King Mongkut Institute to ramp up English courses

King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology University Ladkrabang (KMITL) plans to transform half of its current courses into English-language programmes over the next two years to make this generation of graduates more competitive in the regional and global labour market.

President Suchatvee Suwansawat said the number of Thai university students enrolled in international programmes is expected to increase sharply over the next decade as more students look to equip themselves with the skills needed to compete in a globalised economy.

“Demand for international programmes is high in Thailand because students are paying more attention to improving their capacity to communicate in English, which is considered a weak point for most Thai workers,” Mr Suchatvee said.

For example, the number of students attending international programmes at KMITL Thailand has increased steadily from 500 to 800 over the past few years.

The figure is expected to rise to 2,000 by 2019.

He said students of this generation and the next will need the language skills to help them work with people from all over the world, for which international courses can better prepare them.

“Our future workforce will be required to compete on a more international scale for job opportunities, so they need to be ‘workforce 4.0’,” he said.

“They need to be able to communicate in English and have other skills such as complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity.”

Mr Suchatvee said KMITL has plans afoot to open a medical college, aviation college and aviation engineering college, which will all offer courses in English.

Moreover, KMITL is also working closely with Carnegie Mellon University, a US-based university, to set up a campus in Thailand.