted from centuries ago and from the western influence), seem to be too polite and not enthusiastic, order their subordinates with the feeling of grengjai so they appear to be 'too flexible', aren't risk-takers (and consequently they are quiet and seem to avoid tackling problems),  aren't able to keep secrets, take rotation as demotion, and follow 'bosses' out of authority, tend to be much less loyal

 

How the two can work best together: 

• Communicate more often especially in informal settings. 
• Lower egos.
• Offer more opportunities to make joint decisions.
• Be open-minded to learn how to work in each culture. 

The Japanese: 

• help make localization (having Thais as top administrators) possible and workable.
• need to have some cross-cultural training before they are posted in Thailand.
• don't dominate their Thai staff.

The Thais: 

• share with their Japanese colleagues/bosses some overview about Thailand in all aspects from political to economic and culture, allowing them to understand the overall picture better.
• try to approach their Japanese bosses/colleagues more...even by saying hi!
• need to be given more training to understand how things should be done for the success of the organization....yet, not the sole Japanese way.

Even though we do know some of the aspects, the book sure confirms to me how cross-cultural training is essential and how much open-mindedness means in this globalized world ka.

Enjoy exploring the beauty of our and other cultures na ka.

Porntip

 

 

Early retirement, health, and reading

Sawasdee to Monday and hope you all have started fresh na ka.

Yesterday was my first year anniversary of my early retirement and I was sick ka.

Resting in bed gave me some thought about me and my early retirement. One of (tens) reasons was about health ka....not that I was unhealthy or sick with some diseases but I looked for a 'healthy retirement' to enjoy life while I could. If I continued working at the pace I did the past decades, I wasn't so sure loei la ka!

Have you thought of your health after retirement mai ka?

After one year of staying at home, people around me especially my immediate family members said 'it went by so fast!' I felt so too and was happier to hear that because it 'could mean' my more frequent presence didn't really interrupt their own routine ka:))! Partly it could be that I still have some little projects to do and occupy myself in the study! In between, it was so nice to have more time for my family and friends ka. I coached my nieces and helped write short articles for my nephew's free newspapers while continuing doing a bit on internationalization and EdPEx.

Have you planned to have some little projects to do before retirement?

Reading-- one thing that I can do more (though admittedly, my addiction to games has stolen lots of my reading time ka!)

Over the weekend, I read two translated books, one on 'Maximize your Mind Power' and 'Motivate People'. Flipped through quite fast (in Thai ngai ka!) as I feel some aren't that applicable to our context....found something different yet useful to think further too ka. I like this one ka...'to be like a small kid' who is always curious and excited to find out new things! It creates motivation, courage, and learning dee ka! Have one question for you from one of the books ka:

Have you thought of what you want your team to remember about you after you leave your job/retirement? If yes, what have you been doing and how?

Honestly, this is what I don't find applicable to me as I didn't really think about it loei la ka! Should I have thought about it mai ka? Would life have been different and more productive had I thought about it? Um! I'll keep thinking ka.

I now move to read another one, which seems to be more interesting ka: 'Business Protocol in Thailand' by former Executive VP of Toyota Motor Thailand'....again in Thai:))!

Happy Monday na ka.

 

one same world of business and education

Good Tuesday to everyone ka!

I just read an article from LinkedIn, entitled, ‘The Six New Rules of Business’  by Alan Murray, Editor of the Fortune Magazine and think there are some interesting implications to our education world ka.

The Editor points out that in this new industrial revolution driven by technology, he’s got 6 points from what Fortune’s Geoff Colvin has written ka (I have yet to read the full article!) Though it refers to modern business (still hear quite a few say that business is different from education! Um! yes but no mai ka!?! If we can get some good thinking and learn the trends, we definitely will do a much better job!), I find it so useful for us to realize how our processes and results for quality graduates and other services need to align with what is and will happen ka.

His 6 points drawn from the article are:

1. You don’t need a lot of physical capital—more sharing economy is seen like Airbnb and Uber.
2. Human capital will matter more than ever—employees have to be carefully picked as ‘they are the company.’
3. The nature of employment will change—more gig work (self-employed, freelance) with much fewer employees in a company.
4. Winners will win bigger, and the rest will fight harder for the remains—only creators tend to make a fortune.  
5. Corporations will have shorter lives—let me quote from the article, which reads, ‘The average life span of companies in the S&P 500 has already fallen from 61 years in 1958 to 20 years today. It will fall further.’
6. Intellectual property knows no natural boundaries—as it creates both value and income to modern corporations.  

