Newly Appointed University President Reveals Strategies for Future Development (Part 2)

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Prasert Pinpathomrat, newly appointed Rector of Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, revealed future directions for the university, based on the visions set by its late president, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Numyoot Songthanapitak. This is the second of a three-part series.

“Academic resources is another major area of improvement. The university will increase its collection of online resources, both created by our faculty members and acquired from outside sources, so that our students can improve their learning. At the same time, the faculty members will be required to write at least one research paper and one textbook each year. This is both for their own development and for the students’,” Dr. Prasert said.

He added that the first 8 years after being bestowed the “university” status was a period when the faculty members themselves underwent a search of knowledge, by working directly with guest lecturers who were the experts in various fields and industries. For the next 8 years, the university plans to raise the bar on research so that it is more specialized as well as can move toward commercialization. “What we can see now is that our faculty members have begun to apply their knowledge into their research projects. The result is we have an increasing number of specialized research studies,” Dr. Prasert said.

On a different note, the university also pays attention to the students’ life by facilitating socialization and group learning. “The university aims to increase the students’ quality of life so that they feel happy to be here. We have built many ‘discussion rooms’ within each department as well as the library. In addition, we train our university counselors to have knowledge in psychology, so that they can provide counseling in areas other than academic difficulty, such as family problems and learning difficulties. We will have one counselor per every 30 students in every department,” he added.

Lastly, other support services and staff will be given opportunities for career growth. Staff members who have completed a master’s degree or a Ph.D. will have a chance to apply to become university lecturers. “We adhere to the principles of good governance and promote collaborations across all levels in the hierarchy. Students will have a chance to meet with the university president, vice president, and assistants to president as well as the faculty committee through their own committee,” said Dr. Prasert. The management will work alongside every level in the support team in order to see changes happen.