Looking back to go forward into 2023

As this will be my last message to be sent for 2022, I'd like to share with you some of my reflections ka:

2022 is one of the busiest years since my retirement from Fulbright because of quite a few invitations to give talks/workshops or to moderate sessions; one regional and some domestic  trips; and several 'online' learning forums, not to mention the 52 podcast episodes my team and I successfully managed every Tuesday.

On the whole, what I've learned are:

-  My main interest has turned 'Leadership' into the first rank, and 'Internationalization' as the second. It's also amazing to notice that I've paid increased attention to the global economic and business issues when before I only touched on management. This added interest has helped so much when preparing talks and workshops ka.

- My podcast team said I am the one who's learned most from its content and diverse backgrounds of guest speakers. Can't agree more ka....got to talk with at least one Fulbright alum or junior friends or new contacts to learn how they see the world and what they think of their own circles. I also have to sharpen my brain thinking more creatively for each month's theme to make it attractive and useful.

- Attending some online courses has extended my world to some different fields other than education, and driven me to select what to learn more. One favorite event was 'The Standard Economic Forum' (can watch the events till March next year). It was really an enriching experience to have some new perspectives and knowledge from economics and international affairs to climate change and new businesses; some new faces for me to follow their work; a glimpse into the latest trends and technologies; existing conflicts and possible options; younger gens' ways of thinking and working, etc.  

In addition, I had several other courses to learn about my inner self and how to stay calm and grow like meditation and art therapy for example. 

- Giving talks or serving as moderator was another aspect that helped me learn and improve from my preparations and communication to best fit with various groups of audience, with success at different degrees from my own assessments to get A minus to C.

- I have set aside some quality time for myself to relax and exercise, for getting together with family and friends.....can always do more for sure ka.

For 2023, I'm ready to enter it with commitment to learning and sharing more while hoping to care for both those I love and those I don't know ka.

Happy holidays and stay in excellent health na ka, everyone.

Desire Your Life

 Hello all. I believe you all are enjoying one real cool morning if you're in Bangkok ka! 

Yesterday, I attended a one-day workshop entitled, 'Desire Your Life', led by a junior friend (Nong Lek-Khun Parichart Raktabutr) who owns a page called, 'New Journey of Life' ka. I registered without delay as she's accumulated knowledge and experience attending quite a few training sessions. The most important is that she's practiced what she's learned for decades. 

The objectives of the workshop were to enhance our own desires for physical and mental wellbeing.

I'd like to share it into two parts as follows ka:

1. Techniques used:

- Introduction using one thing to represent who we are....this gave me some fun feeling to find it ka. I brought a dolphin which is one of many decoration items I have ka....showing my love of freedom, the world, my attachment with my ship gang, etc. This could be one good ice breaking tool to use ka.

- Sharing some key-turning-point stories of the session lead....honest sharing about herself especially on life and death matters

- Using a mirror to look at our eyes closely, convincing ourselves how unique and wonderful we are 

- Playing a children's traditional game of รีรีข้าวสาร and dancing as leads and followers, going back in time to feel like kids

- Having brief closed-eyes, peaceful moments and  opening our eyes to meet someone's eyes who would be our partner to share childhood stories 

- Picking an oracle card to get reading what would happen next year

- Writing a letter to our own selves to express our wishes for next year

2. Learning:

- The integrated techniques created a pleasant environment and a very 'safe zone' for strangers to share with few conditions.

- I was amazed to learn that quite a number of quality differing short-course sessions are offered and it seems that some work real well and could be 'an addition', 'an escape', for us to do in our free or down times or even to dig deeply to find other talents in us ka. Can't help thinking of our universities what and how they need to do, learn, initiate, collaborate, complement or redirect.

- Quite a few out there in the world suffer from various issues beyond my own imagination and this kind of workshop could become an initial healer or 'a trigger' to alert us of what could have been too much or too little ka.

- I found a few things about myself like never looking closely and carefully into my eyes (and I sure saw one determined and lively pair of eyes), talked about work very little (even though I work quite a bit still na ka), meditation I practice has become one of my important elements, etc.

- A must to take extra care of my physical self to be able to lead a better life is a must to be serious next year and beyond ka.

Sanuk and in fact suk inside ka.

Happy cool Monday ka.

Generational issues?

 Again, for this week, I'd like to share from  'Standard Economic Forum 2022' on the session of 'Generation Hope' ka. 

The panelists were: Parit Wacharasindhu (Itim), Khun Abhisit Vejjajiva's nephew who is quite popular among the youth; Sanon Wangsrangboon, Deputy Governor of Bangkok;

Anna Sueangam-iam,  Miss Universe Thailand 2022; and Komsan Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Flash Express, Thailand's first Unicorn.

My lessons learned from this session were:

1. Generation gaps are widening. Key sentences popped up often were: 'younger voices aren't heard.' and 'there is no safe zone for kids to express their views.'.

Senior leaders and adults need to listen actively with actions to be seen ka.

2. It seems that the younger generation could have a different set of values from the older ones. Only Khun Komson was touching on grit, motherland and family values. One was stressing on 'fairness'.

When relating 'fairness' with 'social equality', I think it should include discussions on 'attitude', 'equal treatment', and our 'cultural dimensions' as well, not simply adopt western thinking and approaches ka. 

3. Younger ones want to have active participation and they know they are better skilled in some ways especially technology. They are frustrated about the quality of education, politics, and other world challenges.They feel they've been imposed and it could be like 'top down' which I would think of the older as 'Very kind adults to offer the best for the young'.....what they don't find relevant to their needs and 'being'.  I agreed with Itim who said we all have to join hands to create favorable societies together, not from the old to the younger.

While both 'groups' seem to feel they're ready to listen and work together, values sets must be known and better understood ka.

One example raised was about the 'Student Loan Fund'. I personally feel it needs to be reset for mutual understanding and agreement of students and the loan management team. 

4. No one touched on our own cultural traditions directly though some discussions implied that they all had to be wiped out altogether. Treating each other equal means something different from the West and definitely this dimension must be taken up and jointly reviewed ka. Respect in the Thai way could also be a gentle touch that some younger ones may interpret it differently ka.

Asking me if this session sounded hopeful, I wasn't sure but I think there's still hope as many out there mean well and have been doing good in their little corners ka.

Leaders needed?

 Hello all!

The past weekend, I watched several sessions from 'The Standard Economic Forum 2022' again....the ones that I missed earlier on ka.  Found one I liked and wished to share, which was 'The Future of Leadership' by Khun Krating Poonpol, Chairman of Kasikorn Business Technology Group (KBTG) and Founder of 500 TukTuks ka. Powerful dee ka.

