Storytelling through writing

I have something to share again kaaaa!

The other day, Fulbright and Kasetsart University (through our alum) organized a 3-hour session on 'Storytelling' with our special guest who is our Fulbright alum, living in Germany with her family (she's married to a German Fulbrighter). I felt so good that I couldn't wait for early next week to write kaaa!

1. Fulbright spirit is always high and warm kaaa! Our alum (Joy) at Kaset has tons to do. Yet, she made it possible to have one session as requested. The other (Yong) from Germany offered to do it when visiting home so we learn another skill she's excelled, which has been rooted from her own talent plus time as a journalist and now as a Facebook page owner called, 'เรื่องเล่าจากหย่งศรี'...........ดีต่อใจสุดดดดด! My heart is lifted ka!

2. Storytelling could be simpler than I thought ka....it could start from 'free writing' and then writing with specific topics of one's choice. The first one was a great start for them to jot down without stopping whatever was on our mind..even when the things written could scatter! Immediately, I thought of my daily meditation, only this round, it was expressed in words, not mind. I then realized how storytelling could be a healer ka. Like any other techniques, it needs practice.

3. Amazingly, the kids not only listened attentively (thanks to the fun and interesting presentation Yong gave) but they took it up seriously to write something out within 5 minutes! It was a 'wow' for me loei ka. Several told Yong they planned to do it after that session too ka....one big success of the workshop na ka.

4. Kids have many stories to share but may not have done it in writing. We asked them to get started from our 'card selections', which helped reflect their inner selves with many to express ka. Somehow, I never touched it before during the 'mindsetting' period. I emphasized to them that each and every one of us has some 'scars' or 'complex issues' ..... identify to get over it and move on!...seems it affected quite a few, I guess ka.

5. I forgot to bring some little gifts with me to encourage questions so I offered to read signatures instead...not that inviting....yet.....there was one person whose friend asked me to read it. It turned out that the signature told the person's inner feelings....so clearly that I felt the urge to hug the person and that moment, I heard a sob ka. Hope the little moment was warm ka.

Any reactions mai ka?

Reactions as one working as IRO

Hello all! I was doing my pick and choose thought to share what was happening the past week. Since there have been Thai-Cambodian clashes that seem to be far more violent than expected, I'd like to ask you one question that I got yesterday ka.

The question was: "As a person who seems to be quite 'patriotic' and whose work has been international-relations oriented all along, what do you think about the current 'war'?"

Almost right away, my first response was about 'human lives' ka. For me, that is the most important of all ka. Most of the work throughout my life allowed me to see more of the world, think more of friendly relationships, life in harmony and peace....caring for people beyond specific aspects of diversity.

What would be your first reaction ka?

My second one would be based on logic and as a citizen ... why, what and how. It's really hard to say what actions to be taken because I don't know enough about what's happened and is happening  including those behind the scenes,  be they personal agenda, strategic national defence plan, or international laws, etc. 

I can only think of one who has to stand firm to fight when necessary if being one-sided bullied or if being attacked by indecent people (corrupt, immoral/socially unacceptable, etc.), actions could follow with synergized proper support when having thought-through strategic steps including room for discussions....still to show intention about human lives and well-being ka.

Well! When it comes to national sovereignty, it's much more complex and I'd be willing to help whenever and wherever possible  to ease the conflicts and pains caused to peoples in short and longer terms.

2 Determination Stories

 5555! Feel anything about my subject mai ka? Any expectations?

The past week, I had 2 main experiences that impressed me and made me feel 'full' mak ka!

First, I served as one of the two representatives of the EdPEx sub-com, MHESI to offer advice to a faculty of education about its EdPEx improvement. The main rep was a university president who I admired for his wisdom, advice, and generosity of time ka. 

My 'full' feelings were from:

- This faculty, led by the dean, showed their determination to continue their EdPEx journey. How? From giving numbers and one adjective!

1. They were asked to write down a number from 1-10, 10 being the highest, to these two questions.

1.1 What's your understanding about EdPEx? The numbers given were from 1-6, mostly 5 (safest number?)

1.2  How do you like EdPEx?  from 5-9, mostly 9.

2. They expressed their feelings using one adjective .... how exactly did they feel about the overall session?

All were quite positive. I was really happy to hear the Dean's story with this one word, 'heartwarming' ka. He told us that he wasn't really ready for the session that morning after one university assessment earlier that week, which was stressful with much more work to do. Sitting through with us, however, made him feel more relaxed. Others felt the discussion was challenging but they had the urge to do better.

In our culture where we care so much about 'heart' (as 'passion' somehow), this quality in the senior leaders showed their sincerity and determination to move forward ka. Though this was a very small group of senior leaders, their mindsets and feelings will help them convince others, get more cooperation, and continue with increased energy ka.

Second,  it was my personal 'new experience' I tried, hopefully to help delay Alzheimer's ka!