Have our universities been aware of the trends and the world our students and younger generations will live and work? Do our curriculums with so many standards imposed allow us to keep up with the reality?

For me the most important questions are for us to ask ourselves whether we as ‘the more experienced’ in the education community know that we don’t know much, what in fact that we need to learn more, and how to act accordingly by becoming very engaged while engaging our students since it will be for their world that could be so very different from ours!

A week for us to think more about our world of education that isn't far off from business na ka.

LGBTQ

Hope you all have greeted Monday with lots of positive energy ka!

 

I've been reading about and discussing LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning) for quite a while with several papers I co-authored with my Fulbright colleagues touching a little on this issue. Have seen more movements from there ka.

 

Most recently, I learned even more from the heart of an American gay who I know. He shared his pain, doubts and other mixed feelings, going through his personal whispers what he has thought he is before coming out to feel empowered as a proud gay.

 

In our Thai society, we are used to seeing many ladyboys or transvestites, as well as many more tomboys. What have we known about them, their real selves, and their outlook in life? We tend to take them lightly for their talents and fun-lovingness while some talk about them in negative ways.

In the case of my American friend, the situation could be quite similar to that of ours ka. He saw his friend suffering from telling the truth to his family who was aggressively unsupportive. He then was trying to act like he isn’t one during his college years and it made him feel miserable. After years of hiding, he finally realized he needed to be himself, to be what he is, and to feel good of himself! I sure am very proud of him too!

I’ve been thinking of us here in Thailand. It seems that Thailand has been known for our open-mindedness as we seem to ‘show off’ that we have quite a number of happy ladyboys or transvestites.

I’m not so sure we’re that open ka:

·         Are we open only when they aren’t members of our families!?!  

·         Do we know how to address them properly? I feel awkward and sort of impolite when calling my friends ‘ตุ๊ด’ and if I’m close enough to the person(s), I’ll ask what he prefers to be called (several said it is ok to call them so because they too use it for themselves ka!)  

Lately, I read an article about a journalist who had an appointment to interview one gay. The first lesson from his office was ‘Do’s and Don’ts’. I wish we could also have something like that as a framework for us as well so we maximize our understanding of them as equal human beings on ‘respect’ and benefit from another form of ‘diversity’ in our society and the world ka. 

In fact, there’re lots of implications from the changes. The traditional ‘gender issues’ have gone beyond what we’ve known (like their ‘rights’ about ‘gender choice after birth’, ‘medical treatment’, ‘preference of being addressed’, or even use of restrooms, etc. which should strike some sort of balance with the rest of the people.) We do need to get more serious and realistic…yet, be very careful not to overact in some aspects like going along with kids at too-earlier ages since they need time to know themselves and again, naturally, there could be some errors in between. 

Such a complicated and challenging world we are in ka!

Competitors vs competition

I was thinking of writing about another issue but happened to come across this article on 'LinkedIn' today about competition and competitors ka. If you haven't read it, let me share to you what it's about and what I think ka.

The article is entitled, 'Competition, Not Competitors' by Ramesh Srinivasan. The two seem so similar but when we think along of what he points out, the way of thinking could be changed loei ka.

The author: '....too much time being spent ......on analysing competitors, their tactics and motives.......if the competitor comes to know that you are so concerned about all their moves, they may make moves.....only to get you concerned.'

'The primary job of your competitors is to distract you from your purpose, your goals.'

Ptk: So true in our situation when we started introducing TQA/EdPEx na ka....it's become one of the issues raised for discussion with how and why, etc.

For me, with or without this question about competitors, Thai universities always think of competing with their Thai universities yoo laew na ka. Questions are that, 'Have we tried too much or overdone it?', or 'Have we simply raised as an issue of complaint without much in action?', or  'Have we felt concerned about competitors over our purpose and goals?'

The author: 'Your competition, however, serve to raise the benchmark for your growth plans. Your true competition.....remind you that you too coujld be doing things as well as they are doing.'