 

Khun Krating stressed BANI (Brittle, A, Non-linear and Incomprehensible) with I as the most important. He said with the speed of changes in the present world, even people that have been recognized as 'Leaders of All TIme' (like several US presidents) wouldn't possibly lead. 

Before one can be a leader, he/she has to be one good human being, stand firm on the principles and do the right things.

Leaders are to give and serve more. Leadership is earned and the recognition is 'license to lead'. 

One good equation of Trust is Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy divided by Self-orientation --- when we think of doing for others over what it is for our own sake and self, it's the best ka.

He said leaders in the new world must be open and ready to adjust, share, and learn. They must support the teams, show personal actions, inspire and make changes to enable positive impacts.  

We can change or adjust plans but never change the vision!

In any case, don't wait for any white knights to help. Each has to depend on one's own self from individuals to national levels. Leadership has to be in everyone! 

Be hopeful and pass on the 'candles of hope' for our country to be lightened up and prosper again!

Worth listening, thinking along, and managing our own selves favorably to turn our country around ka!

Future in the Fragmented Globalization

Hello all! Here comes the second event I attended online the past weekend, which was called, 'THE STANDARD ECONOMIC FORUM 2022' from November 25-27. I couldn't follow all the sessions but will do after they have uploaded them for us from Dec, 1 on (last for 3 months with key messages included ka).

The sessions caught my attention beyond what I had expected.......sanuk maaaak ka. It was also one best deal to pay only 2,500 baht to watch it online.

What I got from the sessions I followed na ka:

1. Globalization is fragmented and one important issue is for us not to 'miss the supply chain wagon' for our economy and competitiveness. 

2. The world is more fragile and Thailand can't operate on the auto pilot mode any longer. Our justice system has to be fair and free. Taxation coverage has to be managed.

3.Thailand must be more visible in the global scene. More importantly, it must be careful to decide what and when to go along with which superpower. Geopolitics has become more crucial and Thailand is lucky to be distant from Russia-Ukraine conflicts though we've definitely got some impacts.

4.Thailand has to reposition in many areas. On foreign policy, we need to manage both 'quiet diplomacy' and 'megaphone diplomacy' better, knowing when to manage quietly behind closed doors with key partners on some sensitive issues, and when to publicize what the public should know.

5. We lack visionary leadership and can't keep up in proper speed to see and grab some good opportunities during the past years so we've lost them to other countries like Vietnam. Leaders must not lean toward big businesses, know their scopes of authority and use them properly while taking care of the SMEs and the disadvantaged.

6. Climate change is on the top of all agenda in most of the sessions. It's necessary to unify all sectors to tackle 'nature deficits'. Thailand has to transition its processes carefully  in every sector for its international trade to retain its competitiveness as there'll be new related rules to be imposed, especially by the EU, all attempts to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

There's room to be hopeful but the public must have more knowledge and join hands while many more opportunities are available for startups to use technology to help ka. 

7. Inequality is one serious issue Thailand has to tackle. On the finance side, SMEs need much more help to get access to resources. Even BOT, it has been more aware and taken actions to help businesses become 'less brown'.

8. Every sector and organization has to internalize climate change issues as part of their every day work to manage risk assessments better. Some issues are 'wicked problems' so don't wait for regulators!

9. Web 3.0 is still under discussion for increased mutual understanding and don't wait for regulators. Arguments are on several issues like, 'is it necessary to have a centralized body (like a government unit) or is it good without?' , 'How could we trust the regulators?', etc.

10. Intergenerational literacy is essential.

Let me end it now before it gets too long ka.

Leadership in action

 Hope you all enjoyed your weekend ka.

I kind of had a full schedule last week and there were several to share as always ka.

In fact, I attended 2 main events and wish to share both ka. Let me start from the first which was a forum for senior leaders of university and faculties to share how they could move their university/faculties forward na ka.

These are what I could draw and what impressed me from the four presentations at “EdPEx National Forum for Excellence: Ten Years and Counting” ka:

1. Passion and purpose of the senior leaders must be obvious to communicate to their teams and beyond so they all know and move forward toward one same goal.

2. We must go 'beyond standards' as it only means 'minimum standard'. Yet, if it's an international standard, what leaders could tell their communities was that, 'they are bringing the international standard to benefit the locals'....in this latter case, the speaker referred to health ka. This also means, the leaders had to go 'beyond university and national borders' (and care for SDG too!).

3. All the leaders went 'beyond dream'....all showed their personal actions to learn with and from their teams and offer support while considering  their teams' specific contexts like young families with time needed so the teams should have their weekends for the purpose. 

4. Think of people from students, faculty and staff to stakeholders in the communities. I was happy to see that the leaders collaborated better across disciplines in their own universities.....hopefully they can do it more with other Thai universities, not just foreign ones ka.

5. Leaders means being a role model to engage with teams to build trust while keeping oneself up with current and future trends to be visionary

6. Development needs time and data-driven is a must. Once the foundation is solid, it could leap forward to real improvement and innovation..

All the four leaders showed their deep passion to drive their organizations to excellence with quality culture, value for people, and a sense of collaboration. It was one sanuk event I was glad to attend ka.

Cheers.

Hopeful education?

 Hello Monday kaa!

Some may know I'm a big fan of Khun Tonson, Santitarn Sathirathai and so today I'd like to share with you what he talked about at the Secret Sauce EE#3943 about how to revitalize our economy in 2023 amid major changes regionally and internationally.

Khun Tonson talked about '3 shifts' in the global economy in 2023. The shifts are: 

1. from inflation fears to growth fears as inflation is on its way to the peak...this will make people scared of much slower growth.

2. from the US to Asia/China which sees the US in possible recession, US dollars stay strong, and China has its growth stimulus. 

3. from goods to services economy.....tourism seems to be more positive than exports.

Three main things to be stressed further are:

1. When mentioning about ESG, S has to be emphasized even more especially in terms of equality

2. Digital use must widen the coverage in all sectors and those underserved.

3. Asia to refer to China has to be shifted to include ASEAN, which will play a heightened role with the slower growth of China.

Creating relationships is more important than before ka.

He said if Thailand were a football player, this player was aging and much less attractive (for FDI, for example). He mentioned Singapore, which has seen itself clearly and positioned it strategically as a new engine of growth to stress startup promotion, fintech hub and now green finance center. Thailand has to admit that we aren't as attractive, study from countries around, and assess what we want to excel and seek partners.

