Academic Strengthening Through a Multi-disciplinary …
489
courses offering an integrated approach might meet the criteria of sustainability and
sustainable development. However, in terms of university impact, such courses are
ipso facto marginalized if the bulk of an institution’s offerings remain un-integrated.
This seems to have been the fate of some environmental science and environmental
studies courses, although it has been argued that such courses can be an initial means
of raising awareness in an institution in a step-wise process to spread the concept of
sustainability across all courses (Liu 2011). An alternative to beginning with undergraduate courses is to start a new graduate program that spans all disciplines, as
commenced at Thaksin University in 2010.
3 Thaksin University Ph.D. Program
Thaksin University is a Royal Thai Government public university, and one of the few
granted a measure of autonomy. Located in Songkhla and Phattalung provinces in the
south of Thailand, Thaksin University spans major disciplines with a rising cadre of
internationally qualified faculty. It also maintains the Southern Thai Studies Centre
and Museum complex on Ko Yo island in the extensive Songkhla Lakes System as
a research and study facility, and various other research and development sites.
Transitioning from a fully government-controlled university to what is termed
autonomous in the Thai system, Thaksin University determined to judiciously use
its resources in a manner different from when it was more constrained by government (Kanchanamukda 2014). One of these different approaches was a programmatic
approach to spread the concept of sustainability and sustainable development across
the university’s offerings by creating a new doctoral program. This differs from the
popular norm in Thailand (Hallinger 2011); first because the Ph.D. program was to
be research-based, and second because it was to be truly international by involving academics from leading foreign universities. Most doctorates in Thailand are
coursework-based and in some cases, despite some being labelled ‘international’,
they can quickly become dominated by Thai language when it is a mode of communication between Thai students.
The vision of the program was simply to create a learning organization that conducts research training relevant to the ASEAN region at an international level, and
in so doing provide a means of lifting other academic programs of the university.
Making it applicable to all departments in the university required a unifying theme—hence the program’s focus on sustainable development. The geographical focus
of the ASEAN region and beyond reflects the central location of Thaksin University
in what was part of ancient Sri Wijaya trading kingdom and consequent historic links
to modern neighbouring nations (Hall 1992), as indicated in Fig. 1.
In continuing its academic development through an international-standard
research-based Ph.D. program that spans all disciplines, the university engages international universities’ staff to assist in supervision and examination of research theses
prepared in the English language. Research topics include sustainability within the
subject and discipline being researched, which assists discussion within the wider
489
courses offering an integrated approach might meet the criteria of sustainability and
sustainable development. However, in terms of university impact, such courses are
ipso facto marginalized if the bulk of an institution’s offerings remain un-integrated.
This seems to have been the fate of some environmental science and environmental
studies courses, although it has been argued that such courses can be an initial means
of raising awareness in an institution in a step-wise process to spread the concept of
sustainability across all courses (Liu 2011). An alternative to beginning with undergraduate courses is to start a new graduate program that spans all disciplines, as
commenced at Thaksin University in 2010.
3 Thaksin University Ph.D. Program
Thaksin University is a Royal Thai Government public university, and one of the few
granted a measure of autonomy. Located in Songkhla and Phattalung provinces in the
south of Thailand, Thaksin University spans major disciplines with a rising cadre of
internationally qualified faculty. It also maintains the Southern Thai Studies Centre
and Museum complex on Ko Yo island in the extensive Songkhla Lakes System as
a research and study facility, and various other research and development sites.
Transitioning from a fully government-controlled university to what is termed
autonomous in the Thai system, Thaksin University determined to judiciously use
its resources in a manner different from when it was more constrained by government (Kanchanamukda 2014). One of these different approaches was a programmatic
approach to spread the concept of sustainability and sustainable development across
the university’s offerings by creating a new doctoral program. This differs from the
popular norm in Thailand (Hallinger 2011); first because the Ph.D. program was to
be research-based, and second because it was to be truly international by involving academics from leading foreign universities. Most doctorates in Thailand are
coursework-based and in some cases, despite some being labelled ‘international’,
they can quickly become dominated by Thai language when it is a mode of communication between Thai students.
The vision of the program was simply to create a learning organization that conducts research training relevant to the ASEAN region at an international level, and
in so doing provide a means of lifting other academic programs of the university.
Making it applicable to all departments in the university required a unifying theme—hence the program’s focus on sustainable development. The geographical focus
of the ASEAN region and beyond reflects the central location of Thaksin University
in what was part of ancient Sri Wijaya trading kingdom and consequent historic links
to modern neighbouring nations (Hall 1992), as indicated in Fig. 1.
In continuing its academic development through an international-standard
research-based Ph.D. program that spans all disciplines, the university engages international universities’ staff to assist in supervision and examination of research theses
prepared in the English language. Research topics include sustainability within the
subject and discipline being researched, which assists discussion within the wider