'Competitors invoke competitive emotions such as envy, rage, fear......your competition should invoke respect and admiration in you......In effect, an obsession with competitors will engage you in a 'deadly embrace' while attention to competition will show you avenues for your own advancement.'

'You are your best competition-to be better than you were last week, last year or even yesterday.'

Ptk: It's very self-assesment and self-reflection oriented approach to do the very best every day to progress toward the goals set ka. Competitors only help us see the benchmark we may wish to reach and to stimulate our enthusiasm and energy to explore how they can and whether we could pick out some strategies or whether it is us really to pursue along the same paths.....all for our own advancement in our universities na ka.

Enjoy reading it with some hope that our universities see the competition in their own work more than make efforts to compete against another Thai university. In today's situation of our quality of education, university performance has become one of the few process and results that could revive and step up our advancement out of the 'lost decade' we have painfully witnessed ka.

Let's enter into our own self competition! We can kaaaa!

 

 

New Normal in the Thai Culture

These days, the term, 'New Normal' really hits me hard, for both better and worse and yet, it's part of the 'changes' we have to go through with the speed the world is moving na ka.

I'd like to share what I think is a positive 'New Normal' in our cultural traditions ka.

On a few occasions, I was in a situation where things didn't go as it should have, either with insufficient preparations, miscommunication, or misinterpretation.

Normally, Thai people could just let go (and some may discuss the issue outside the meeting rooms or have left the meeting with increased frustration). This time, things didn't go quite the same 'normal' way.

- The issue was raised nicely with understanding where the gap could have been.

- The issue was reemphasized to voice the concerns of those who 'were affected', and with some possible gaps.

- Solutions were given without mentioning much at all about the issues, which could be left for the audience to read between the lines, and those issues were obviously seen anyway ka.

I thought to myself from the forums I attended, "This must be a 'New Normal' in our Thai culture, particularly in the bureaucracy system when we face the confrontation nicely."

- It is much less a 'top down instructions' approach.

- It is a friendly and assertive way to identify the concerns.

- It is a straightforward manner to point out what could have been wrong with some suggestions for improvement.

This 'New Normal' in our Thai meeting culture is so very positive to me that I now yearn for the next step of 'following to see if corrective actions or any form of actual improvements could be seen', which is even better as we will move together toward the same goal with genuine collective efforts beyond just 'nice and kind words showering each other with empty happiness, or just counting on/waiting for authority to order!'

National Leadership on International Education

Hello all!

A few days, I had a chance to attend a great session given by Assistant Professor Surakit Nathisuwan, former vice president for international affairs of Mahidol, who shared his views on expectations of Thai universities of the Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC).

He started by saying that it is a blessing that internationalization (IZN) of education is now mentioned at all levels. This makes life easier for Bureau of International Cooperation Strategy (BICS) to move forward and here are key roles it should play:

1. Enhance visibility of Thailand in the eyes of the education world through:

- branding with strong on-line presence (he cited a 'Study in Germany' websit with a slogan on 'Land of Ideas', which has caught attention and 'search' that is based on interest and specific requirements of webpage visitors. VDO clips of students are available to share their thoughts and observations about their studies in Germany.

 

- representation and leadership in important forums regionally and internationally that could promote partnership and secure possible funding for joint projects/cooperation.

 

This would engage dialogue partners for increased opportunities and at the same time, promote in-country networking among Thai universities.

 

2. BICS/OHEC has to be responsible for over 150 universities nationwide while it has only around 30 staff. It can't possibly do everything on its own. Rather, it needs to be strategic to maximize resources available, working more closely with Thai universities on strategic issues crucial to the overall development of higher education.

3. It has to show to the Thai university community that whatever it has been doing will generate benefits to universities and the Thai society for the former to buy in and lend their hands.

 

4. It should facilitate student/staff mobility through forums or different platforms related to IZN.

5. IROs should be assisted to be more capable with some accredited training programs, sharing/awarding best practices, some practical guidelines, etc.

6. BICS/OHEC should be the center of IR database about Thai universities (statistics and studies on inbound and outbound, projection of mobility in economic terms, etc.) and key/related issues even from other sources like research centers of banks, to guide national policy and possible benchmarking.

 

So good to get 'the voice of customer' that was straightforward, strategic, and productive so the Bureau has more invaluable inputs for its future directions ka!