Instead of trying to play as a striker which could be hard to know the changing direction, Thailand should look at itself as a midfielder, doing what we can complement strikers, meaning that we  gear our own focus to form stronger foundation on three industries, namely, Digital industry, Education/EdTech (talents/upskilling), and Finance (Healthcare could also be included.)....quality of humans, digital capabilities, and access needed to support these industry growth.

If successful, we can attract talents to nurture and enhance more talents in our country too.

When asked about the role of leaders, my ears were even wider open ka.

He pointed out our leaders should be able to have the following:

1) Global mindset with fine networks near and far

2) Understanding the local needs and

3) More listening to the younger gens

For me, several examples in this talk about Singapore offer strategic thinking for us to learn. I also think that despite some severe weakness in our higher education, I see quite a few opportunities from the regional front. We should sharpen our own core competence and strengthen digital infrastructure. I believe we still are able to continue to take advantage of our warm hospitable culture plus geographical location ka. Of more importance is our own people's strengthened capabilities and team attitudes to become more synergistically strategic for future-ready Thailand ka.

What do you think ka? 

Beautiful Sunday

 5555! I'm still ok and know well that today is Tuesday ka. I was thinking of sharing what happened to me Sunday but yesterday, life was sort of hectic ka.

It happened when I decided to visit the Fulbright Thailand booth at Siam Paragon ka.

That day was beautiful because:

1. Prompt and inexpensive Muvmi (smart electric tuk tuk) picked me up from in front of my little soi to the BTS. It cost me 12 baht and since there was none sharing this 6-seat car with me, I occupied the whole car all by myself ka.

2. Got a seat on the BTS given by a young guy ka. It wasn't so much about the seat (thinking about my age that was that obvious for others to give me a seat kraa:))!5555!) I couldn't be happier because it was a young person who made me feel hopeful that our kids have namjai (caring heart) ka. Thank goodness he only gestured without calling me a 'ป้า/ยาย'.

3. Getting together with my successor and former team plus alumni was so delightful. Several alumni came to help answer and I too jumped in when there was a crowd.

4. Wonderful little things made my heart warmer and warmer ka. One alum said she decided to apply for a Fulbright grant after listening to my talk (a little while before I retired ka). A current grantee said he knows me from YouTube vdo clips and my podcast as he watched and listened to many sources to learn more about Fulbright.  One senior alum went with his kid to see me there, knowing I'd stop by early afternoon.

5. A strong desire to become a Fulbright grantee brought me more energy to advise young visitors at the booth. Several I talked with had some key questions about how best to prepare themselves so I shared my views on essay writing ka.

I came back home feeling a bit tired because I had my mask on almost all the time there. Still I had an urge to post my feelings about the afternoon on Facebook.

Happy me kaaa!

Enjoy your Tuesday na ka.

Final call for Thailand?

 It's Monday again na ka. For a retiree like me, I only have to remind myself what day it is ka! For those who're working full time, don't be jealous ka. I think this year is only a bit more kind to me these two weeks lae ka.

Have some thoughts to share from watching 'The Great Remake' organized by Prachachart Turakit, which made me sigh out loud out of worries ka.

1. Dr. Somkiat Tangkitvanich, TDRI,  identified four areas to be focused for Thailand's increased productivity, namely, capital (business monopolies), labor (education relevance), innovation (climate change responses), and public service reform (bureaucracy). As these four are extremely difficult and calls for enormous strength, he offered the following ka:

- Capital -- strengthening SMEs

- Labor -- focusing market needed skills

- Innovation -- stressing innovation to rid poverty

- Public service reform -- easing rules and regulations for livelihood

I was somehow struck by his repeatedly mentioning that they could be simpler ways for politicians to take up and win the upcoming election. Definitely, it could be one of the strategies that leads to a win-win situation. Unfortunately, I guess I've been far too skeptical about politicians mung ka....with respect to some fine politicians ka.

These questions  popped up on my mind right away ka. 

- Are politicians capable of contributing to the country or of gaining votes?

- Could we still have some hope with our politicians? 

- Anything we (individually and collectively, and higher education institutions) can do on our own without depending much on politicians? 

2. I really like sharing by Khun Surasak Suthongwan, Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Thailand because of the simple presentation and the content ka. He touched on the value chain with new ways of looking at business like Toyota to see itself as a mobility company with new partners to have solutions for customers (expanding from previously a production company). His company has to understand the world changes, especially brand consideration, types of cars for work and the future, and changing consumer behavior to use fanclubs as one important element to promote new cars.

He too confirmed what most speakers said, 'Look into the future, don't look back!'

Questions came to my mind ka:

- How far ahead our higher education is on the understanding of the world trends and value chains?

- How could we look into the future, rethink, and know that collaboration is a must?

3. Khun Aswin Techajareonvikul, CEO and President of Berli Jucker Public Company Limited and Big C said (in Thai and I translated from my understanding na ka) that we got more threatened by people inside  than outside the country. He wished Thai people could feel less intimidated and have more internal collaboration as Thailand would have no space to stand internationally.  

He also said it was the final call to have the great remake.

Even in the private sector where profits are the aims, they're calling for internal collaboration. 

My repeated question came up kaa!

What about our higher education institutions ka? Why do we continue to race against each other?

We've lost our fights over and over to other countries like Korea and Malaysia and now have got Vietnam as our competitor. Yet, within our country, I still don't get it why we compete against one other so much that we lack the synergy to go global. 

Can't help but thinking of the ranking race (for some Thai institutions) and some questions ka:

- Does ranking somehow speed us up to race against our own Thai institutions to the constructive earnings of the ranking companies? 

- Could we rethink to remake higher education for the heightened quality of our people from senior leaders and faculty to support staff and students? 

- Could we collaborate for our future-ready Thailand?

The final call from Khun Aswin is much louder in our higher education community mai ka?

In any case, being an optimistic person, I do have hope to witness dedication and synergy of some leaders and individuals who have been our driving forces for better higher education ka.

7-minute talk

 My last talk for October is done and I now feel quite relaxed ka.

The whole session, organized by Stimson Center, ran for an hour to share feedback and takeaways on education, labor and health from the Mekong-US Partnership  (MK-US excluding China na ka) from the earlier forum in Cambodia and a hybrid session of research findings by Mo, Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont. Mo is the current SEAMEO RIHED Director who was Visiting Fulbright ASEAN Scholar at Stimson Center for 3 months. (Stimson is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank which aims to enhance international peace and security through a combination of analysis and outreach in Washington D.C.)

