Tag: Thailand

Delivery trucks, food trucks … and now, art therapy trucks?

In 2022, a study jointly conducted by Chulalongkorn University and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation of 9,000 students from 15 universities nationwide indicated that 40% of university students suffered from stress, while 30% are often or always depressed and around 4% thought of committing suicide.

In 2023, The Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA) at Chulalongkorn University launched the CU Mobile Arts 4U project. Lecturer in Expressive Arts Dr. Nisara Jaroenkajornkij or as she is better known, ‘Dr Alex’, explained the background, “Statistics showed that there is a rising trend in rates of depression and suicide at the university. The then-Dean, Professor Bussakorn Binson wanted to help alleviate these mental issues and improve the quality of life for students and staff.”

Professor Rachel Lev-Wiesel of the Emili Sagol Research Center at the University of Haifa, a driving force behind the introduction of creative art therapy at the faculty, which now has its own Emili Sagol Research and Wellness Center, was consulted on how to reach out to those suffering from depression. Previously, she had jointly led a team of art therapists with Professor Binson to Korat to provide art therapy to survivors of the Terminal 21 shooting incident on 8 February 2020. “Professor Bussakorn said that we already have a wellness center and art therapy at the faculty, so we should go out and meet students”, noted Dr Alex.

A small truck was ordered and then brightly decorated in Chula’s colors – lots of pinks and pastels. The truck opens out, with plenty of space for the therapists to display the artworks of those staff and students who participate in the therapeutic sessions.

Dr Alex, who has a master’s in clinical psychology from Kingston University in the UK and teaches on the FAA’s newly launched international master’s program in Expressive Arts, said that expressive art therapy includes a wide range of activities, from music, dance, and movement to painting, sculpting and psychodrama, “expressive art therapy includes every form of art.”

The CU Mobile Art Truck parks up at various places around the university, most recently, at the CU Central Library. Staff and students joining in are given a questionnaire with 9 questions and are asked to draw a self-portrait. Dr Alex is able to interpret each self-portrait. “It’s a kind of assessment as I can analyze the drawing”, she said. “Some students show severe symptoms [of depression] and for them I can refer them to their faculties for further mental health support.”

The activities at the CU Central Library session, which was conducted by Professor Binson and Dr Alex, included ‘self-figure drawings’, watercolor, oil and pastel drawing and painting. The program also uses ‘ambient music’ to create a calm, supportive environment.

The session was held in a very relaxing atmosphere that made the activities enjoyable and low key. The standard of some of the artwork was very good, too. Some students just really enjoyed the process of making artworks, which took their minds off some of the more stressful aspects of their lives.

For Dr Alex, the reward for this kind of interdisciplinary, expressive art-based therapy comes when participants make tangible progress. “When you’re working with people who are depressed and you see the improvement in their face, that’s the ‘fall-in-love’ moment”, she said. “You can see their face ‘glow’ – they are no longer under a cloud.”

The CU Mobile Arts 4 U Truck has recently completed its pilot year, and has secured funding for 2024, so the art truck will be appearing around the campus over the next year.

Dive into the realm of inspiration with Sasin Sustainability & Entrepreneurship Center as we proudly present “Women Impact Entrepreneurship Day (WIED) 2024”!

This extraordinary event revolves around the theme, “New Horizons in Women Entrepreneurship: Embracing Diversity, Inspiring Change” on March 1, 2024, from 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM at TK Hall, Sasin School of Management.

Secure your spot by registering here: http://bit.ly/SasinWIED2024

Join us in celebrating alongside the remarkable contributions of women in entrepreneurship and society, igniting the spirit of International Women’s Week and leading up to International Women’s Day.

In Collaboration with our Champions:
Proudly partnered with UN Women, UN GCNT, ANDE, WE-Can (Space Bangkok), and Sasin Inclusion along with their expansive networks.

Key Highlights:

Engaging Workshops including:

The 2030 SDG Game by Sasin School of Management:

A compelling experiential workshop utilizing game-based elements to simulate potential scenarios in our world by 2030. This immersive activity underscores the significance of harmonizing the three pillars of People, Planet, and Prosperity. Participants are encouraged to delve into the mindset and actions necessary for progressing towards sustainability.

