HIGHER EDUCATION and research in Thailand are set for greater heights as King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang has joined hands with Carnegie Mellon University from the United States to bring innovative ideas to academia.

KMITL rector Suchatvee Suwansawat told a press conference yesterday in Bangkok that it would be the first time a Thai university would be involved in a close working relationship with a world-renowned foreign university.

This would be a great step forward for Thailand in promoting the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy, he said.

KMITL and Carnegie Mellon’s will be collaborating in four areas.

First, they will set up a research institution in Thailand that will use the US management system for operations.

It will be the first such institution in the country.

“We will set up dual-degree programmes. Graduates will receive the same degree as if they were studying in the US. These dual-degree programmes include two-year master programmes in electrical and computer engineering and technology ventures. “Students will spend one year of study in Thailand and another year in the US,” he said about the second area.

Focus on research

“There will also be a five-year doctoral programme in electrical and computer engineering.

“Students will spend two years in Thailand and three years in the US.

“This will give Thai students and researchers the opportunity to learn from a developed country like the US and use the knowledge that they learn there to develop our country.”

The third area is research.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon will be allowed to work with other researchers from leading universities both in Thailand and abroad to improve human resources and technology that are essential to achieve the Thailand 4. 0 goal.

The fourth area will be a faculty exchange programme aimed at developing the quality of Thai researchers to world-class standards and boosting the confidence of investors in locating research and development centres in Thailand, officials involved in the agreement said.