COOPERATION WITH THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY GETS BOOST

Five years after signing a double degree agreement in Bangkok, Thailand, the Faculty of Engineering Technology of KU Leuven, and the Faculty of Engineering of Thammasat University are driving the cooperation further. On 4 May 2023, Prof Thira Jearsiripongkul and Prof Bert Lauwers signed a new agreement in Leuven.

Thammasat University (TU) is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in Thailand. Since its founding in 1934, TU has evolved from an open university for law and politics to an international comprehensive university offering 240 academic programmes in 33 colleges at 4 campuses. Today, TU has more than 33,000 students in the bachelor's, master’s, and PhD programmes and 2,700 faculty members and supporting staff.

2+2 Double Degree

In 2009, the first exchange students from the Thammasat English Engineering Programme (TEP) arrived at the then Group T University College. TEP was a sandwich programme: two years in Thammasat and two years in a foreign university. This formula resulted in a 2+2 Bachelor’s Degree Programme where Thai students, after two years at their home university, study for two more years in Leuven to get a double degree. Afterwards, they can choose between returning to Thailand to continue their studies or staying in Leuven for another year to pursue a master's programme. Whereas the original 2+2 Double Degree only applied to the bachelors of Electronics & ICT Engineering Technology, from the next academic year the formula will be extended to the specialisations Electromechanical Engineering Technology and Chemical Engineering Technology.

Quality label

The renewed agreement also opens the door for further cooperation in research and services, whether or not together with local and international companies. According to Prof Bert Lauwers, the Double Degree should develop into a quality label for students, professors, and researchers as well as entrepreneurs. Given previous contacts, TU students coming to Leuven will quickly feel at home on a campus where already 30% of the population is following an international engineering course.

Professor Thira Jearsiripongkul, Professor Bert Lauwers & Professor Nopadol Uchaipichat

© Julie Feyaerts

For the Faculty of Engineering Technology, TU is an excellent base to build closer ties with Southeast Asia.

The region is changing rapidly and already has more than half the world's population. The EU is the second-largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which in turn is the EU's third-largest trading partner outside Europe. In 2021, the EU and ASEAN agreed to strengthen cooperation. With the renewal and expansion of the Double Degree Agreement, the Faculty anticipates future developments.

Yves Persoons