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Yesterday, on 7 March 2024, the School of Engineering and Technology (SET) at Walailak University (WU) had an opportunity to welcome executives and professors from a leading public research university in India Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT Indore) for the university visit and the collaboration discussion.

The event, held at Honor Hall and Chorpradu Chamber of WU Hospital, was presided over by the president Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong to welcome the delegation from IIT Indore, led by Professor Dr. Suhas S. Joshi, Director; and Professor Avinash Sonawane, Dean of International Relations.

Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong said SET is one of the outstanding schools at Walailak University. “The school is popular among students. During these past few years, the number of student applications is higher than their plan,” he said. Despite Thailand's demographic shift toward an aging society, Walailak University continues to have an increasing number of applicants, with higher quality, as evidenced by the increasing GPAX.

Established in 1998, SET operates six undergraduate programs and two graduate programs, with three Centers of Excellence: Disaster Management, Biomass and Oil Palm, and Wood and Bio-Materials. 85 percent of the school’s research publications are in Scopus-indexed journals in Quartile 1 and 2. In the past three years, it received more than 40 million in research funding. 

Recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India, the IIT Indore, founded in 2009, aims to develop highly skilled personnel. The institute, located in Indore - the cleanest city in India and an industrial, educational, and business hub - has over 2,700 students in undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. programs. It is currently ranked 454^th in the world by QS World University Rankings 2024.

During the discussion, Assistant Professor Dr. Monthian Setkit, Dean of SET, proposed promoting student exchange by sending one student from each program of SET to IIT Indore and accepting students from IIT Indore to SET. Additionally, Assistant Professor Dr. Patnarin Supakorn, Director of WU Center for International Affairs, advocated for the exchange of professors, emphasizing the university's commitment to research.

Previously, in 2023, Associate Professor Dr. Thanongsak Imjai traveled to India and conducted a research study with IIT Indore professors. He is currently supervising Ph.D. students in their joint project the short-term collaborative research program for Ph.D. students 2023-2024.

Director of IIT Indore Professor Dr. Suhas S. Joshi expressed interest in strengthening the collaboration, starting with the exchange of students, specifically the internship program that IIT Indore students have to undergo for two months before graduation, and later expanding to cover other areas including research, joint grants, etc.

After the meeting, the SET team guided the IIT Indore representatives on a laboratory visit, including the Civil Engineering Lab, Mechanical Engineering Lab, Wood and Biomaterials Lab, and Physics Lab, and also let them on a campus tour of Walailak University.

 

 





 

 

Written by Settaboot Onphakdee, Division of Corporate Communication