News

Walailak University, through the Center for International Affairs, organized the 2025 International Reputation and Excellence Promotion (iREP2025) event today (8 May 2025) at the Mokkhalan Conference Room, Professor Dr. Wichit Srisa-an Building.

The event provided a platform for schools and colleges within the university to share their strategies for enhancing Walailak’s international reputation, academic excellence, and global visibility.

Walailak University was honored to welcome leading experts from renowned Malaysian universities who served as judges in selecting the most outstanding school or college with exemplary internationalization strategies. These efforts play a key role in promoting the university’s global standing and academic excellence.

The expert panel included Professor Ir. Dr. Hazlee Azil Illias from the University of Malaya (UM); Prof. Sr. Ts. Dr. Adi Irfan Che Ani from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Dr. Siti Rahyla Rahmat from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and Dr. Lai Soon Onn from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), who joined virtually.

In his remarks, Professor Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, President of Walailak University, emphasized that iREP2025 represents more than a milestone - it is a collective step forward in building global visibility, fostering collaboration, and achieving shared academic excellence.

“It grows from collaboration, alignment, and shared purpose. This is the essence of iREP2025 - a platform for every faculty to come together, showcase achievements, and strengthen strategies for global engagement,” said President Sombat.

Internationalization has been a key strategic policy of Walailak University in its pursuit of global standards. Key initiatives include the adoption of the internationally recognized United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework across all teaching practices, with a focus on student-centered learning that fosters critical, analytical, and synthetic thinking; the promotion of English as a medium of instruction; and the development of joint research and academic services with international scholars, among others.

Highlighting Walailak University’s recent achievements, Professor Dr. Sombat also noted its placement in the 1201+ band of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025; its leadership among Thai universities in high-impact publishing, with 94.8% of Scopus-indexed articles in Q1 and Q2 journals; and its longstanding recognition as Southern Thailand’s top green university, supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

On this occasion, He also expressed his appreciation to the distinguished panel of Malaysian experts for their invaluable contributions as judges and knowledge partners, as well as for sharing best practices and insights drawn from their institutions’ international successes.

Throughout the event, participating schools and colleges showcased a wide range of internationalization initiatives - including expanding academic partnerships, promoting inbound and outbound mobility for students and staff, collaborating with international researchers and scholars, organizing international camps, joint conferences and seminars, and enhancing students’ English proficiency. To recognize excellence, the Center for International Affairs will award the top-performing school or college with over 30,000 Baht to support the implementation of their internationalization activities.

 

 

 

 

 



News by Settaboot Onphakdee, Division of Corporate Communication