Even though my short session went for only 7 minutes, anyone who knows me well would know I took much much longer to prepare ka.Here are what I did/learned as a panelist this time:

1. For me, I think the shorter, the harder na ka. Agree mai ka?

2. My style of preparation is to rehearse quietly in my mind and so my 2-page ppt helped keep my talk in good time. I ended 40 seconds before time allotted. 

3. Basically, I stressed the importance of the following:

- MK-US partnership needs to aim at a shared future, which is still lacking. Mekong countries should be able to discuss common needs and priorities for collaboration with the US, and come up with one big picture for MK-US.

- What should be given more attention includes monitoring and evaluation plus syntheses of best practices from many projects and activities that move beyond merely collections of numbers and outputs undertaken.

- The US sees its role as donor-partner while Mo and I agree it should be partner and learner who will get to know more about our MK contexts to collaborate better. In terms of relationship, being a donor or partner sure gives a different meaning especially about people-to-people interactions and the benefits of sharing. The MK subregion has a lot to share and learn among the member countries and with the US, from cultural diversity to local wisdom and collective intelligence.

- Since Cambodia's forum gave the highest priority on integrating soft skills into hard skill training, there should be some sandbox-like test, engaging key stakeholders (including faculty members and university senior leaders) with full M&E and a synthesis.

4. Several questions were raised and I found it unexpected in such a session. In any case, I managed to respond ka.

1) Women and girls in education -- awareness of it as an issue and combine it along with support for LGBTQ 

2) What Thais thought of the two rivers, Chaopraya as our main river and Mekong as 'minorities' -- Ignorance is gone as we promote more knowledge about ASEAN and its integration plus get more learning from exchanges and media.

3) Data collection and sharing.-- work collaboratively among all concerned to pick up main data sets that are a must to have.

Over the weekend, I was impressed watching a presentation at BOT Symposium 2022 by Assistant Professor Thanee Chaiwat from Chula's Economics Faculty. One thing I could have used in my future presentations is to devote one slide pointing out only several keywords to make sure my main message is sent clearly.

Whew! so relieved all is done for October.

Happy Halloween and I sure deserve a nice treat ka😋😋

4 jobs with untold learning

 Swasdee ka, everyone. Hope it's been a fine Tuesday ka.

Today, another episode of my Podcast, 'Learn Plern Plern' is already broadcast ka. So I think it'd be good for me to reflect on learning from all the 4 episodes under the theme of 'Various Dimensions of Jobs' ka.

The 4 interviewees are from 4 different jobs, namely, Forensic Pathologist, Restaurant Reservations Manager, Inspiration Speaker, and Pilot Instructor. Each is really unique with so much to learn ka.

I'm very impressed talking with them all and here are what I've got ka:

- Family is the most important institution to nurture and enhance kids' passion.

- Despite the upsetting facts about the quality of our education, we still see quite a few graduates who after their reflections, realized how much they've got from their schools and universities. I'd encourage more reflections exercises used within the institutions and on one's own ka. My art therapy sessions also make me travel back to the past and my therapist said it seemed I always travelled back to my childhood ka.

- Movies are for entertainment and excitement which could offer partial facts.....never believe what we see like me learning from CSI and now realize that I was one influenced by 'the CSI effects' ka.

- 'Surprise Party' to be a real surprise needs care for big and tiny details of every step from communication with all in the hotel and restaurant to where the VIP guest would walk to by assuming two roles, our own and ourselves as the person to know exactly what could be seen or missed.

- As younger gens hop from one job to another much faster than before, immediate bosses should continue to give their subordinates the best advice and training so they perform their functions well and could hop out with practical skills.

- To be a successful inspiration speaker, one must show his/her real self as it's the very first step for listeners to believe what's shared. The joy in life can be different in each stage of age and experience so we should 'move' our happiness along!

- Our society is hesitant to ask questions about disability to the disabled while some disabled would be eager to share how they could lead happy lives despite. We all can increase our understanding from such sharing loei la ka.

- 'Safe travels' is much more meaningful when talking with a pilot instructor who's a pilot himself about decision making when in crisis and how they need to simulate various difficult times to always be prepared. Their 'check list' isn't offered to be ticked only but for them to ensure that all the required steps are seriously taken up ka.

Anything to discuss further mai ka?

First big EdTech event in Thailand

Hello to all ka.

 

Last week, I was asked to give a talk on the topic of, 'Innovative Mobility for Sustainable Learning and Living', focusing on AIMS (Asian International Mobility for Students Program... a SEAMEO RIHED's flagship project) ka. 

 

The event was organized in Thailand for the first time by BETT with a conference and expo. From its homepage, BETT is the global community for education technology to spark ideas, create connections, and accelerate trade, driving impact and improving outcomes for teachers and learners.

 

Admission was free and visitors could enjoy all the sessions plus free coffee and lunch ka.

 

My talk went for 20 minutes in a huge ballroom (and honestly, I was glad it wasn't filled up ka....if it did, I could have been even more nervous ka!)

 

Even when I've been sort of close in the RIHED circle, it wasn't that easy to prepare the talk. In any case, it was done by discussing several times with RIHED's Director, Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont to get detailed info for my further synthesis and proposed ideas.

 

Like other big conferences, the stage was well-equipped with tools to facilitate speakers from two screens down below the stage to show the slides, and digital time counter for us not to run over time ka. Both were biggggg enough for us to see clearly! Thank goodness. The technical team at the back helped with everything to make speakers' lives even simpler ka.....had a final ppt check on the stage screen and clipped a wireless digital microphone controlled by this team. Speakers only focused on the talks as someone would turn both on when needed.

 

I also had a chance to walk around the Expo section to talk with some exhibitors. Leading companies and agencies like Microsoft and the British Council were there ka. Quite a few promoted language learning tools. The British Council has both self learning and vdo talks with teachers online.

 

Here are what I learned from attending this event ka:

 

- Again, preparing a talk takes time to synthesize info and form some ideas that could be useful to the audience. With such a limited time, I didn't even share what exactly SEAMEO RIHED was. The session moderator was asking how to pronounce it and what it was for his own introduction ka.

 

- Such a stage setup and time alloted didn't allow any questions or comments like what traditional keynotes are na ka. (I quietly felt good kraaa!)

 

- On one hand, having BETT in Thailand was a real plus in an economic term (numbers of our Thai people hired to work for the two days and the hotel as its venue). On the other, it was unfortunate that not so many Thais were there to learn more about what's been going on in EdTech and what could be most applicable to our institutions.

 

I couldn't help but think of when I registered for a big event like NAFSA (International event for international educators held in the US). Fulbright had to pay a high registration fee. BETT was held here in Bangkok, offering free access and food! It could have been well-attended by seniors and many more from our university communities na ka.