At the Wellness Clinic for Seniors, CU hospital, they offer teaching how to play Angklung -- อังกะลุง. My sister and I  We laughed, thinking that we could be so awkward but decided to join in.

The one and a half hours went by quite fast and we managed to do it ok, missing a few notes kaaa! We'll continue attending the training at least twice every month....determination to do it as planned and to gain better skill ka.

Learning from Moderating

Hello hello all! here I am again ka! Moderated a session yesterday and sure have some to share as always!

In fact, this session was similar to what I did and shared two years ago. It was for doctors from medical schools and affiliated hospitals nationwide, allowing them to gain new knowledge, experiences, and networks ka.

The topic stays the same, which was, 'Internationalization of Medical Education' and the panelists were: Prof. Nijasri Charnnarong, Director of Chulalongkorn University's International Medical Education Program -- CU-MEDi) and Dr. Amarin Narkwichean, Joint SWU and Nottingham Medical Program. Both are associate deans, at CU and  SWU Med Schools accordingly ka.

Here are my lessons learned ka:

On content:

- Definitions of IZN, desirable outcomes and impacts can be independently identified, depending on each school's vision and strengths.

- Daily issues offer improvement opportunities for us to take actions everyday.

It was amazing to see CU-MEDi adjust and progress so much.....must be na ka. Two years ago, we rarely talked about AI. 

- CUMedi has been using digital tech and AI quite extensively in some ways....using recording equipment to record students' conversation with patients to spot their sounds and facial expressions. It's so helpful for medical students to know how to project their voices and how to make sure their facial expressions would be proper with empathy. The program also uses AI to translate Thai into English to facilitate faculty members with their teaching in some ways.

- MoU between SWU and Nottingham stands healthy due to a few reasons.....Nottingham has the need to be present in our region, both started from cooperating on exchanges before setting up this program together, and both sides have firm commitments and frequent interactions/consultations plus room for flexibility. SWU Med School has sorted issues by tackling root causes, particularly in relation to quality of the students.

On leadership:

- Both leaders are passionate in what they do and authentic in their sharing mak... I truly love it as it's led them to handle the right issues effectively ka.

On overall management:

- My request for them to touch on IZN to stress 'Where Now and Where from Now' obviously helped reveal their efforts to pave their ways into the future. 

- The session worked fine, with the two panelists finishing presenting their programs, followed by a solely Q&A after break.

- Before going into the Q&A , both panelists were asked to give their responses about the other on the strength and key area to learn from. One panelist was jokingly saying that I asked them to do it so they could pay attention to the other presentation:))! They sure offered great answers to set the stage for the participants to pose their questions.

- As always, I prepared a list of questions in case the one-hour Q&A went dry....not even one question was used ka. Seems that the 3-hour session wasn't that long ka.

Other:

- Wish to have more time for discussions about global perspectives like geopolitics, economy, demographics that could potentially impact their programs.....next time ka.

Sanuk and thought provoking talk

 Last Monday, I listened to a talk on, 'Future and Adaptability: Through the Twists and Turns of Medical Schools', given by Khun Tonson Santitarn Sathirathai at a training on leadership for seniors of medical schools and their affiliates. It was concise and very interesting throughout.

Here is what I learned ka:

1. I liked it when Khun Tonson said from the start that his sharing was from the perspective of a practitioner who is future oriented, not from textbooks.

In this AI era, I think more and more people value even less what's said in many textbooks as many have already been outdated. Recent and current experiences have increased their value.

2. Four major changes we need to follow closely are:

- Demographics which give pressure on our younger to care even more for the elders in many aspects, from health to family and overall economy

- Geopolitical Twists ....from the two superpowers, China and the US. For Trump in particular, his mercurial mood is evident and we are challenged by tariff, his transaction with higher education institutions like Harvard which drains talents from the US.

While China's cooperation with ASEAN and within ASEAN itself seem to be more crucial, Thailand is unfortunately left distant from the other more developed ASEAN countries.

3. Thailand's strengths that need to be further supported are: 

- Healthcare as we excel in both 'health' and 'care' while Singapore has the latter much less.'

- Site neutral --Thailand is more or less neutral and research conducted with us won't ignite too many conflicts from either China or US.

- Using AI as automation and augmentation will help make our healthcare more prompt, inclusive, and accessible....even naturally, the use of AI comes with some risks like safety/reliability, privacy/security, bias/ethical risks, and disruptions/jobs.

 

4. Medical doctors must go in depth in their specializations while being able to use AI appropriately and having empathy and humanistic qualities.

.

5. Life should be like these three liquids:

- Milk -- knowledge which has its expiry date and so we need to keep learning

- Whisky -- skills like communication, leadership, and creativity with learning mindset that can grow further, the more we sharpen them

- Water -- self awareness for us to look within and understand our own self

The participants were extremely engaged with really good questions ka. One happy learning for me and all.

Any observations or comments mai ka?