The Reinventing University project, an ambitious nationwide endeavor by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and Innovation to reform Thailand’s education system, divides universities into four groups according to the operations and potential of each institution. The new categories are meant to enhance human resource development potential and a closer conformity to national development direction. Prince of Songkla University has been placed into Group 1, Global and Frontier Research, with the expectation to be able to utilize its advanced research expertise for future innovation, raising the university’s global renown, equipping students with skills to respond to the needs of the international labor market, creating world-class researchers publishing their work in leading journals, and fostering new entrepreneurship that focuses on innovation at a global level.
Asst. Prof. Suntorn Wongsiri, M.D., PSU Vice President for Research and Innovation, revealed that the university administration committee forum is guided by five directions and strategies to drive the institution’s progress to fulfill the expectations of an international-level leading research institution:
- The acquisition of advanced knowledge about turning research into either present innovation or future innovation by analyzing spatial advantage to determine the direction of the university, to drive the team and the network to establish an agency that jointly develops innovative research with the private sector, both in-house and abroad, to create future opportunities.
- To raise the university’s global renown by providing monetary support to high-performing researchers, pushing for spatial research results and more academic work with foreign countries, increasing the number of links or referrals from overseas universities.
- To create highly skilled graduates able to respond to the needs of the global labor market, by developing the curriculum system and technology to support learners of all ages, facilitating professionals’ and learners’ readiness to enter the job market.
- To facilitate global top-performing researchers getting published in leading journals, achieved by determining the university's fields of expertise and strengths, a talent management system, developing human resource research and innovation potential, developing research systems and ecosystems that encourage researchers and faculty to perform to their full potential, and by recruiting international expert advisors to help develop researchers and innovation networks.
- To foster new entrepreneurship focusing on global-level innovation, by creating a cooperative center or network to present entrepreneurial work and expand innovation in foreign countries, alongside opening opportunities for the private sector to participate in research and investment in universities, and pushing for outstanding innovative products, creating awareness and expressing potential both domestically and abroad.
PSU President Asst. Prof. Dr. Niwat Keawpradub explained that the university continues to carry out the mission of higher education institutions in accordance with its own mandate: producing quality graduates to develop the country, especially the southern region; and creating practical knowledge to increase competitiveness at the global level by focusing on the world's leading research groups. With the joint efforts of PSU’s five campuses to realize the university's full potential as expected, it will be able to boost its reputation for research, and increase its ranking among universities at a global level.
