News

Walailak University (WU), in collaboration with the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has set a plan to expand educational collaboration to African countries in response to the continent’s population and economic growth.

They also aim to join forces with private sectors to tackle the global concern of food security and collaborate with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for elderly care training.

Today (May 17^th), at the Chopradu Chamber of WU Hospital, Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of WU, together with the university’s executives, welcomed Lt. Sorawud Preededilok, Minister attached to TICA, for an official visit to discuss various collaborations.

Central to the discussions were working with JICA for training WU nurses in elderly care, exploring the possibility of Public-Private Partnerships for the People (PPPP) to promote food security, and expanding educational collaboration with universities in Africa.

President Sombat Thamrongthanyawong said that Walailak University is ready to work with TICA to collaborate with universities in Africa and provide scholarship support for students. The WU Center for International Affairs will coordinate with TICA and African universities to initiate this effort.

Assistant Professor Dr. Anurak Thungtong, Director of the WU Science and Technology Park, highlighted Walailak University’s strong potential in various areas, particularly in health and medicine.

"The private sector's most interest in Walailak University's research lies in the field of health and medicine. We excel in both education and research in this area. And we have WU Hospital and many excellent faculties.”

“I believe what can attract students from Africa is our expertise in herbal medicine. Large companies in the stock market enable us to assist them in conducting research. If Walailak University can provide funding to support students from Africa, they will gain new research insights and be confident in applying what they learned to develop their countries,” suggested Dr. Anurak.

Earlier, from April 29^th to May 17^th, the WU Center of Excellence for Ecoinformatics, School of Science, in collaboration with TICA, organized the Annual International Training Course (AITC) on climate-smart agriculture. The training, attended by participants from over 20 countries, covered topics such as smart agriculture practice techniques, water management for climate change mitigation, drone mapping technology for monitoring crops and soil fertility, along with culturally enriching activities in Nakhon Si Thammarat city.