Academic Strengthening Through
a Multi-disciplinary Ph.D. in Sustainable
Development
Wasan Kanchanamukda and Lindsay Falvey
Abstract Sustainable development is being integrated into higher education through
diverse mechanisms. This paper describes a process that combines both the introduction of sustainable development and its use for a change process in an evolving
environment. Thaksin University, located in the south of Thailand near the Malaysian
border, is continuing its academic development through an international standard
research-based Ph.D. program that spans all disciplines in the university. Beginning
with the objective of strengthening the academy in an environment where Ph.D. programs are usually coursework-based and conducted in the Thai language, a strategic
plan was developed to include engaging staff of international universities to assist in
supervision and examination of research theses prepared in English. Research topics
include sustainability within the subject and discipline being researched and so assist
discussion within the wider university through candidate seminars and publications.
Through this process, the university seeks to further embed sustainability principles
in its other courses while further strengthening its regional image. In combination
with other field-based activities, the approach has borne fruit in the form of commendations from national reviews and in university rankings. The paper describes the
process of establishment of the university-wide Ph.D. in Sustainable Development
in a manner that may be of value to other institutions with autonomous governance.
Keywords Education · Sustainable development · Doctoral · Thailand · ASEAN
1 Introduction
Universities have a prime responsibility to orient their knowledge and its imparting
to sustainability. In doing so, the objective nature of university research and teaching
requires that approaches to sustainability be realistic, cutting through some of the
W. Kanchanamukda · L. Falvey (B)
Thaksin University International College, Thaksin University, Songkhla, Thailand
e-mail: johnlf@unimelb.edu.au; john.falvey@unimelb.edu.au; phd@thaksinuni.org
W. Kanchanamukda
e-mail: granjanamukda@hotmail.com; phd@thaksinuni.org
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_30
487
a Multi-disciplinary Ph.D. in Sustainable
Development
Wasan Kanchanamukda and Lindsay Falvey
Abstract Sustainable development is being integrated into higher education through
diverse mechanisms. This paper describes a process that combines both the introduction of sustainable development and its use for a change process in an evolving
environment. Thaksin University, located in the south of Thailand near the Malaysian
border, is continuing its academic development through an international standard
research-based Ph.D. program that spans all disciplines in the university. Beginning
with the objective of strengthening the academy in an environment where Ph.D. programs are usually coursework-based and conducted in the Thai language, a strategic
plan was developed to include engaging staff of international universities to assist in
supervision and examination of research theses prepared in English. Research topics
include sustainability within the subject and discipline being researched and so assist
discussion within the wider university through candidate seminars and publications.
Through this process, the university seeks to further embed sustainability principles
in its other courses while further strengthening its regional image. In combination
with other field-based activities, the approach has borne fruit in the form of commendations from national reviews and in university rankings. The paper describes the
process of establishment of the university-wide Ph.D. in Sustainable Development
in a manner that may be of value to other institutions with autonomous governance.
Keywords Education · Sustainable development · Doctoral · Thailand · ASEAN
1 Introduction
Universities have a prime responsibility to orient their knowledge and its imparting
to sustainability. In doing so, the objective nature of university research and teaching
requires that approaches to sustainability be realistic, cutting through some of the
W. Kanchanamukda · L. Falvey (B)
Thaksin University International College, Thaksin University, Songkhla, Thailand
e-mail: johnlf@unimelb.edu.au; john.falvey@unimelb.edu.au; phd@thaksinuni.org
W. Kanchanamukda
e-mail: granjanamukda@hotmail.com; phd@thaksinuni.org
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_30
487