Editorial Team
Published on 27 October 2025
Redefining higher education with a future focused strategy, Thammasat University combines Outcome-Based Education, industry collaboration, and sustainability-focused learning to equip graduates for complex global and societal challenges.
Thammasat University (TU) has launched a comprehensive education strategy titled “Leading Comprehensive University for Future Societies,” positioning itself as a model for future-ready education in Thailand. This bold initiative aims to shape future societies by redefining higher education through a focus on interdisciplinary learning, industry collaboration, and sustainability.
The strategy involves a sweeping overhaul of TU’s learning ecosystem, encompassing reforms across 298 academic programs within 19 faculties, 6 colleges, and 2 institutes. Departing from traditional, lecture-based instruction, TU adopts Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and experiential learning co-designed with industry partners.
Three Strategic Pillars guide this transformation:
1. Becoming a Leading Comprehensive University of the Future by emphasizing interdisciplinary knowledge, 21st-century skills, and cutting-edge research. This includes courses fusing humanities, technology, and business, such as Ethics of Artificial Intelligence for Future Leaders.
2. Becoming a University for Society, strengthening TU’s role in public engagement, sustainable development, and community impact to produce socially responsible citizens.
3. Ensuring Happiness and Sustainability for the TU Community, focusing on sustainable governance, faculty development, and student well-being, while developing both hard and soft skills through inclusive learning.
The curriculum strongly emphasizes the integration of AI and digital skills, English proficiency, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), enhancing accessibility and preparing students for global citizenship. A required course, TU280: Artificial Intelligence Ethics for Leaders of the Future, explores the ethical, societal, and economic dimensions of AI to cultivate thoughtful, ethical leaders. TU also offers robust Finance & Investment modules developed with partners like the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), SCB, GULF, and Bangkok Bank, covering topics such as cryptocurrency and sustainable investing. Since the SET E-learning platform launched in 2022, over 22,000 students have enrolled in these finance-related courses.
To ensure graduates are professionally equipped, the strategy mandates that all students complete over 405 hours of real-world training through fieldwork, project-based learning, or internships. Furthermore, students must complete at least six credits via practical learning.
TU has established strong industry partnerships to bridge academic learning with real-world application. Collaborations include Saha Pathana for Cooperative Education and Internship Programs, enhancing workforce readiness, SCG for the “Possibilities Space: Shaping Future Workforce” program, enabling students to tackle real business problems in Smart Living and ESG and potentially advance solutions toward implementation and job opportunities, and Boon Rawd Brewery, strengthening academic and research collaboration through scholarships, innovation competitions, and internships.
The curriculum targets top future workforce skills identified by the World Economic Forum, such as analytical thinking, resilience, and influence, embedding emerging skillsets like cross-cultural teamwork and digital marketing into academic tracks.
To further boost employability, TU launched the Co-operative Education and Career Development Centre (TUCEEC), which aims to offer over 100 training programs and workshops between 2025 and 2027, targeting 100% graduate employment within one year. Internally, TU is transforming its faculty into “learning leaders,” aiming for at least 100 lecturers to achieve Professional Standards Framework (PSF) Level 2 or higher by 2027.
This transformation marks a shift from TU’s traditional focus on public service and social sciences, blending these strengths with high-demand sectors such as AI, fintech, and health technology to form a future-proof, interdisciplinary academic model. Amid global challenges like aging populations and digital disruption, TU’s education strategy offers a national and regional blueprint for how higher education can adapt and thrive. With its commitment to interdisciplinary learning, community engagement, and global connectivity, TU is truly becoming a Leading Comprehensive University for Future Societies—empowering learners of all backgrounds to build a more sustainable and equitable world.
