Tag: Thammasat University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phaiwan Satthanon, Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University revealed that currently, personnel in the health profession are not limited to a career in the hospital only, as nowadays ‘healthcare’ is a trend both in Thai society and globally, especially after the COVID-19 crisis. The business sector agrees that the opportunity of Thailand is wellness tourism, including the business of providing medical wellness services at the cost of Thailand’s treasure, both resources, potential, travel, and most importantly, personnel potential and health service provision including national policies that promote such businesses. This leads to the growth of opportunities for healthcare professionals to become entrepreneurs or business owner from small to large by their own or even perform duties within government or private organizations that will expand to accommodate the increasing demand for health services.

In addition, Thailand has now entered an aging society while, the value of having children of the new generation is decreasing. This reflects that in the near future, businesses related to health services will grow exponentially. An obvious and growing example is the emergence of new private sector businesses that support health systems and government services, both health promotion and disease prevention, including services that cover the physical rehabilitation of patients. For example, the opening of a medical technical laboratory, wellness center of sports science, elderly care centers or patients with chronic illnesses, and quality of life care for terminally ill patients and their families that focus on reducing physical, mental, social and spiritual suffering such as palliative care centers, etc.

Moreover, in modern times, especially when the communication system, public relations and social media can reach large groups of people without limits. The provision of health services is therefore not limited to a place or that required a complex system. On the other hand, the new generation sees opportunities to build careers and health businesses online, such as giving advice, or as a health consultant or exercise therefore, having a background in health sciences will be an advantage in the future.

Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences said that the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences has always followed the trend of society and the world including cooperation with both the government and private business sectors. Therefore, we can see the tendency of increasing health demands, whether it is entering an aging society in many countries around the world, development of medical genomics, precision medicine and personalized medicine, including the promotion and care of health at early stage. These visions are considered to increase career opportunities for graduates from each program of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences.

Prof. Dr. Phaiwan went on to say that the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences curriculum is developed based on meeting the needs of Thai society as well as adapting to the current and future world trends. This will allow graduates who complete each program to have a wide range of career options in order to support the needs of both the government and business sectors, and especially the current direction that is more open and no longer limited only to working as a medical personnel in the public sector.

Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University is strong in the diversity of its undergraduate programs, which include six areas: medical technology, physiotherapy, sport and exercise science, sports management, sports coaching, and radiological as well as postgraduate programs with a focus on cutting-edge research. In addition, there are activities both within and outside the curriculum through collaboration between government and private agencies, both domestically and internationally. We as well have a learning platform for real practice through the Health Service Center of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences which has conducted activities in both business forms to earn income and forms of corporate social responsibility activities, thus combining both the ability to manage business along with having a public mind that works for society as well.

“We foster the skills needed today that are different from the past. We try to give our students choices and to obtain a variety of skills, including important soft skills, be ready and able to seize opportunities that arise, thus making our curriculum strong and that graduates are ready to keep up with current and future changes,” stated the Dean of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences.

A lecturer from the Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University, has presented the results of research on mental health among LGBTIQNA+ youth in Thailand, conducted in collaboration with the Faculty of Nursing and the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Thammasat as well as Save the Children (Thailand) Foundation and the Behavioral Science Research Institute at Srinakharinwirot University, at an event titled ‘HEARTS MATTER: Mental Health of Children and Youth with Diverse SOGIESC’ event held at Sam Yan Co-op, organized by Save the Children (Thailand) Foundation together with the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health.

Dr. Timo Tapani Ojanen, Lecturer from the Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University, representing the research team, said: “ Our findings clearly show that being a victim of violence, discrimination, or being forced to try to fit in society’s gender and sexuality norms are all bad for the mental health of LGBTIQNA+ children and youth. Other than that, more than half of our participants felt that in the past year, they had problems serious enough to go see a mental health professional, but out of those who felt that way, only one in five actually did receive mental health services, reflecting various problems in accessing these services. Overall, I think we need to address those root causes of mental health problems, and provide more options for LGBTIQNA+ children and youth to receive mental health services that they actually can access and feel comfortable using.”

Dr. Amporn Benjaponpitak, MD., Director General, Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, who gave opening remarks at the event said that the results of the Mental Health Check conducted by the Department of Mental Health in the past 6 months, indicated that 34,579 people under the age of 20 had a major mental health problem, namely high stress, depression, or the risk of suicide, which is higher than in all other age groups, in part due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Children and youth are increasingly affected by mental health problems. In particular, the mental health of LGBTIQNA+ children and youth is even more threatened, both by lack of support (for example from friends), the inability to express themselves openly at home, or even experiencing violence. Some children and youth are under pressure or are being harmed by those around them, whether family, people at their school, or people in their community, only because they do not conform to society’s gender and sexuality norms.