 

- The exhibition section told us clearly that Thailand's still the right place to sell language learning courses ka . Wonder when we can cross this language barrier.....nothing can help much except each individual to feel self-motivated with the urge to acquire the language skills na ka.

 

- Personally, I think Thailand has always been able to keep up with modern technologies. But the challenging issues stay the same ka -- how to engage humans to optimize and maximize the use with integration to respond to reduce our weakness and strengthen our core objectives of learning. This was one of the key points I stressed in my talk ka. Technology isn't everything. IT people need to see themselves as part of the overall organization culture and driver of vision/mission. Both IT and others in the university community need to work together in some of the key processes with consistent communication.

 

-  After I was done with my talk, a few came to me to mention my energy ka. Wasn't sure how to react to it as I felt it could have been too much and I may need to learn how to control it not to be too much!?! However, if my energy level could draw people's attention, what could tell me about the content shared? Really curious about the latter ka.

 

Get sick with my sharing about speeches mai ka? If not, I have 2 more talks in the coming weeks and may share with you here naaa kaaa! Watch out kraaa!

Keynote experience

 Monday greetings to you all ka.

Last week, I was on a zoom session as a keynote speaker at 'FRIENDS Thailand National Conference on Internationalization at Home' on the topic of 'Internationalization at Home: a New Normal in the Internationalization', hosted by Mahasarakham University. This is ีืunder a joint cooperative project of ERASMUS with several Thai universities along with those in some Asian countries.

The below is what I'd like to share ka:

1. In case some of you are interested to know what IaH means crafted by Beelen & Jones, 2015, it reads, 'The purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments'. In this meeting, I proposed an extended definition that could fit better in our context, which is 'Our purposeful intention to integrate international and intercultural dimensions into the formal, informal practices/actions with all students in any learning environments, physical and/or virtual across the worlds'. 

2. Normally for me,  a talk in English takes much longer to prepare. In addition, during this covid period, lots have happened with more to keep up ka. It's great in a way to be kind of forced to read and think a lot more, not only the most updated for the audience, but what could be integrated for further use in the Thai context and hopefully some others in the region.

3. When we emphasize more on Internationalization at Home (IaH), it could be worrying as  we must make sure we understand 'internationalization-- IZN'. So I proposed time to ask 'why' again for both IZN and IaH. I also challenged the Thai and overseas participants not to think of 'new normal' but 'new abnormal' (got this term from Khun Tonson, Santitarn Sathirathai).  I believe that we must not think of work step by step only anymore when we can make things even more unique to keep pace with the changes of the worlds (e.g. physical, virtual, metaverse.) 

4. There were only two who asked questions. One from the Philippines who asked if we should engage support staff in the IaH process. The answer was a 'yes' and it seemed that in his situation, support staff didn't want to when they too could play a key role. Sessions to interact closely with them in some ways should be organized ka.

The second one was from a foreign student in a Thai university who asked if it was ok to ask for mental help. I was so glad she asked ka. In our private chat, she said she was relieved to hear from me that what she felt could happen to others. We need to include mental health support seriously in the universities,  in our orientation and discussions with students and the whole university community ka.

5. I graded myself a 'B' because I could have prepared much better to think of 2 things ka: 1) some good stories to go with key topics to make the talk more interesting and powerful. 2) several other related issues as a back-up if there was more time given after the welcome session. I hope I can manage better next time ka.

Happy Monday na ka.

Facebook hacked!

 Hello everyone! As you can see from the subject, it's what I wish to share today ka.

A friend lined with a screenshot talking with 'me' through messenger, asking her to go to 7-11 to transfer 1,000 baht as 'I' had to be self-quarantined. That was the beginning of my jump to have several who told me in further detail too.

Lessons learned from this incident are:

- Our friends and former colleagues are really kind and wish to help out. One former colleague called to say even she was surprised why I asked her, she felt very good that I did ka!

- Observe and check further. One ajarn went into that Facebook page to find info from there. She found only the full name and date of birth which stated that I was born in 1964. She knew right away it wasn't me as I'm older ka:))! She called the person who didn't answer anything and left the chat.

-  Ask the owner when we aren't sure about the strange request....several did line or call ka.

- With the open access from 7-11 at the limit of 1,000 baht, it's the big gap for people to receive money without having to tell the name and the account number ka.

On my end, here are several ka:

- My habit of writing in English helps tell quite a few that it may not be me and the Thai language used was far away from my own way of talking ka. This person wrote, 'ทำไรอยู่จ๊ะ' ....not my style loei ka.

- Thank goodness my friends know that I wouldn't go around asking for money ka.

- Don't be lazy to change the password and though I change mine periodically, it isn't enough ka.

- I now not only know a little better how not to be hacked, I also appreciate my younger ones who came to check and walked me through the process of two-factor authentication while a very dear junior friend, Bank, offered to help as soon as he knew my Facebook was hacked ka.

Hope you don't have such an experience ka.

Amazing caring

There's a story I really wish to share today, showing how powerful one caring heart can offer ka.

It's about Tom, one of my dear dear น้องเรือเยาวชน (one junior participating with me in the Ship program) who works for Thai International Airlines ka.

About 9 am several days ago, Tom's colleague, Ong, found it strange that Tom didn't show up since he has always been much earlier. Ong knows where Tom stays so he went there. Luckily, Tom's room is on the second floor and though without access to Tom's place, Ong could manage to enter from Tom's neighbor's back door.

He found that Tom was lying unconscious on the floor not far from the bathroom. According to Tom's mom, Tom was turning 'green'. Tom's now being hospitalized and when I went to see him, he looked quite good!  Tom can't speak yet but when I teased him, he laughed out loud.....we couldn't be happier! He would need sessions of physical therapy to become fit again ka.

Within this shock, this was a wonderful story na ka. Ong's caring with his sense and actions has saved one life. Tom is a really good person himself and his routine could also be one good factor for Ong to see. Definitely Ong was fast to notice it and take actions when it didn't seem right. 

Bless Ong's beautiful caring heart ka!

Hope it won't be a too wet Monday to you all ka.

Teamwork

 Good Monday to all ka.

Even I've been more particular about what to write, I found one topic to share as I was reading 'CEO Excellence' ka....if you follow this egroup, you may recall that I got hold of this book for some time now and have been so slow to read it. Yet, amazingly, whenever I pick it up to read for simply several pages, I love it every time ka....this round, nothing is different and here it is ka.

The title of this chapter is, 'Teamwork Practice....make the team the star'. .I love Michael Jordan's quote that follows which reads, 'Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships' 

My eyes and heart got stuck with the chapter loei ka.

