Associate Professor Dr. Supakorn Pongbangpho, the president of the University of Phayao, assigned Professor Dr. Samur Thanoi, the Vice President for Research and Innovation, and Associate Professor Dr. Phanintra Teeranon, Assistant to the President, to attend the 9th National Academic Conference “Engagement Thailand” (The 9th Engagement Thailand Annual Conference 2024: Driving Society Engagement Innovation Toward Sustainability) or EnT’9. The conference focused on driving innovation for societal sustainability and was held from June 5th to 8th, 2024, at U Nimman and Centara Riverside Hotel in Chiang Mai. This year, Chiang Mai University was the main organizer of the event, with the University of Phayao serving as a co-host and network partner to advance social relations missions in Thailand.
The event showcased lectures, special presentations by experts, and academic discussions from esteemed speakers. Notable moments included a lecture on “University Engagement & Sustainable Development” by Special Professor Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, a presentation on “Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement” by Ms. Mitra Gusheh from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, and an academic discussion on “Climate Crisis and University Engagement: A Case Study on PM2.5” by representatives from various regional universities.
At this year’s 9th National Academic Conference “Engaging Thailand,” the main focus of the event was:
1. Driving cooperation between universities, which serve as sources of knowledge and technology to create sustainable impacts on society.
2. Emphasizing the university’s social mission across four levels: International, Regional, National, and Community, with the community level being the most crucial. The university should ensure that the impact of research and academic services at the international, regional, and national levels benefits the community level as much as possible.
3. Improving the transfer of knowledge and technology from the university to society through research, academic services, and learning spaces.
During the event, various examples of collaboration between universities and communities were presented to address environmental issues in different regions of Thailand, including the Northern, Northeastern, Central, and Southern regions.
