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Human capital is the most important, yet one of the most difficult to manage, assets of any organization, says Pongpith Tuenpusa, Director of Office of Academic Resource and Information Technology. In order to support the university’s vision ‘Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi is a leader in the academic fields of science and technology that meets international standards’, he adds, the main objective is to encourage a positive attitude toward information technology by building a solid foundation in IT skills as well as developing English language skills, in order to prepare for the realization of the ASEAN Community in 2015.
The Roadmap to Success
Upon stepping up to take the responsibilities of the director, Ajarn Pongpith laid down a three-step roadmap for meeting such objective, which includes adjusting attitudes toward work and service-mindedness, adjusting working environments to enhance productivity, and adjusting existing work and support systems in order to improve performance.
In 2006, the university underwent a restructure, and Office of Academic Resource and Information Technology has been assigned to oversee three main areas: information technology, library, and eLearning materials and resources. The office’s responsibilities fall into three functions: improving the IT infrastructure, designing user applications and software, and providing customer services.
Moving toward 24-hour Library
The library has seen an increasing number of users as well as demand for additional resources and materials, particularly the internet stations and ebooks. Extension of the service hours to midnight (from 16:00hr) alone is not enough, and the office now is considering the possibility of staying open for 24 hours. “The user behavior has changed from using the library as a place to study and research to a place to meet and work individually or in groups using the internet. This means that the library has to make adjustments to its rules, such as allowing for some use of noise and setting up more computer stations,” the Director says.
E-books have also received increasing demand for the last 2-3 years. Currently, the library has a stock of 90,000 e-books in business management, science, and engineering, among others, and the number is growing.
These changes mean a careful planning and management in terms of staff, staff benefits and reward, as well as maintaining an open communication between the library staff and users so that both parties’ ideas and grievances are accommodated.
Supporting Full-scale Information Technology
With more than 25,000 active students using electronic devices, such as laptop computers, netbooks, tablets, and smart phones, the university has laid a groundwork to support large-scale IT usage. This also extends to ensuring compatibility across IT platforms as well as developing a wide range of applications, including social networks, to support the student’s need.
“Given these challenging tasks, our IT staff are constantly trained and updated on IT knowledge and trends, in order to offer services that meet the constantly shifting landscape. For example, we make sure to have electrical outlets at various points throughout the campus and also design our own social media platform to communicate with our students,” the Director says.
An Integrated Online Admissions System
The Office of Academic Resource and Information Technology has also designed an integrated system for managing admissions across the nine Rajamangala Universities. This system includes online application process, payments, counter services, all the way to grade announcements.
“We designed the entire system, from the backend to the user interface. The most challenging aspect of this is to design the system to support a large number of users. We have more than 400,000 clicks, which in itself speaks about the success of the system,” says the Director.
Human Resources Strategy
Although growing in the IT line of work, Ajarn Pongpith is also keen in human resources management. “It is necessary for new generation IT professionals to also have skills in people management and teamwork. For me, I make sure to remain flexible and maintain an open attitude; this requires a constant learning and also having faith in people’s abilities,” he says.