Reading about Michael Jordan's Dream Team who lost to a group of college players by eight points meant a lot jing jing ka. The story went on to talk about Michael Jordan who said they were out of sync.... while the Coach then, Chuck Daly, decided not to make any adjustments during the game to sort of teach the team one good lesson for them to realize that 'they must know they could lose too!'. The arrogance and complacency was replaced by teamwork and hunger, which led the team to win the Olympics Gold. 

My learning is:

- Individual competence and intelligence is good but not great...more is needed for the right people with the dynamics of how to work in a team for 'stronger impacts'.

- Teamwork means shared goals with sync actions based on intelligence.

- Losing could be a good strategy for us to learn the hard way.

There's one little story about Gail Kelly who took over Westpac as CEO. Her team felt she didn't deserve to get the position.....this could sound like quite a few people in our government service who suffered from this kind of attitude (I too lived through it for a short while too!)

What she did was to heighten the degree of team trust and collaboration by turning a 'group of 12 direct reports into a high-performing team through a series of off-sites' to work on transformation projects together. She made sure that the purpose of the team was 'clarified, behavioral expectations were set, and trust was built through facilitated sessions....'

My learning is:

- Trust can be built through designed activities with clear expectations set for all involved.

- High performing teams can be small in number but must be the right people.

- Team building is something to invest and do regularly.

Will read more to share more ka.

Collaboration, trust, and leadership

 Hope the weekend allowed you to relax and that you all are ready for Monday ka.

I have some little life experience of a senior leader to share with you ka.

Last week, I had a chance to have dinner with one senior leader-good friend from ASEAN and his experience collaborating with a western university. I got the following from our conversation and my further thoughts ka:

• Trust and respect are the keys to enter a longer term of collaboration......read MOU carefully.
• The two sides must  have an equal share in funding, and in any case, definitely not one-sided.
• Understand the local culture so as not to impose one's own onto the partner.
• Younger gens are influenced by social media and world trends. They too need to have some orientations of local contexts and values.
• End the collaboration before it gets far too long and more serious to manage.
• Ranking doesn't mean that much to the development of our higher education institutions (so don't go crazy about it!).
• The government and ministries concerned must envision the changing world trends and required skills to prepare universities and people well in advance and play a key role to direct and support them.
• It's a must for faculty members to enhance knowledge and skills in what the trends require......internships for faculty could be one best way ka.
• In crisis, leaders have to stay focused, look into the future, and weigh the best options for their key stakeholders. This includes management of expectations of our younger gens.
• ASEAN has increased its significant role in the world scene. We must strengthen our relationships to work as one ASEAN team with our ASEAN Values intact.
• Before then, it's time for our Thai higher education institutions to be one same team on one shared future for our kids, people, country, and ASEAN ka.....sorry to say it's so frustrating to see our universities compete against one another and hesitant to share their key learnings. It's more painful when some welcome foreign institutions, especially the West  and selected East, with open arms.

Any comments mai ka?

Art Therapy class

 Good morning to all ka.....what do you think about my topic ka? Can you guess what I'd like to share?

One of my nieces has had a few one-on-one art therapy sessions at a cafe at a walking distance from my house. Talking with her made me feel so interested in what art could do. 

You know what happened for sure ka! Yes! I've become one of the clients and it should go for 10 sessions....one hour each ka.

The first started yesterday and it was so fun.

I failed to take a picture of this Canadian institution that offers a certificate in art therapy but at least I learned about the process ka. My 'art therapy' student is in her clinical period to acquire experiences for her supervisor to assess. The charge (only 500 baht) isn't high, considering her time and the room rent she has to pay ka. 

As the firstcomer like me, the art therapist showed me some documents about privacy and confidentiality issues. I'll have to sign next time to note that they're serious about our information and work from the sessions ka.

The session itself is divided into 3 parts: 

Check-in: Draw what has happened before we meet (mine was from waking up till 9 am ka)

Activities: Follow the instructions to use different types of color pencils/crayons to draw lines or pix without lifting the pencil.

Check-out: Express feelings how the session goes.

We don't need to draw well ka. I myself am one of the worst in the world.

For the Check-in session, I drew several things I did and I was surprised to find that I totally missed out one task that I felt quite worried then. Instead, what I drew showed I focused on my talk (powerpoint), breakfast, and meditation.

I like the activities part as I was asked to choose two colored pencils....one for my right hand side and the other for left. Then starting from the right, drew lines or any as wished without lifting the pencil to follow drawing freely with the left using the pencil chosen.

The fun part was this ka. She asked to look for any animal I could see from the lines/pix I drew. I found two dolphins and I chose the more prominent one ka. I had to answer a few things, e.g. what was its name? Where did the dolphin live? where to go when happy or down?, etc..... purely imagination that I love love kaa.

I shared with her how I felt about the process. She said I could use a larger piece of paper as my drawing covered almost all the space. I wasn't hesitant to keep drawing though I missed drawing what I wanted and at one point, I lifted my fingers ka. Quitely, I also learned about me ka.

Have jotted down several questions I'll ask her next time ka.

Sounds sanuk mai ka?

Useful interview questions

I've found another article I'd like to share kaaa!

The title is, 'Passing the culture-fit test' by Dipal D., Editor at LinkedIn News  (https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/passing-the-culture-fit-test-4906145/).

It could be useful for both interviewers and interviewees (even ajarns to coach their students) and this will be helpful for all to be ready. They are:

• When asked about activities beyond your profession, discuss your hobbies and highlight any charity work or volunteering you might be involved in.
• By asking about the last book you read, recruiters check your critical thinking and analytical skills along with your literary taste. It’s suggested to prepare two answers: a fictional work as well as a non-fictional one.
• Be honest when answering a question about your passions and avoid cliches.
• When sharing what you hope to achieve in the future, include skills, the aim to work with high-profile clients, and other milestones.
• Instead of only picking public figures as your source of inspiration, you can also talk about someone who’s impacted your personal life.

In addition, my podcast program (Learn Plern Plern #116) for this month is focusing on 'internship'. One Thai-American guest speaker shared about his internship over a decade back at Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok. Currently, he is  a VP of Seven Peaks Group, which offers consultations on digital transformation for positive impacts to users. He said when talking with potential applicants for internship, he wanted to know what their attitudes were as the company wanted to recruit 'those who are hungry for more to get involved, get hands-on, and contribute', adding value to the professional environments. Several simple yet useful open-ended questions were:

• What motivates you?
• Why do you want to be here? 
• What do you want to get out of this internship?
• What do you want to do in your professional career?