The research investigated mental health issues among LGBTIQNA+ youth aged between 15 to 24 years in Thailand through an online questionnaire that was completed by 3,094 participants, and 38 online interviews. The results showed that 70-80% of the participants had symptoms of anxiety and depression. This group of youths were subjected to various forms of violence, for example, 75.8% had been ridiculed, 42.4% had been forced to try to change their gender identity or sexual orientation, and more than half had experienced sexual harassment either online or offline.

Teams of Engineering Students, Thammasat University won the first prize in the Global Student Innovation Challenge (gSIC 2022). NSTDA was in collaboration with CREATe Asia cooperation group to organize the 15th international academic conference on rehabilitation engineering and facilities technology (i-CREATe 2022) at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in a hybrid format.

The Global Student Innovation Challenge (gSIC 2022) has inventions from students who have been selected and participated in the final competition from 5 economic zones, namely Thailand, the Republic of Singapore, the People’s Republic of China, and Hong Kong and Taiwan Special Administrative Regions, with a total of 40 entries. The contest is divided into 2 categories: Innovations for people with disabilities and the elderly (Technology Category) and Innovative design works for people with disabilities and the elderly (Design Category)

As a result, a team from Thammasat University received a Gold Award for innovative design for the disabled and the elderly in the work “New design power wheelchair for easy transfer” developed by Ms. Thanrada Wiriyasubudom, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mr. Supasin Somboondee, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mr. Kavin Sirichantakul, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TEP Program, having Asst. Prof. Dr. Banyong Rungrueangduayboon, Lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University as an advisor.

Ms. Thanrada Wiriyasubudom revealed that the idea starts from the fact that we see that the movement of people with disabilities nowadays is difficult, especially moving from a wheelchair to a chair or toilet seat in which people with disabilities have to exert a lot. This gave us the idea of whether it was easier or not if a disabled person can move from behind and are able to get in and out of the wheelchair without having to lift their bodies up.

This innovation is an electric wheelchair for paraplegics. This electric wheelchair can be accessed from behind. There is a stand system to increase the convenience of disabled people in their daily life and remote control of electric wheelchairs via mobile to facilitate retrieving or removing the wheelchair.

Mr. Supasin Somboondee said that it increases the convenience for the disabled in every aspect, whether it is designed to allow them to enter and exit the vehicle and move with minimal force, as well as with a seat height adjustment system so a handicapped person can adjust the height of the chair or toilet seat to suit their mobility.

Mr. Kawin Sirichantakul added that this electric wheelchair has been used by people with disabilities and it generally works fine. However, there are still bugs that need to be addressed. We have begun planning to develop a smaller wheelchair that can be used even in confined spaces and is easier to move. With our work as a front-wheel drive, it may take some time for the users to be familiar with controlling the wheelchair so that people with disabilities or the elderly can access our wheelchairs more easily.

“The very first feeling after receiving the first prize was shocking. But when it was gone, we were very happy. The tiredness or difficulty in working in the past is completely gone. By the time of receiving the award, we felt that people have seen the benefits of our wheelchairs and it is really worth designing and building the wheelchair,” said Kawin.

In addition, another team of students from the Faculty of Engineering, Thammasat University also won a Gold Award for technology for people with disabilities and the elderly from the same stage in the work “Design and development of physical therapy upper limb device with symmetrical reflections mechanism” developed by Mr. Methasit Kiatchaipha, Master’s degree student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ms. Thanyaporn Wongwatcharanon, Ph.D. student, Medical Engineering and Mr. Abul Kashem Tahmid Shahriar, Master’s degree student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, having Asst. Prof. Dr. Banyong Rungrueangduayboon, Faculty of Engineering and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Patcharee Khunkhamchu, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy as advisors.

 

Students from the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Thammasat University received awards from the Cultural Textiles Awards 2022 of the Department of Cultural Promotion, Ministry of Culture to extend the design of Thai textiles to the international stage. This year, students of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Thammasat University received a total of 8 awards in various categories, and alumni of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts received 3 other awards, including the first prize in the creative textile category.

Creative textile Category

Saksit Pattaraprakit received the first prize for the work entitled “NEO-ZENKON NAKHON”

Petcharat Phrompool received the second runner-up award for the work entitled “In to the city”

Jesadaporn Sawatdiphan received an honorable mention for the work entitled “The rebirth of Andaman”

Natthanon Sangdaeng received an honorable mention for the work “Serpenti (Skin and Pattern of Snake)”

Silk Category

Thananuch Makdee received an honorable mention for the work entitled “Color of the wind”

Attaphon Meephan received an honorable mention for the work entitled “Return”

Cotton Category

Pemika Piahiang received the first runner-up award for the work entitled “Muang Khong” (Muang Khong Sub-District, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province)

Thatchet Prabpram received the second runner-up award for the work entitled “See Sea”

Nattaporn Jangpho received an honorable mention for the work entitled “The Riverside”

Pareeyuth Thongbamrer received an honorable mention for the work entitled “Khai Rang”

Rattawan Ruangsamut received an honorable mention for the work entitled “Nang Nuan”

The Faculty of Public Health at Thammasat University in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) jointly organized a course for both Thai and international graduates of the Faculty of Public Health on “Health in Detention”.

