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On September 28, 2021, Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of Walailak University (WU) gave a warm welcome to Mr. Fachry Sulaiman, Consul-General of the Republic of Indonesia, and his entourage from Consulate of the Republic of Indonesia in Songkhla. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen academic collaborations between Walailak University and Indonesian universities. Mr. Consul offers his willingness to connect prospective Indonesian universities with which WU has a determination to establish academic collaborations.  

On this occasion, the president has handed the signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between WU School of Science and Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) on to Mr. Consul to be further delivered to the UNNES. The signed MOA focuses on staff and student mobility, joint research programs for academic staff, research collaborations and publications, joint seminars and workshops, and other academic activities such as short courses and training programs. To benefit from this MOA signing, Associate Professor Dr. Mullica Jaroensutasinee, Dean of the School of Science, informed that the school has now prepared a staff mobility program by assigning Assistant Professor Dr. Jariya Sakayaroj to teach “Environmental Microbiology” at the Department of Integrated Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, UNNES, for an odd semester 2021/2022.  In addition, Assistant Professor Dr. Pakpimol Ungcharoenwiwat is currently offering an online course of “Microbiology.”

During the courtesy call, President Sombat Thamrongthanyawong informed Mr. Consul of Walailak University’s physical and qualitative reforms during her era of changes. WU has achieved 89.80% (422) of qualified faculty members who have been awarded UKPSF (United Kingdom Professional Standard Framework) Fellowships by the Higher Education Academy (HEA). This is the highest number of UKPSF Fellows per education institute in Thailand. The university is also participating in Global and Frontier Research under the reinventing university project initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI). WU strives forward to be a member of the world's leading research universities. In 2021, among Thailand’s universities, WU was ranked 3rd in Physical Sciences, 8th in Chemistry, and 4th in overall by the Nature INDEX Institute. According to SCIMAGO Institutions Rankings, Walailak University was ranked 11th in her overall performance, 4th in Innovation, 14th in Research, and 1st in Social Sciences and 119th in Asia, 548th in the world. Most recently this year, the university was ranked 601-800 by the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, in which SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, and SDG 14 Life below Water were ranked at the achievement band of 300 in the world. The current number of students is approximately 9,000 students and it is expected that by 2022 the number of enrolled students will be up to 12,000 students.

In terms of cooperation with Indonesian universities, Walailak University is currently working actively with 6 partner universities, namely State University of Malang, State University of Surabaya, University of Trunojoyo Madura, East Kutai Agricultural Colleage (STIPER), Mulawarman University, Tadulako University, Universitas Negeri Semarang. In the near future, the Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta and the School of Political Science and Laws, Walailak Unviesrity will be working together after having signed another MOU. There are 7 Indonesian faculty members teaching at the School of Languages and General Education and one Indonesian student is pursuing her first degree at the School of Allied Health Sciences.

During the courtesy call, Mr. Fachry Sulaiman and his colleagues had a chance to visit Walailak University Hospital and Botanical Garden.