“Interview with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sommai Pivsa-Art: RMUTT, the University of Practitioners.”

Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) is one of several universities in the country that has had to deal with the complex situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years. Throughout the major outbreaks, spanning over four waves, the education industry today can no longer operate in the same way it did previously. Adapting and learning new digital technologies has become an unavoidable necessity to elevate education to be more online, which coincides with the changing factors of the world today. And RMUTT under the stewardship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sommai Pivsa-Art, the president, has done an excellent job in adapting to new things, worthy of being one of the top innovation universities in Thailand.

“The image of education in the future will not be like what has happened in the past, where only young students could study. From now on, education is for everyone of all ages and it must be continuous and unceasing.”

In today’s world, adaptation is almost non-negotiable due to the rapidly changing technology. The arrival of COVID-19 has simply accelerated the need to adapt quicker than ever before. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sommai Pivsa-Art, the President of Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, revealed their response to the COVID-19 situation saying that in 2021 they originally thought the overall situation would improve from 2020, which would allow the university to return to normal operations including teaching and learning activities, as well as other activities. But it did not turn out that way, meaning that teaching and learning management still had to focus mainly on the online system, supplemented by some offline components. However, compared to 2020, there has been an improvement in 2021, since students and teachers had previous experience and lessons learned, making it less difficult to adjust. This is partly because the university’s background as a science and technology institution made it relatively easy for people to adapt. In another aspect, it serves as training for students to learn how to seek knowledge on their own.

During the initial stages of the pandemic outbreak, we had to stop working with all parties immediately for safety reasons. But in the past year of 2021, due to the government’s relaxed measures, the university has been able to resume more practical operations, such as conducting research to benefit communities and industries. Meanwhile, in terms of budget management, we have a committee from the university council to provide advice and oversight, making the budget administration in 2021 more effective.

The strategy approved by the council at RMUTT consists of promoting strength in four areas: agriculture and food, digital technology, logistics, plus service and tourism, alongside a strong emphasis on health sciences, particularly nursing, which has been accredited by the Nursing Council. Upon launching, the program was extremely popular, reflective of the university’s quality. All programs focus on sustainability, aligning with the country’s future core goals.

The nine Rajamangala Universities of Technology (RMUT) formulate strategies by identifying each university’s strengths and forming three strategic areas: agriculture, industry and digital technology, and tourism, supporting the goal of becoming a leading university in innovation and aligning with national strategies overall.

Credit banking is a solution RMUTT has prepared for to address the declining number of students, focusing not only on new high school graduates but also on working professionals and elderly individuals seeking to study non-traditionally, accumulating credits over time. Since 2003, the university has incorporated cooperative education, enabling it to offer over 100 programs, such as engineering and traditional Thai medicine, with flexible offline and online formats. Skilled professionals can challenge examinations and even become lecturers themselves.

The credit banking system also interlinks the nine Rajamangala Universities of Technology, allowing students to study across institutions conveniently. Established in 1975 as the singular Institute of Technology Rajamangala with 16 campuses, its unified curriculum ensures consistency no matter where one studies. This structure was designed from the start to facilitate this educational model, even after each campus became an independent university.

“The path to the university as practitioners”

All courses currently have been adjusted to align with the national strategy. That means when students graduate from this university, they will definitely have jobs. At the same time, the Ministry of Education has allowed us to initiate a new breed of graduate programs that emphasize learning and working directly with employers to develop the skills of students to meet the needs of businesses. In the year 2020, we had 8 programs; in 2021, we proposed another 20 programs; and most recently, in the year 2022, another 40 programs. The clear advantage of this is that when students graduate, they are truly in demand in the market and can work immediately because they have already been working with the businesses during their studies. The teaching format allows students to study at the business site 4 days a week, from Monday to Thursday, and they study at the university on Friday and Saturday. All of these students receive scholarships and a monthly salary of 20,000 baht each. The practical exams are conducted with the university, but theory is not neglected; there are regular exams as before. And after graduation, these students are all employed by the businesses with a starting salary of 25,000 baht immediately.