The course has been in development since 2017, making Thammasat the first university in Asia-Pacific to offer this course. The objective is to allow attendees to obtain basic knowledge in promoting, preventing, and taking care of the health of prisoners. They also have access to the health system, the justice system, and medical ethics including social and environmental factors affecting the health of prisoners including exchanging
knowledge with the on-site officers.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Wannapha Naravej, Lecturer of the Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University said that the “Raising Awareness of Health in Detention Course” of the Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University is included as part of the Master’s degree program in Global Health under GH 662 Health in Detention subject. This year, the course is organized in the form of a Hybrid class (Onsite & Online) with the objectives to enhance learning and understanding of the detention system and the problem of the prison population. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of human rights and professional ethics in providing well-being to men, women, and children in detention and detention internationally in the wake of COVID-19.

The course has been honored by lecturers who are experts in various disciplines, such as representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Department of Corrections, Ministry of Justice, Thailand Institute of Justice, Ministry of Public Health as well as professors and experts in Global Health, Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University.

 

Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies, Thammasat University, and the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) signed a memorandum of cooperation, with the School supporting academic and research work, while the CODI will support knowledge in community development works in all dimensions and all issues while various community organizations are more than ready to be our partners in the development of the goal to “build strong communities towards sustainable development where local communities possess a good quality of life and are self-reliant.”

Asst. Prof. Dr. Nitinant Wisaweisuan, Dean of the Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies, said that the school is pleased that the two organizations will closely work together in developing strong communities towards sustainable development where local communities possess a good quality of life and are self-reliant. The school is prompt to support the mission of the CODI for sustainable community development, and most importantly is to support academic services to develop the potential of organization leaders and personnel of the CODI through joint research including community and social development that will lead to social development innovation creation.

In addition, there are also various courses to promote the personnel of the CODI to pursue their study at the master’s degree level which leads to the development of personnel potential. The school also provides students the opportunity to conduct community research, then facilitate such knowledge as part of the study and be able to transfer the credits. The collaboration of the two agencies therefore will be jointly developing personnel from the youth level to local practitioners in order to foster a sustainable strong community. Apart from that, the school will coordinate with the private business sector and the government sector in designing a curriculum for developing a network of cooperation to support the work of community organizations in relevance to the school’s potential and expertise as well as supporting personnel to work together to strengthen the area. This is a crucial step for the two agencies to work together in academic services as a tool for achieving sustainable development goals.

In the event, there are also activities for students from the school to participate in and study the work process of the CODI in the development of the local communities using the concept of community organization as the core and area as the starting point, as well as the role of the community organization procession and driving the development work from the foundation which strive towards concrete development driving by using projects to improve the quality of life for low-income people in urban and rural areas as a tool and the power of the new generation through development work in the area, etc.

The “Mali-Sorn” application (https://farminsure.infuse.co.th/) focuses on building a cloud-based service software platform with an open interface for farmers as well as being an application service provider with special objectives in agricultural crop insurance with the inclusion of plot position information satellite image monitoring and photos from mobile phones, and also the use of advanced artificial intelligence technology to assist in image processing to specify the type and amount of damage of each agricultural plot.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Teerayuth Horanon, Head of the “Mali-Sorn” project, said that in order to solve this problem, we plan to implement the use of AI and IoT technology in the form of sensors together with the analysis of remote sensing data in the modeling of agricultural processes on 5G networks in agricultural areas that were developed as part of the project. Primarily, we are considering image analysis from drone data and robot cameras to make the results meaningful and readable to farmers. When all the information is put together, we will gain insights into the characteristics of farmland as never before.

Farmers will be able to interact with the AI and ask questions. For example, track soil moisture readings and current weather conditions with correlation to crop diseases, the AI will be able to provide recommendations for action and display the results of different scenarios. A dashboard showing the current farmland and soil conditions will be displayed on your mobile or tablet. When clicking on a specific area, farmers will be provided with information on issues such as water shortages as well as advice on the best solution to deal with such issues.

Currently, “Mali-Sorn” has been in use for three years, and is able to help thousands of farmers who have been facing disaster but are not in disaster-declared areas. This reduces the process and shortens the time for reporting damage in which the application will be used to collect farmers’ data, pictures of damage from disasters, and the location of disaster sites. It also helps the relevant agencies to be able to review the information and perform comprehensive assistance to disaster-stricken farmers, the application “Mali-Sorn” is available for download both on Android and IOS systems at https://farminsure.infuse.co.th/#Download_App.

