Prof. Dr. Pongsak Angkasith, the President of Chiang Mai University, has signed a memorandum of agreement on the promotion of research in higher education and the development of selected Thai universities as national research universities (NRU). HE Chaiyos Jiramethakorn, Deputy Minister of Education, presided over the ceremony in Bangkok on February 14, 2011. The Commission on Higher Education (CHE) hosted the signing ceremony, with the memorandum of agreement between the Secretary-General of Higher Education and the university Rectors. Nine universities signed the agreement: Chiang Mai University, Chulalongkorn University, Khon Kaen University, Mahidol University, Kasetsart University, Thammasat University, Prince of Songkla University, University of Technology Thonburi, and Suranaree University of Technology
Chiang Mai University ”University of Excellence”
Implemented via the Office of the Higher Education Commission, the government’s policy to bring the country’s university research projects up to par with international standards in order to promote Thailand as a regional education center for research and development gives birth to the “National Research University Initiative”. The initiative aims to improve the overall research potential of all Thai universities and upgrade national research universities to a world-class standard. Such measures will make Thailand a source of highly educated personnel in various fields, able to cope with development in the production, industrial and innovation sectors, and bringing Thailand closer to the academic center for research and training in the region.
CMU takes great pleasure in being one of the 9 National Research Universities. The university has a clear vision to develop into a leading university, achieving academic standards of excellence, becoming research focused, delivering ethical and qualified graduates, and exhibiting good governance in line with a philosophy of sustainability. The tangible result of this vision is evidenced in the Times Higher Education – Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS) 2008 ranked us in the 401-500 range. The Art and Humanity Faculty and Science Faculty were impressively ranked 270 and 283 out of universities worldwide. Such performance has proven our potential to be among the world’s leading universities.
CMU is committed to our research mission to build bodies of knowledge able to contribute to relieving social problems and develop our society further. Our graduates will be ready to feed back such knowledge to develop the curriculum further and produce future graduates who are responsible citizens and will become the driving force of country’s development. CMU is ready to build a culture of research focus among our personnel and our environment and to develop our university to become a center of academic excellence.