Gender Lens Incubation and Acceleration by Sasakawa Peace Foundation & ChangeFusion:

Engage with like-minded individuals on a journey with the Gender Lens Incubation & Acceleration (GLIA) introductory learning session, an awareness-based workshop designed for those seeking to explore the impactful subject of gender lens thinking in entrepreneurship.

Panel Discussions and Sharing Sessions to explore innovative perspectives in entrepreneurship.
Networking Opportunities with a diverse group of women entrepreneurs, business leaders, and advocates for gender equality.
Be part of this empowering expedition, where we embrace diversity and inspire change in the entrepreneurial landscape. Let us collectively shatter gender biases and revel in the symphony of equality!

For more information please contact [email protected]

For the full release and more images, please visit: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/149154/

Currently, Generative AI has transformed learning, research, and innovation in universities. Chulalongkorn University is a pioneer in applying AI to classrooms through various platforms and tools.

On December 15, 2023, at Room 409, Chaloem Rajakumari 60 Building (Chamchuri 10), Chulalongkorn University, Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation (CSII), Chula’s newest faculty and a speedboat in innovation, signed an MOU with the LB&A Consortium, to redefine education through AI. The MOU, signed by Prof. Emeritus Dr. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, CSII Executive Director, and Mr. Anders Hasle Nielsen, AI expert from Denmark, representing the LB&A Consortium, marked the beginning of the era of AI-led education. The LB&A consortium consists of comprising Lion Brain Co. Ltd. (LionBrain) and Anders H.L Soft Co. Ltd.

The MOU solidifies the commitment to jointly develop the AI platform for education following the academic seminar on “Is Thailand ready for the AI era?” last July. Both parties pledge to collaborate in moving towards future education, especially with the Bachelor of Arts and Science in Integrated Innovation (BAScii).

Prof. Emeritus Dr. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, CSII Executive Director, explained that the collaboration not only gives CSII a head start in the development of Generative AI, but also leads to a paradigm shift by integrating AI with education, research, and innovation of the BAScii curriculum. One outcome of this alliance is a model for the future educational system that takes advantage of AI, which is suitable for the CSII speedboat, that will also benefit other educational institutions.Mr. Anders Hasle Nielsen stated, “This collaboration will pave the way towards an AI-driven education that focuses on personalized and efficient AI tools that grow with the ever-increasing databases. Our joint effort is a significant step towards making AI an integral part of educational institutions around the world.

For the full release and more images, please visit: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/146982/

Our world has moved from “Global Warming” to “Global Boiling” due to the steadily rising temperatures. Preparations to deal with climate change are therefore an urgency to prevent Thailand and the world from becoming at risk.

Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, is equipped with the knowledge on various types of plants and fully staffed by knowledgeable faculty members, researchers, students, and experts who are ready to apply their insight to figuring out the solutions to the current global boiling. The Department of Botany opened the Living Plant Museum at the Glass House, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, with Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arporn, Chulalongkorn’s President, Prof. Dr. Narin Hiransuthikul, Vice President for Strategic Monitoring and Assessment, Planning, Budgeting and Well-being, and Prof. Dr. Polkit Sangvanich, Dean of the Faculty of Science, along with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanuttkhul Mongkolaussavarat, Director of the Science Society of Thailand Under the Patronage of His Majesty the King, Mr. Kampol Tansujja, President of Nong Nooch Botanical Garden Pattaya, Ms. Nantawanchaya. Phachit Praphan, President of Herb4You Co., Ltd. and World Green Plus Co., Ltd., and Mr. Thanathip Sitprasert, representative of Boonrawd Brewery Co., Ltd., attending the opening.

The Living Plant Museum is a permanent exhibition displayed in the Glass House next to the Mahamakut Building, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University. Not only is this a place where plants with botanical significance are kept, it also is a venuie for an exchange of knowledge between faculty members, experts in various fields of botany, and the public who have close experience with nature in each region. The place forms a network of knowledge and understanding that is passed on to the new generation that is eco-conscious, as well as offers lifelong learning to cope with climate change. The exhibition features the “Innovation for Seedlings with High Survival Rate” developed from Mycorrhizal Inoculum bred with rubber seedlings and ratchapruek tree to increase the survival rate of trees amidst the volatile climate conditions.