Heart Tied with the Tea Ceremony

I was so touched learning about the Japanese tea ceremony that I just couldn't let go without sharing with you all ka.

 

I had an excellent opportunity to learn about it from my Japanese friend (Minako) who is a licensed teacher, with the help of two other great Japanese friends (Akiko and Yu-chan)...all three and I have known one another for 30 years from the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program ka..and the Japanese Government should feel so gooooood the program works for cementing people-to-people ties.

 

It isn't easy to have a lesson!

Akiko and Yu-chan took me with them to get the 'tools' from a special tea shop just for tea ceremony! We got tea, a bamboo ladle, a whisk, paper to serve desserts, etc. to be followed by desserts at a supermarket, those that were made just for Autumn. Then, behind the scenes, the two had to wash the bowls, kettles, cups, etc. while boiling water and carefully sifting grounded tea (for better aroma and taste) to be ready for the ceremony, performed in a room that was rented for the purpose.

 

In the room, Minako brought a vase to the special corner and watched it carefully. When things were all set, Minako taught me how to go through the small door to the room. The thinking of having a small door was to ask samurais to get in without having their swords with them. Minor details were told too like how to open the door by the left hand and then use the right hand to slide it not all through the way to make it easier to close.

I had the honor to sit at the VIP seat!

 

From there, every step was delicate and without proper training, it'd be so difficult to follow. I tried to follow as much as possible and to think along, from how to appreciate everything we use like the kettle and the bowl, how to measure the right amount of tea and water, how to hold the ladle without using any force, how to 'purify' the tea bowl, how to serve, and how to drink it properly (only how to drink has a few steps to follow laew ka! Wow! Wow!)

 

Minako asked me to make tea after her teaching and I was clumsy but managed to finish it with her close supervision ka. During the ceremony, I learned what it meant and how to do it the right way. My teacher taught me till the end to tell me how to leave the room properly ka!

 

My whole learning was about the Japanese thinking. It is so philosophically cultured-- how they attach themselves to the nature, how they appreciate the art and those who  have produced art pieces, how they realize what they can learn every time they see the same piece of art, how their span of attention is much longer to go through the whole process with focus and inner joy, etc.

 

Honestly, I didn't expect much at first because I wanted to learn to appreciate more of the Japanese cultue from this rare opportunity, that was all. To my own surprise, I was able to go through the ceremony with full concentration and Ieft the place with the very feeling of calmness and deep happiness plus definitely more 'sa-ti'-- mindfulness ka!

 

As I'm writing at the moment, I have inner delight within me.....still!

And as I'm feeling so, my thanks to my three friends go deeper into my heart as well!

Role of Thailand in Unesco

I was happy to moderate a session yesterday morning on, 'Nurturing Thai People to be Efficient Global Citizens'. Prof. Yongyuth Yuthavong and Dr. Teerakiat Jaroensettasin were the guest speakers ka.

Let me share what I learned from them, the floor, including my own observations ka.

 

1. Both speakers are readers and thinkers who have had a chance to be at the top policy level of the country, handling education, social sciences, and science and technology. Both emphasized on humanity, culture, and language proficiency. So it's obvious how interesting their talks were ka.

 

2. Ajarn Yongyuth told the audience not to expect funding support from Unesco. Rather, we need to maximize the wealth of knowledge to identify priority issues of the world that Thailand needs to consider. Working with Unesco is great but without Unesco, Thailand has to move on in any case for us to nurture our people to become global citizens ka.

 

3. Ajarn Teerakiat said we should look at the economics too, which focuses on the demand side. He pointed out that it's impossible to eradicate inequality but it's best for the advantaged/ the have to share with the disadvantaged/ the have not.

 

4. Several participants thought it was challenging for Thais as we lack skills to link what we have, proactive drive, platforms to share and network on Unesco's knowledge, our own weakness in language and communication in international forums.

 

5. We need to understand ideals of the UN and Unesco to see how Thais can contribute, not just gain benefits for our very own sake. Synergy in our own country in terms of strategic thinking, collective actions, and sharing, is needed for us to maximize the rich resources while understanding better on diversity and sustainable development along with the proper balance in our own context.