It seems to be my 'Happy Questions' week na ka 5555!

Questions for thoughts and actions

 Monday hello ..... not that beautifully with the dark sky and rainy day na ka!

Late last week, I went to a bookstore to flip through one book, which has excerpts from interviewing Thai senior leaders in various sectors. It gave me several ideas ka….didn't buy it though 5555!

·       The book could be used for readers and moderators to pick out some powerful key questions.

·       I also think of 'CEO Excellence' (which I'm so slow to finish and even after promising myself to read a chapter every day, I still can't keep up with my own promise ka!) It offers synthesis of leadership qualities with stories across all the CEOs surveys and interviews.

With this thinking on my mind, I enjoy reading CEO Excellence even better ka. Let me select some from what I've read so far to share today ka:

·       What separates the best CEOs from the rest? This is what the book I skimmed through could add value loei ka……will take much longer to digest and synthesize na ka.

·       If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what do you think they would do? (I like this classic one from Intel early 1980s) It has stayed on as one powerful question to see into one's own company, leadership of the board and CEOs, shared vision, and how to think of and act on new strategies ka.

·       How could you think like an outsider? This question can follow from the previous one loei na ka. Oftentimes, we’re so used to doing what we’ve been doing and some observations from those knowing less about our organizations could help. I go for external assessment for this reason as well (with some if’s lae ka!)

·       Why would we do it, knowing that………? (รู้ทั้งรู้) This happens often for some cultural and political reasons. Boldness to stand firm on what’s best for the organizations is crucial…even simply raising this question needs someone with a brave heart ka.

·       To what extent am I personally acting as a role model by telling a deeply compelling story, aligning incentives, and building the confidence and skills of others? I think this question alone demands so much from CEOs. Wish our senior leaders could take it up seriously ka.

This will be a bit long but let me copy a few more questions that could be useful for our universities to think and do as we’re deeply into university transformation challenges na ka.

·       What’s the most important behavioral change needed to unlock success? My answer would be 'growth mindset' ka.

·       Is the best fit talent in the most important roles? Identify the right talents in the transformation pool to work on the aspects that truly fit their capabilities.

·       Does the team member know exactly what’s expected of them? I like this one ka...simple and powerful.  I think it can be from 'shared visions' to 'expected individual and collective results na ka. Clear communication or otherwise, we tend to do what we've seen and done.

·       Have they been given the needed tools and resources and a chance to build the necessary skills and confidence to use them effectively? Systematic HR planning that is aligned with organizational goals and people's competence with relevant projects to sharpen their skills.

·       Are they surrounded by others (and the CEO) who are aligned on a common direction and who display the desired mindsets and behaviors? This for me, is a tough yes-no question as it's filled with the desirable directions, mutual understanding, aligned actions, favorable role models with personal actions.

·       Is it clear what the consequences are if they don’t get on board and deliver? We tend to think of penalty first but it could be negative impacts on the health of the organization in terms of growth, sustainability, competitiveness, and even one's own pride and dignity ka.

Any question in particular you’d love to choose mai ka? Why?

Learning from Metaverse and Metanomics session

 Missing my message the past week mai ka?

I now have one story I heard that has made me eager to share ka. It was from Thailand Metaverse Expo 2022 by the Nation the past week. The first vdo I watched was like over 5 hours and I got stuck by the very first and second ones. I’ve chosen the first one, ‘Metaverse and Metanomics’ by Khun Thanapongphan Thanyarattakul , Co-founder and CEO of sfia.

Out of my little understanding of metaverse, his talk gave me a good briefing plus sources to read more.  I picked up several points and examples to share with you here na ka:

-        Quite a number of huge businesses have already seen many opportunities and jumped into learning and offering products on metaverse in some different forms. 

-     Starbucks has its wise and up-to-date use of web 3.0....from its earlier slogan for coffee lovers to see Starbucks as their 'third place to stay', it will offer NFTs for special collections for at least 31.2 users in the US alone.  

The CEO has used web 3.0 and changed its slogan to be 'digital third place...' especially for upcoming generations who are digital natives. I quote here na ka: 'Tokenized rewards the future.....this will enable customers to exchange value across brands, engage in more personalized experiences, enhance digital services, and exchange other loyalty points of Stars at Starbucks.

-     BMW and Shanghai have been using 'digital twins', meaning 'precise virtual representations of physical or real-life assets that use connected digital information to mirror reality in order to inform decision-making...........possibility of future models capable of autonomous decision-making.' Like cloning the real factory/city to simulate reality for planning and decisions ka.

-     Gartner's definition of Metaverse is a good one ka....'a collective virtual open space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality......physically persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences.

Note that we don't talk about one virtual world but there'll be many of those ka.

Lots more interesting info for anyone who may wish to listen further ka: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=805158627329675

 For me in particular, key terms for me this time are digital twins, innovative virtual world, convergence of virtual and  real worlds, and enhanced immersive experiences ka.

Key message to us in higher education.... What have we been doing to keep up with the Metaverse and the convergence, what have we seen as opportunities, how are we going about it for all gens to have enhanced immersive experiences?

Any observations?

Lessons from a mndset session

 Dear all, two more activities on the list were done the past few days kaa.....I now congratulated myself and you can join in kraaa😁😁😁! One was a mindset session and the other was a talk to Thai kids born overseas from Thai parents or from intermarriage. The challenge was that they were 12-17 years old with some proficiency in Thai. I survived at least kaa.

I now wish to focus on the first activity mentioned na ka.

It was a one-day mindset session my little team (2 BB's, 1 X, 1  young smart Y who is only 24 years old and in love with big pictures) designed for a university as the senior leaders wished to work on their mindsets before moving on to their other important missions ka. Kindly note that it was from an assigned task to me as a committee member, not out of our own line of work/expertise (though we do love to do it occasionally!)

Let me touch on our lessons learned about the overall organization ka.

- Despite intensive brainstorming discussions we spent on planning and designing the exercises, flexibility on site was key after all ka.

- The two from other sectors (entertainment industry and technology sector) we eyed for were the real blessings. Our criteria were from the pool of Fulbright alums and networks ka...what else is new chai mai ka? We briefed them  how things could proceed and they smoothly became our team members who played the mentor/judge roles while standing ready to suggest and lead added activities when needed.

- The one from the technology side is used to working with and as a  startup so her questions to the presenters were sharp. The other from the entertainment business has precious empathetic experiences to deal with people's behaviors and actions. He also helped twist the exercise around like laying out a wild card as the climax of a movie! More than sanuk was impacts on the group discussions ka.