Prof. Dr. Bundhit Eua-arporn, President of Chulalongkorn University, said, “Chulalongkorn University has announced its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. Therefore, we must encourage the Chula community to take responsibility for climate change. One strategy that we’ve been continuously employing is the application of research and innovations in Chulalongkorn to creating social change that will drive society towards becoming a low-carbon society. One area which we emphasize is the development of green urban space and the restoration of forest ecosystems. Faculty members and researchers at the Faculty of Science, specifically the Department of Botany, and our network partners are working tirelessly to cultivate new knowledge, research, and innovation to respond to the Global Boiling situation as warned by the United Nations. We have gathered the knowledge and stored it in the Living Plant Museum, which, from now on, will be a living lab to foster lifelong learning for Thai people to help us deal with future issues and find better solutions for global environmental problems.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sehanat Prasongsuk, Head of the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, said that the Living Plant Museum is considered a lifelong learning source where we teach students, conduct research on plants in an evaporative cooling system, and display a permanent exhibition on the diversity and evolution of plants in living conditions. The museum, a glass house with the area of 464 sq. m., contains at least 200 types of both domestic and foreign plants displayed in 6 exhibitions, namely an exhibition on the diversity of plants in the rainforest or tropical rainforest, an exhibition of drought-tolerant plants, an aquatic plant exhibition, a Pteridophyte plant exhibition, an exhibition on bare seed plants, and an exhibition on the evolution of flowering plants. Our aim is for the new knowledge and innovation generated in this museum to help solve environment, economic, and social issues. Recently, we have an innovation for seedlings with high survival rate developed using Mycorrhizal Inoculum Technology by Assist. Prof. Dr. Jittra Piapukiew, a lecturer at the Department of Botany, Faculty of Science. Dr. Jittra has been studying mycorrhizal fungi for over 20 years, beginning with research on the diversity of fungi in the Nan forests and developing into the production of mycorrhizal inoculum mixed in the soil for planting seedlings of rubber trees, increasing hte survival rate of the trees in volatile climate. Chulalongkorn University has passed on the knowledge to the communities and over 3,000 rai of forests in Saraburi and 7 other provinces. In addition, apart from the trees’ survival, many edible wild mushrooms also emerge, such as barometer earthstars, head man slender Caesar, Greencracked Brittlegill, and the Sickener, creating economic value and thus motivating the locals to sustainably conserve the forest.”

Apart from the opening of the museum, the Department of Botany also organized the sustainable development activity “Planting Seedlings to Combat Global Boiling” by preparing 107 rubber seedlings from the innovation for seedlings with high survival rate project to be planted in the community, and a planting activity of “space ratchapruek trees” that have been chosen for the Asian Herb in Space (AHiS) project under the collaboration of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and partner agencies.

The Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, invites you to join a campaign to fight against global boiling by donating to fund the operations of the “Living Plant Museum” and support the teaching of the Department of Botany. For every 1,000 baht donated, you will receive 1 “seedling for global boiling” from the research and development of seedlings with high survival rate using Mycorrhizal Inoculum Technology. The first 1,000 donors will receive 1 Fight Global Boiling bag via a QR code or  https://forms.gle/WoreutYF8FLuQC3k9.

For the full release and more images, please visit: https://www.chula.ac.th/en/news/144729/

Chula Engineering lecturer’s innovation “The Balance Assessment Device”—gold medal winner at ITEX 2023, Malaysia, and recipient of World Invention Intellectual Property Associations’ (WIIPA) Special Award (Gold Medal)—checks body balance and balance loss for behavior changes and fall prevention to promote fall risk awareness and knowledge.

Standing in public buses, Chatchanee Pakavatsoontorn, an adjunct lecturer in the International School of Engineering (ISE), Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, has found herself losing her balance occasionally.

“Is this balance loss normal? How can I solve this to have a better balance?”  Chatchanee’s search for the answer to this question has led to her innovation, “The Balance Assessment Device,” which enables everyone to assess their balance simply by stepping onto the device. With support from the Chula Spin-off Club, this innovation has won the gold medal at the 34th International Invention, Innovation & Technology Exhibition (ITEX 2023) in addition to the World Invention Intellectual Property Associations’ (WIIPA) Special Award (Gold Medal) at the same event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“This innovation originated from the fact that I found myself frequently losing balance on public buses. Researching to find a solution, I found that a personal balance assessment device didn’t exist. This has led to this innovation which would help us train our body or adjust our behavior.”