 

6. Thais don't have much prominent role in Unesco and we need to be more strategic so that we not only play up our visibility, but also make positive impacts in this organization, with over 190 countries as Members.

 

The time was short but I'm glad there were a few questions about how each can do, and do better.

 

It was a small forum but with the two speakers' deep thinking and sharing, it was really worth the time! I have Prof. Yongyuth's presentation on global citizens and if you'd like to learn more, I'll be more than happy to forward it ka.

 

miscommunication the ASEAN way

Thais celebrated our Mother's Day yesterday and it was one of the special days for us dee jung na ka!

I was in Indonesia to share my thought on internationalization of higher education and ASEAN with some points to share but for now, I have another on my mind ka!

It was quite late when I arrived at the hotel so by the time I started to charge my cellphone battery, I found that the only socket that was the same type as mine didn't work. Immediately, I called the reception and operator to ask for an adaptor but no one answered after several tries so I decided to call the room service instead.

The guy on the line was so nice and helpful but I was surprised when he called back, asking me to be at the lobby as there is a 'cart' there. I didn't understand why a cart was needed and so I repeated the request with the hope that they had a spare one and that someone could bring it up for me to my room. What he said made me even more confused as he put it, 'We have a manager here and will give you a solution.' I was then wondering why asking for an adaptor needed a 'solution'.

I was really surprised several minutes after that when I was visited by the hotel manager and a staff. The manager said to me, 'Mam, I heard your husband is sick!' Oh! My goodness! My goodness!

I then thought of the key word 'adaptor', which must have been mistaken as 'a doctor'. I apologized for the misunderstanding as I felt bad right away that it had caused some issues for the hotel. I also felt bad when looking at the staff who turned pale knowing it was a mistake, I could only apologize and show my appreciation for their caring.

Now, it makes me think if the reactions on both ends could be different if either of them is a westerner. Would we see similar ways of handling this miscommunication? Interesting mak ka!

Any comment mai ka?

Circus

The other day, I went to see a ‘circus’ with my friend and her mother. It was said to be ‘World Best’ and I got some good thinking from it ka.

The image I always have on my mind was the circus from my childhood years when my father took me to several. My attention was on the funny clowns, amazing trained animals, and exciting performances of acrobats. All seemed to be real colorful and magical.

This time, it wasn’t like what I expected. It was more sophisticated, I think, to come up with a story from the beginning to the end. While I was watching the circus, I couldn’t help thinking of the human skills especially the acrobats! Yet, I also came up with these questions/comments ka:

·         Most of the performances were dark and dim. The music didn’t sound cheerful! Where were all the colors gone and what about the lively sound of music?

·         The slower pace of most of the shows may not respond well to our current world of changes.

·         As I didn’t hear kids’ laughing that much, what happened to the clowns who used to be the life of the circus? ‘Circus’ must have changed its definition and it may not be for kids anymore. Or I must have been amazed by the show of trained animals then!

·         Technology has brought excitement to our eyes through various channels and ‘live’ shows might have decreased their charms?!?

·         I must definitely be trapped in the hi-speed world!

·         The circus could eventually disappear?!?

Even with all the above, I deeply admire human physical strengths, individual persistence, and team efforts to push to the limits of their potentials ka!

Celebrating Global TC Day in Thailand

Last week, we had a little get together of TC alums in Thailand (Teachers College, Columbia University) and it was another opportunity to have some good lessons.

The party was initiated by TC Alumni Relations to have ‘Global TC Day’ every other year in July with the help of locals like me and another TC alum as Thailand coordinators for TC.

The Alumni Office at TC has several staff members who remind us of the time to organize a party. They also help identify in-country volunteer host and have the RSVP system.

Like the previous get-together, they sent signage, sign-in sheet, pins and pens. What I found most amazing this time was talking points for the two coordinators to share with the group…..very organized and systematic na ka.

The talking points included messages like how far the fund raising campaign has been doing. It has surpassed $200 million with the hope to reach the target at $300 million! How the donation has been spent was tabled out as well ka. We were also asked to share pictures on social media TC has to offer. I just noticed that right now, we all can have 'TC Gmail for life' too ka.

