New joint Thai-US university begins courses next year

CMKL University, a joint institute established by Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in the US and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology University Ladkrabang (KMITL), will start courses in August next year, according to its new rector Supan Tungjitkusolmun.

Mr Supan said the institute will act as CMU’s campus in Thailand and follow the same academic standards used in Pittsburgh. CMKL’s students will be awarded two degrees from both CMU and KMITL when they graduate.

To begin with, the university will offer five-year PhD programmes in Electrical and Computer Engineering and two masters programmes in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Software Engineering.

“Our PhD students will spend two years in Thailand and three years in the US, while masters students will study one year at KMITL and another year at CMU. We will also send Thai professors to teach at CMU in the US and CMU will do it likewise,’’ he said.

Mr Supan said the new university expects to admit a first intake of 15 students from across the Asean region in its first academic year — five students on PhD courses and 10 studying masters degrees.

“We plan to increase the number of students on both PhD and masters courses over the next few years and we also plan to provide bachelor degree courses in the future,’’ he said.

When asked about tuition fees, Mr Supan said they would be the same range as those at CMU in the US.

The government recently cleared the way for CMKL University’s establishment on the Eastern Seaboard by invoking Section 44, as it expects foreign universities will help improve the expertise of Thai workers whom it is hopes will become a key force behind economic reforms.

CMU is the first foreign university to set up a satellite campus in Thailand under a government scheme that allows overseas institutes of higher education to operate in Thailand.

One of the aims is to provide teaching support in fields crucial for the government’s Thailand 4.0 vision.

National Taiwan University (NTU) is another foreign i nstitute that has applied to set up operations in Thailand, according to Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin.

However, the Office of the Higher Education Commission (Ohec) rejected the application recently because its curriculum and standards did not match what Thailand is looking for.

“We told them to adjust their courses to match our standards and apply again. Foreign universities allowed to operate in Thailand must be only top tier universities, not those from lower tiers,” Dr Teerakiat said.

Dr Teerakiat added several leading universities in the UK and Japan have expressed an interest in opening campuses in Thailand.

Dr Teerakiat said Thailand needs to equip its workforce with the skills necessary to make Thailand 4.0 a success.

He reckons that foreign institutes of higher education could help plug a gap regarding resources and personnel that Thai universities are struggling to fill.

“For many years, many foreign universities have wanted to establish branches in Thailand, but under previous Ohec regulations, foreign universities needed to have Thai partners to operate here,” Dr Teerakiat said.

“This put foreign investors off, but since we have relaxed the rules, I think some are likely to grab this opportunity.”