Kasetsart University had been the main venue of the Erasmus+ events, jointly organized by the University and the European Union Delegation to Thailand for two consecutive days.  On October 2, 2023, Kasetsart University and its partners of the project entitled FRAME¹ Forests, climate change mitigation and adaptation: Higher Education Cooperation in Mekong region, a 2-year project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union – Erasmus+ Key Action 2: Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE), hosted “The Cluster meeting and dissemination of Erasmus+ projects in Thailand”.  The representatives of the FRAME project partners as well as of other Erasmus+ CBHE projects from different countries participated to exchange their experience and best practices in project management and implementation.  This event was also a platform to network with higher education institutions from various countries in the European Union (EU) and Southeast Asia to build future project collaboration.  In the morning session, the meeting leader asked every participant to briefly introduce themselves, including what CBHE projects they involved in.  Then, Mr. Emanuel Gerth, Project Officer, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission, was invited to give a presentation about the overall purposes and opportunity of the Erasmus+ CBHE projects in Thailand and the Southeast Asian region.  Additionally, the interactive panel discussion on “Best practice and lesson learnt from CBHE in Thailand and future collaboration” during the afternoon session was moderated by Assistant Professor Damrong Pipatwattanakul, Ph.D., a faculty member of the Department of Silviculture, the Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University.  The event featured the mini exhibition of certain Erasmus+ CBHE projects operated by partner universities in Thailand in addition to FRAME, namely ASTRA – Advancing Strategic Management, Leadership and Fundraising in Higher Education in Asia, MASUDEM – Master Studies in Sustainable Development and Management, Skybelt – Enhancement of engineering skills of students of all levels for application of evidence based sustainable renewable energy solutions in the built environment, SWAP – Sustainable solid Waste management and Policies, and THE-GLOW – Transdisciplinary Higher Education for Global Wellbeing.  

¹https://frameerasmus.eu/en

            Kasetsart University was the first university where the European Union Delegation to Thailand came to organize the 2023 Erasmus+ Roadshow in Thailand, a series of events which the EU Delegation to Thailand visited higher education institutions across different provinces of Thailand, specifically in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Songkhla, to provide information about the Erasmus+/EU programmes, scholarship and fellowship for students, faculty members and university staff.  On October 3, 2023, at the main campus of Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Associate Professor Chamaipak Maiklad, Ph.D., Assistant to the President for International Affairs, together with Associate Professor Buncha Chinnasri, Ph.D., Assistant to the President for Quality Development and Deputy Director of Kasetsart University International College (KUIC), Assistant Professor Nadhawee Bunnag, Ph.D., Associate Dean for International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, Assistant Professor Patamaporn Sripadungtham, Ph.D., Associate Dean for International Affairs, Faculty of Engineering, Associate Professor Anchasa Pramuanjaroenkij, Ph.D., Academic Affairs, Kasetsart University International College, made a small talk with the EU Delegation to Thailand, comprising Ms. Laure Brachet, Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the European Union to Thailand, Mr. Gabriel Dayre, Attaché – Programme Officer (Cooperation), Ms. Khobkhul Inieam, Programme Officer, Ms. Chaidarun Tippawan, Senior Expert in Higher Education and Chairperson of the Erasmus+ Network in Thailand, and the representative of the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), an executive agency of the European Commission, Mr. Emanuel Gerth, Project Officer.  After that, the welcome session of the Erasmus+ Roadshow began with remarks by Ms. Laure Brachet, Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the European Union to Thailand and Associate Professor Chamaipak Maiklad, Ph.D., Assistant to the President for International Affairs.  Ms. Laure Brachet also gave a Special Talk on “EU-Thailand Relations and Collaboration”, to educate the audience about the EU Delegation and its works in Thailand in a fun and interactive way.  At the end of the morning session, it was the presentation and workshop on “EU scholarship and fellowship opportunities” for university students and staff, e.g. Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters, Erasmus+ Mobility for students and staff and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Fellowships for Postdoctoral and Research.  Besides, two university members of Kasetsart University who were Erasmus+ alumni in Thailand shared some of their experiences while studying in Europe.  The afternoon session was the workshop on “Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE): How to get involved and best practices on EU/Erasmus+ projects” for university administrators, faculty members, researchers and staff.  During this afternoon workshop, Associate Professor Buncha Chinnasri, Ph.D., Assistant to the President for Quality Development and Deputy Director of KUIC, and Professor Theeraphap Chareonviriyaphap, Ph.D., Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, were invited to talked about their current CBHE projects recently co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, which Kasetsart University was the coordinator of the PMC FSCC – Postgraduate Micro-Credentials for Food Security and Climate Change project, and a Thai partner university of the THE-GLOW project.