My learning:

·         To make alumni relations work, investment is needed for continuity of communication, which would need some tools and promotional materials

·         Local coordinators help manage the network and because the network itself is a high quality one, all have benefitted from the get-togethers

·         Could our Thai universities get some good practices and adapt to fit in with our own contexts, perhaps caring for networks (not too focused on those seek-for-future favors/strings types of network), wealth of human and academic resources and experience over fund raising?

On the whole, 8 out of 11 who confirmed the attendance were there and we were very pleased to have some time to link all up and know more what each has been doing. This is another quality group that makes me feel so fun to be with….because of their intellect, deep thinking, and passion.

We, the two coordinators, agreed earlier that it wouldn’t be just a meet and eat event so we asked one of the alumni to share with us about her book being sold at Amazon. The book is about education reform in Thailand dated back to our history to analyze our thinking and ‘borrowing’ of education systems that form our education today ka. We were all fascinated with her passion in research and love of learning plus naturally the synthesis abilities.

My learning:

Our education has some more hope with them around ka!

more pleasant surprise possible?

These days, I've been thinking about my own Thai people and how we work. I've come up with  words like, 'overworked', 'training needed?', 'care-less', and 'standard'.

I've been using one airline these days when it happens to fall on the airline's anniversary so it was a pleasant surprise to be given its 'special snack' (Panna Cotta with different types of sauce on top), specially prepared by one popular dessert cafe) on board the plane.

Here were what I found on the 3 flights ka:

1. The announcement came much later after the snack was served.
2. No annoucement was made at all.
3. The annoucement was made before they started serving the snack.

What did I learn?

1. Right Timing: This pleasant surprise could get started immediately as the first thing after the seatbelt sign has been turned off for people to join in this special anniversary, showing the continued success of the airline while having some impacts on the 'passenger engagement'.

2. Value Addition: The annoucement could include the type of sauce served to show how particular the airline has been, not to come up with the same sauce for all the flights. It doesn't hurt to also mention about the duration this special snack will offer, which may lead them to tell other dessert lovers to choose to fly this airline.

3. Standard of Training/Instructions: Even occasionally, I don't really like the word, 'standard', this occasion is when standard must be observed to ensure the uniformity and to get intended results. Failing to do so could make passengers wonder why its snacks go back to its normal offer. Therefore, instructions should be made clear and followed!

4. Assessment: May be good to check the passengers' views and what they may wish to have for the subsequent anniversary:))! It could also be nice to check its own flight attendants what would be best and why some failed to do so at the same time, out of being 'overworked', 'instructions-less', etc.

Panna Cotta was delicious, by the way!

Thais: 'class' and 'diversity'

Hope you all had a very relaxing weekend na ka.

I have something to share and will sure wait to get some comments ka.

During my recent trip to Banff, Canada, our group used a private coach service, allowing us to have 21-seat coach and a driver for 4 days.

The driver was a 24-year-old guy who finished his two-year college education. He was also our guide, telling us about the Rockies and some little funny/interesting stories. Most of us most of the time were attentive to listen and ask questions as well (could be a bit different from our Thai typical tourists?).

When we stopped for our lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we invited him to join us and order food plus let him get started as our guest of honor.

Right away, I was thinking about us here in Thailand.

The question is, “Would we treat our Thai driver similarly?”

We would invite a Thai driver for lunch but would we ask him to be at the same or separate table?

Would we ask him to be the first to choose the food and the one to start eating first?

Thai people have the sense of ‘class’ that may go without saying but….

Is it ok or is it time to change some of the practices?

Would it be better to encourage our drivers to learn more and become more knowledgeable in some ways?

I also think about ‘learning’ ka. Obviously, we haven’t done enough to nurture the sense of learning in our people.

How should we go about it starting from the younger ones to our own older generations….our own generation is to be stressed so as to be good models?

How could we be more open to respect diversity, recognizing that individuals have their stock of knowledge and experiences to share?

How could we cross the seniority and authority lines sometimes?

I sure had lots of questions going on my mind then and I do now too ka!

Any comments mai ka?

 

Cruise ship experiences

Let me now share with you what I’ve experienced being on a cruise ship for the first time ka.

1. Systematic

To handle over 2,000 passengers for 7 days with 800+ crew members is a huge challenge from safety and health to food, daily programs on board and disembarkation processes for passengers to visit several Alaska cities.

We were given hand sanitizer every time we went into any of the dining rooms. Our hands were very clean and dry!