Chatchanee aims this for such medical purposes as screening, preliminary health assessment, balance analysis for physical therapy, and exercise planning. Besides, this device can be used for personality training for certain professions.

Poor balance and ataxia: Invisible illness

Ataxia is a balance symptom found in every physical movement. An unbalanced walking causes instability and can lead to a deadly fall.

Poor balance is due to many causes, including heredity, disease, injury, lifestyle, and physical condition, especially for muscles, joints, the sensory nervous system, signal transmission, and the brain system.

“Our ears affect our balance, and irregularity in one ear can make us lose our balance while moving. Our lifestyles, especially for those in the professions that require muscular strength, also affect our balance,” Chatchanee cites a few possible causes for poor balance.

“With the naked eye, poor balance can be roughly detected. Usually, we’re only aware of our poor balance when we stagger and fall. A device that analyzes our balance can then alert us so that we can adjust our behavior and prevent any fall.”

Multiple balance analyses by a single device

A Deep Tech innovation, the Balance Assessment Device is compact, lightweight, and portable, with only two main components, namely a standing platform and a USB cord connecting it to a computer, tablet, or mobile phone for display of analysis results.

“Apart from basic data such as weight and Body Mass Index (BMI), this device can also measure our balance area and distance. With such data, we can figure out if the way we lose our balance while, for example, standing on public transport like a bus, train, boat, standing, or walking in daily life is considered normal in comparison with others of the same sex and age group. Then, we can analyze whether we need to adjust our behavior accordingly,” explains Chatchanee.

This device is user-friendly. One can simply connect the USB cord to a tablet, a mobile phone, or a computer and then step onto the platform like step procedures that of a weight scale. The balance analysis result will then be displayed in real-time with Microsoft Excel.

Anyone can assess their balance

The Balance Assessment Device is not only for elderly people but also anyone older than four (or 10 kilograms and more), including athletes, exercise people, and those who want to develop their personality. All can benefit from this innovation differently according to their age groups and needs.

Athletes and Active People 

The Balance Assessment Device can be used to analyze an individual’s balance in sports clubs or fitness centers for health enthusiasts, those who dance or do aerobics to strengthen their legs, people who work with machinery like factory workers, people who work in high places like construction workers, as well as to assess child development. Experts can then suggest training routine and behavior change accordingly.

It’s similar to step procedures on weight scales already found in fitness centers, but it can check your balance without the need to attach sensors in the body or wear a special suit.”

Personality enhancement for certain professions such as flight attendants, masters of ceremonies (MCs), newscasters, and actors.

Balance assessment for medical purposes

Having put the Balance Assessment Device into practice, Chatchanee notes, “We’ve tested in three hospitals, and the doctors have positive responses, especially for physicians and pediatricians who would like to have it for patient screening as it can assess balance, and balance area, in real-time using any device with Microsoft Excel capability without the need to install any additional software. It can help lighten the medical personnel’s load and be easily accessed by patients who live farther away from the hospitals.”

Besides, this innovation is for autistic and Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) people as well as concussion patients, as the results from their balance analyses can be applied in the planning rehabilitation process.

“Autistic and ADHD people have balance problems, and so we need to help them regain their balance and redevelop their attention.”

Apart from The Balance Assessment Device, Chatchanee has developed other devices for balance, such as her walking stick innovation “Smart Devices for People: Self Balancing Stick” and “Semisitting Vehicle”.

“Most elderly people don’t like using the walking stick: they believe it would weaken them. The walking stick considerably helps those with balance problems, and that’s why we’ve developed the Smart Flow walking stick innovation and Semisitting Vehicle innovation for them.” Moreover, we have developed semi-sitting vehicles to serve the aging society as an alternative mode of transportation and logistics in narrow spaces.

Good balance, good health

As for the future, Chatchanee plans to further develop the device so that it can also analyze data for the visual system, central nervous system (CNS), sensory nervous system, auditory system, and other systems that either connect to or affect balance.

“This innovation is a simple tool that can assist the doctor in assessing fall risks among elderly people, encouraging behavioral changes, promoting fall prevention, and raising fall risk awareness and knowledge. Anyone can use it to check their balance and status. It can help lighten the medical personnel’s load and create public well-being.”

If you’re interested in the Balance Assessment Device, please get in touch with us at [email protected], Facebook Page: Design Up, LINE Official Account: Design Up (https://lin.ee/UsxvGgv).