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!
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