I’m also impressed with their communication ka!

They did extremely well ka through several channels, i.e. daily newsletter, public address system, and announcement at the end of some key activities like evening show or competition or workshop.

One of the instructions was for us to take up the offer to help when getting on smaller boats to ensure our safety, saying that their staff members were professionally trained! Interesting ka!

For more complicated processes, they put down clearly all the steps that we had to follow strictly. The instructions were easy to understand too ka.

The very first port we visited, we needed to go on a smaller ‘tender’ and we all needed to group ourselves and get a ticket when we were all ready. The shuttle periods and ship departure were stressed over and over again.

On our last day which needed many more steps, they even had a separate letter just for the most important issue!

2. Attentive

To make sure we were tended to closely, we would have our same dinner table booked with two same waiters every evening (we did have another choice to have buffet dinner ka!). Our waiters were really attentive. The more senior would suggest food we shouldn’t miss while his assistant ended our meals with different games every day….and he was really upset we could answer almost all of themJ! One same sommelier was around for advice on wine too.

Talking about dinner, there was a funny story ka. A waiter was asking my friend what she wanted for dessert. She didn’t want any but he said, ‘Excellent choice’ without knowing he said so ka. Talok dee.

For cabins, the head of the housekeeping team would introduce himself on the very first day we checked in. Each with his team would take care of the same 22 cabins throughout the duration so we got to know him and could make direct requests as needed ka.

Besides the system, having the same people made us feel familiar with the new environment much more easily too.

3. Diversity

Both passengers and crew members were very diverse. So were the programs and food ka.

The programs were catered for more senior passengers with entertainment like a Musical, songs from the 70’s, plus shows by popular comedian and magician. Activities for kids were also available. What struck me was time allotted specifically for ‘LGBT’, and the other was for ‘Single and solo to mingle’….real diverse mai la ka?

I attended a few activities and the one I liked most was about ‘The Art of a Trained Memory’…..suited senior citizens mak ka! Well! I need to be more determined to train my brain still ka!

Sounds like a sanuk mai ka?

Vocational schools and cruise ship industry

Hello from my home desktop ka….good to be back to write again!

May was very a hectic month with various activities while June was filled with some work and more pleasure, fortunately.

During my one-week cruise ship trip, I met quite a lot of people/waiters, obviously including Filipinos. There were many Indonesians and it surprised me somehow….I may not have thought about Indonesians as mobile people mung ka!

One Filipino guy who was ‘assistant waiter’ helped take care of us at all our dinners.  He wants to continue working in this industry and his ambition is to be ‘Restaurant Manager’.

It was a delight to see two young Thais who were also on the staff team ka.

I felt very proud of them and was even more impressed after talking with them.

Both graduated from vocational colleges, one from Roi-et and the other from Chonburi.

I asked the first one about his English proficiency and he said he had to take the test twice which was really hard for him. Once he was on board, he gradually picked up the language as he was assigned to a new station every day and met lots of people under differing situations ka.

The other is a Mixologist who is highly capable. He’s had more experiences working in some hotels in Pattaya before. He impressed me with his determination and persistence ka. His responsibilities required him to tend the bar for 12 hours and could be longer if there were guests. He was exhausted but feeling good about it. From his 7-month contract, he has been able to earn 450,000 baht and has already sent home 300,000+ for his parents to build a house. He said as he is the first one to enter this industry from his college, he plans to share his experiences with his ‘juniors’ at his college once he comes back home.

My thoughts about these two Thais are:

1. They are excellent examples to inspire vocational students and others in our society to think twice about vocational schools.

2. Though vocational colleges can ‘boast’ of the success (like how much they could earn, and how great the opportunities have given, etc.), they need to look into their own curriculums seriously and identify both strengths and weaknesses how to produce more qualified graduates….whether the colleges themselves have the capability in this service industry and what would be needed to enter the industry. Otherwise, these two kids could only be exceptional cases the colleges keep promoting to the public which doesn't signify the true quality of the colleges lae ka.

3. To follow this track, our own kids have to learn how to dream realistically to be more determined, and tough, and most importantly to have courage to go try and fail.

4. Could vocational college teachers become their models on these attributes (including their efforts to learn foreign languages) too?

More to share soon ka!