- Following our Y kid on the team, we had an involvement of students as participants and one as a judge. We learned so much from their perspectives and actions, noting that the younger gen needs strong engagement and over-communication ka.

- When the safe zone was felt, kids and adults blossomed with so much creativity and proactive participation.

The result made us feel quite happy ka.

Sundar Pichai at Stanford

 Hello everyone ka! 

I watched a YouTube program, in which CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai talked to Archana Sohmshetty, MBA Stanford  on Apr 27, 2022. Sanuk in several ways ka.

1. I like the ways Archana started and ended the session ka.

For the start, she asked Sundar if he knew there were about 350 edits after he became CEO of Alphabet. Then she asked him to point out several statements if they were facts or fake like, 'He went to Stanford at the age of 8.'.....fake. There were quite a few high schools he went to...that were fake as well. It got lots of laughs, making the atmosphere light and friendly mak ka.

Before the end of the session, she asked Sundar to fill in the blank with sentences like, 'Something that inspires me is.........watching the next generation blossom.' or 'I'm the happiest when.......being around people, building products, and solving problems.'

In addition, it was obvious she had done her homework well to come up with really good questions. She also has refined moderation skills ka.

2. Love quite a few things that Sundar shared and here are some ka:

 - 'You have to encourage innovation. Companies become more conservative  in decision making as you grow...be okay with failure and reward effort, not outcomes.'  I copied from the Youtube description ka ..... exactly the first statement that hit me loei!.....not that I don't value outcomes but we do need to give credits to many efforts exerted too.

- When talking about the impact of access to technology, humanity's challenge to harness it, and how Google is sustainably defining the future of work, Sundar said, 'When you see the appetite and the desire for people to make their lives better by gaining access to technology, that is what compels me to go beyond.' He did call for collective collaboration from all stakeholders to ensure that technology will be for the benefits of people....also talked about AR which has a potential if done correctly ka. 

- 'But every generation always is very worried about technology of the future.' So true from generation to generation as things aren't the contexts the older gens are fully familiar na ka.

Can follow the full version at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9qGmO8Yy-Y na ka.

Mekong-US Partnership

 Hello everyone! 

Late last week I was invited to attend a policy dialogue in Cambodia, organized by Stimson (a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank which aims to enhance international peace and security through a combination of analysis and outreach....from wikipedia) with funding from the US State Department ka.

The focus was on Human Resources and Capacity and my talk (my title was MK-US Heart-ership) was to share my experiences and views working with CLMV ka. My emphasis was on the sincerity, trust, and commitment in partnership while focusing on  shared future/goals and one same big picture, quality of the projects, and full cycle of implementation (not only on numbers but results/impacts ka).

Here is what I learned ka:

- Many investments have been in this Mekong subregion (this dialogue excludes China who is a member country of Mekong and also a big intra donor for this subregion) and some could be overlapped as it seems that there's no central coordinator to manage the big picture. If done well, we'd see more effective and more powerful impacts na ka.

- Types and numbers of projects in addition to funding invested seemed to get attention over links, integration among projects and impacts out of the individual/collective efforts and goals.

- I liked a few speakers and let me share only two so this message won't be too long ka. One was Dam Bich Thuy, President of Fulbright University Vietnam who pointed out 3 things universities had to do, namely, be innovative, holding on to their values and identities (stay true to our identify, learners to know themselves and she put it as 'to be' referring to both success and productive life), and be future-focused.

Another is a Thai CEO, Khun Panyanuch Pattanothai, CEO of Generation Thailand, who shared how the organization helps link underserved youth with employment by bridging their employability skill gaps...... tough jobs from recruitment, training and design to assessment, mentoring and improvement, all are data-driven. The Mckinsey model sees the full cycle of processes needed and I like this holistic approach very much ka. I told her I'd like to shadow her for a week ka! Don't know when but the work she's been doing is really contributive.

Several other elements I liked as well were:

- When I was asked to participate, the host asked all the panelists to come up with one question for attendees to answer. This was the very first time I got such a request and found it very useful for me and the attendees if I could come up with one good question ka. However, I was unsure how they used them as I didn't see the questions or I might have missed them!?!

This can be one good practice for us ka.

- One provost who served as moderator brought his students who are really bright research fellows. One was bold, not just to express his ideas and suggestions, but also his doubts about the present implementation of his government and others around. He felt upset that the Cambodian government doesn't care much at all about research too. 

How I wish we could encourage our younger researchers to attend actively.

It was really great to see passionate people working for the better of Mekong countries.....still wish more could touch on the humanistic side as most projects seemed to respond to employment, competitiveness, greening of the world....not that the issues aren't important, but I feel hollow in my heart as we do need attention and some more focus as an integral part of projects/partnership to nurture caring, healthy mind and soul.

Any issue igniting your thought mai ka? share with me loei ka.

Inspiration and LinkedIn

Hope it was a real nice long weekend ka.

As I was reading through some articles to feel motivated enough to share what I liked, I spotted one Facebook post from an alum of Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGrad) which Fulbright Thailand helped manage then.

With Hataitip Tasena -- Nong Aim's permission, let me share about her volunteer work and lessons learned ka.

Aim has been working as Research Fellow at National University of Singapore, focusing on 'Healthy Aging' (so very much needed na kaaa!)

With her profile on LinkedIn, she was invited to join this event, which hapened to be her first serious volunteer activity since she stayed in Singapore. The Lifelong Learning Institute, managed by the Government of Singapore, is open for all walks of life to help find their own interests and to seek advice on change of careers or skill training.

For this project, Aim was a speaker to introduce healthy aging-related careers to high school, vocational, and university students ka. Kids could get to learn more about jobs available to assess themselves who they liked them from professionals in each specialization. Speakers had to design their own 20-minute workshops for students to play a role in each profession, followed by Q&A.

She said the challenge was to do it a few times for each group that came to the station all through that half day. It was exhausting but fun and she got the event T-shirt free!

Love her reflections ka: She said working with generations who determine our society's future gave her strength and hope. She felt she was the one inspired not the other way around!

My lessons from reading her post are:

- LinkedIn brings many opportunities for professionals so make sure our profiles are up-to-date ka.

Recently, one lady from Teachers College (TC), Columbia reached out to me as she's doing her internship at Unesco, Bangkok ka. Sharing her experiences with the TC community and beyond will be so good for all.

- I can't help admiring the Government of Singapore for its vision and actions ka......serious and effective.

- Events don't always mean funding. Volunteers are everywhere and many are ready to pay it forward in some forms ka.

- I value learning with and from younger generations to move me a little bit closer to be more of a digital person ka....so so analog me!

Happy sharing today kaa.