U.S. and Thai universities collaborating on A.I. program

Six Thai universities are collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University of the U.S. on a pilot program to produce graduates with expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and computer engineering as the Kingdom expands its corps of young high-tech talent.

Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Anek Laothamatas said that the collaboration has a goal of producing 200 graduates a year in the beginning. Those graduates are needed to fill positions in medicine and bioscience, finance and business, education, creativity industry, logistics, agricultural food industry, and the digital economy, he added.

Thailand’s national development plan, “Thailand 4.0,” emphasizes advanced technology, research and development, creativity and innovation. The Kingdom is striving to raise the level of its higher learning institutions to create a growing pool of highly skilled talent, not just to meet the needs of employers, but to drive a national transformation.

Thailand has achieved great success as a manufacturing assembly center, often for global corporations. To stay competitive, however, economic planners realize the Kingdom must move into the ranks of countries that are creators as well as makers.

The Thai institutions involved in the program are CMKL University (a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL)), King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Mahidol University, Khon Kaen University, Chiang Mai University and Prince of Songkla University. The six schools cover the geographic scope of the Kingdom, from the far north to the deep south, to the northeastern region of Isan as well as the greater Bangkok area.

The Minister said that the program would employ a sandbox course method, in which students could test out their innovation. It is designed to allow the six universities and their students to work closely together on projects.

Photo courtesy of https://www.cmkl.ac.th/aice/overview