Asst. Prof. Dr. Niwat Keawpradub, President of Prince of Songkla University, revealed that PSU has been recognized for its world-class quality by top international university ranking bodies. For example, in the ranking by research strength by subject area, it was found that PSU is ranked among the top universities in the world for Medicine, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, according to the results of the US News & World Report Best Global Universities 2021. By the same ranking body, PSU’s Agricultural Sciences has been ranked #1 in Thailand, in addition to world-top rankings in Engineering, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Material Science and Chemistry.
To build on this trend and fulfill the mission of the Ministry of Higher Education Research Science and Innovation, PSU has been included in the Global and Frontier Research Group. This move is expected to elevate the university’s global renown, therefore, strategies have been planned to focus our international reputation gain in three main areas:
- Academic reputation development by transforming education, research, mission relationship, teaching and learning development, qualified personnel, talent management system, and building an international communication network.
- Employer expectations towards graduates, which will motivate graduates to acquire 21st century work skills, innovative and creative thinking skills, critical decision making, problem solving and communication skills, along with emotional intelligence and the ability to building connections with society, networks and stakeholders.
- References in research works, increasing the number of published research works in Scopus and ISI indexed journals; literature reviews, book chapter writing; along with increasing the number of research assistants and faculty members with academic positions and research capabilities.
On 16 March 2021, University Council members had sought approval and recommendations from the University Council, which has found that, while the World University Quality Ranking is one of the quality informative tools that need to be understood well, it is not necessary to apply the rankings indiscriminately, because the presence of various unique conditions make universities in Thailand incomparable to universities in countries with strong economic progress. In addition, the currently decreasing student numbers pose a major challenge to Thai universities, along with a declining government income, thus it cannot be assumed how effective being ranked in the World University Quality Rankings would be in attracting potential students.
However, the results of the global quality rankings have driven the university, causing awareness among the competition. Quality personnel management will increase this drive. Furthermore, getting qualified faculty to administer the curriculum will result in better control of course quality, resulting in better quality students and work. There should be synergies in pursuit of clear goals and expertise. On the other hand, even across different faculties, we still maintain the same level of quality of programs, one of PSU’s unique traits. Furthermore, “our soul is for the benefit of mankind” is one of our characteristics. We should provide a wider range of opportunities to Bachelor's degree students to gain knowledge and research, apart from only learning. Ways to do so include cooperation with the private sector or in work-related missions, such as projects or research study activities that the university has jointly made with community organizations for mutual benefit. There should be cooperative networking with universities, the public and private sector, both domestic and international, and with the industrial sector, which will produce works and innovations that can be utilized along with recruiting personnel with knowledge and capabilities in academic fields, research and cooperation with the industry, in order to allow outside experience and resources to participate in teaching and research.