GrabSpark Business Plan Contest under the topic “Driving Business Growth with Data in the Post-pandemic Era” is a platform for young people to show their potential and promote the use of business knowledge combined with new ideas in order to drive and foster business growth in the post-Covid era through the “GrabSpark” business plan contest held for the first time this year, the “Grob Grab Grob Grab” team received a plaque of honor with 50,000 Thai baht cash price.

A team of students from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Thammasat University, consists of Ms. Suchada Charoenkittitham, Ms. Pitchaya Wangpreedalertkul, Ms. Alin Saenchaichana, and Mr. Polawat Pornbenjaphakkul presents a business plan entitled “Wait and Pop, Pick and Drop”, which stands out for its idea of developing new features to further develop GrabMart’s services by using the service information as well as consumer behavior to analyze, study problems, limitations and find new business opportunities that help meet the needs of service users. At the same time, they have come up with a marketing plan that will help Grab’s driver-partners and merchants generate more revenue.

Ms. Suchada Charoenkittitham, a student representative from the Grob Grab Grob Grab team said, “We were all very excited and enjoyed this competition. Unlike other business planning contests, GrabSpark strongly focuses on studying and taking advantage of Big Data as it genuinely reflects the behavior of service usage and affects the business in real-time. It is an opportunity for us to practice and develop our skills in analyzing deeper and more accurate data. It also opened up new approaches from management’s recommendations. This allows us to see the perspective and visualization of the actual work in the Tech Company.

More importantly, joining the GrabSpark contest also made us learn that the concept of ‘creating shared value’ is very important. Businesses cannot grow sustainably if society does not grow along. Businesses cannot only think of profits, but it shall as well take into account the people in the business cycle and has to create positive changes for the wider society. It was a really impressive experience.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worapat Wachirayakorn, Lecturer from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University and the manager to the research project on “Developing Thai Farmers toward Smart Farmers (A Case Study of Developing Durian Farmers for Export)” received a research grant supported by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI).

This research project consists of various researchers with a wide range of expertise from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worapat Wachirayakorn (Research Project Manager), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suphet Jirakajornkul, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanit Ruangrungchaikul, Asst. Prof. Dr. Rewat Jaisutthi, Asst. Prof. Dr. Wilawan Chueboon and Professor Dr. Pruk Chutimanukul, with Ms. Piyapong Sonkaew and Ms. Thanatcha Chaida, researchers from the Office of Advanced Science and Technology, Thammasat University and a researcher from different institution, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Krirk Piromsopha from Chulalongkorn University, thus bringing expertise in distinct fields to integrate across discripinary to focus on research outcomes that project useful results and allow timely problem solving both academically, economically, socially and policy, especially “durian”, which is the main economic fruit of the country.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worapat Wachirayakorn, Lecturer of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University and the research project manager said that the results of this research is under the framework of research on the principle of increasing productivity through innovation and technology. The aim is to develop research and transform them into a knowledge platform that durian farmers can access and use to increase production quality according to prescribed standards, minimize production costs, and reduce labor usage through the adoption of various innovations and integrated technologies to support standards of good agricultural practice. The main focus is on allowing farmers to access the body of knowledge, and solve production problems which enable farmers to develop quality produce that meets international standards in accordance to the GAP standard.

Thammasat University led by the Faculty of Social Administration, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Public Health, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences and Thammasat Hospital organized meeting to discuss academic cooperation with Mr. Anukool Pidkaew, Director-General of the Department of Social Development and Welfare (DSDW), Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) to find ways to provide social services, health services, and develop works for the homeless, beggars and those who face social problems. Regarding the current situation of foster homes under the Ministry of Public Health, there are patients with redundant problems including physical illnesses, disabilities, and with the majority of psychiatric conditions, mainly caused by drug use.

In addition, foster homes lack professionals in many fields such as registered nurses, psychologists, social workers, etc., which led to the discussion of cooperation.

The corporation aims to support target groups throughout 3 phases, tackling straight from the cause, namely the initial phase, proposing a preventive project by focusing on working with family and community, and health promotion for vulnerable groups; the second phase, proposing continuous development of care for vulnerable groups in foster home; and lastly, the third phase, working with local administration in the care of vulnerable groups within family or community.

In this regard, the meeting proposed academic cooperation, such as promoting student internships or working with target groups in shelters, arranging workshops and training to enhance skills of MSDHS officers in the field of social welfare, medical services, nursing, public health, allied health sciences, jointly invent innovations to care for target groups, provide medical treatment and rehabilitation services for target groups, etc.