Agreement with CERN a boon to Thai education

[webfact]

Agreement with CERN a boon to Thai education

By The Nation

 

 

The Swiss research organisation offers our students a chance to learn from the best – let’s make the best of it

 

In what was hailed as a highly positive move for scientific progress in Thailand, the Prayut government has signed an expanded cooperation agreement with CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

 

The contract, it is hoped, will help elevate Thai proficiency in research, development and innovation and potentially lead their counterparts in neighbouring countries in key scientific fields.

 

The agreement, according to our embassy in Washington, will see Thai scientists working at CERN facilities in Switzerland. That alone will be a big boost for the Kingdom.

 

CERN is the premier global facility for conducting advanced studies into particle physics, with key research aimed at discovering the basic constituents of matter and the fundamental structure of the universe. Based in Geneva, CERN is a joint venture among 22 European nations that have pooled human and financial resources to build the world’s most powerful particle accelerator and collider. The organisation has become so well known that some of its activities have featured in blockbuster movies and novels.

 

With political news in Thailand dominating local and foreign media on a daily basis and the ideological divide leading to many other items of news categorised as politically positive or negative, it is little surprise that the mainstream outlets have downplayed or overlooked the CERN deal. The agreement is a good one regardless of it being sealed by a divisive government.  

 

CERN’s director for international relations said the agency welcomed the government-level agreement, which comes on the heels of contracts signed with Thai universities and scientific institutes. The latest development means that relations between Thailand and CERN will continue to improve, and that can only benefit our scientific progress.

 

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who presided at the signing of the agreement at the Ministry of Science and Technology in Bangkok, initiated cooperation with CERN in 2000. She visited its facilities five times, helping foster six contracts between CERN and Thai universities and science institutes.

 

The latest agreement will see more Thai experts, teachers and students taking part in or observing activities at CERN. This has the potential to sow tremendous benefits, Thailand having never been a leader in scientific research but more often an envious observer of other countries making breakthroughs. 

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged to increase the share of the national budget devoted to research and development and has been urging the private sector to contribute more as well. We hope this is not mere rhetoric and that, whether he or someone else is in power after the next election, this aspect of national development continues.

 

Building scientific knowledge might not garner the big headlines, but it warrants society’s wholehearted support and be a cornerstone of Thai education alongside languages and mathematics.

 

And science education must not be politicised, as stressed by the late American cosmologist and broadcaster Carl Sagan, who warned that politics upending scientific rigour could result in “things blowing up in our faces”. Thailand’s agreement with CERN will bring great advances, but also pose challenges in some ways. Any failure could be very costly.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30359277

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-11-26

[mok199]

Lost me at ''Particle Physics''..

[Darcula]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai scientists working at CERN facilities in Switzerland

 

Candidates are being shortlisted from those working at the large hardon collider that's been operating at Pattaya and Bangkok since the sixties.

 

 

 

[mikebell]

How many Thai scientists have sufficient English/German/French/Italian to work in Switzerland?  On a day when Thai Education is under the spotlight for more corruption involving ghost students, these pronouncements are just steam.

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, mikebell said:

How many Thai scientists have sufficient English/German/French/Italian to work in Switzerland?  On a day when Thai Education is under the spotlight for more corruption involving ghost students, these pronouncements are just steam.

How are your Thai language skills?

[mikebell]

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

How are your Thai language skills?

Pom put Thai dai nit noi.  Pom ben ajarn, gassian lao.

[grumbleweed]

54 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

How are your Thai language skills?

He's not aspiring, or being put forward to work with the best scientific minds in the world

[ecline]

2 hours ago, mikebell said:

How many Thai scientists have sufficient English/German/French/Italian to work in Switzerland?  On a day when Thai Education is under the spotlight for more corruption involving ghost students, these pronouncements are just steam.

Undoubtedly there will be a very limited number of positions to fill with Thai scientists. Having worked as a scientist in Thailand for the last 7 years, I can say with confidence there are more than enough qualified Thais to fill those positions.

[quandow]

Thais running nuclear power plants. Why did that just send a shiver of fear up my spine?

[Oziex1]

One would hope they have other priorities in their endeavours to improve education in Thailand. 

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

whether he or someone else is in power after the next election, this aspect of national development continues

Okay then to stop all the planned high speed rail projects before they bust the national treasury?

[connda]

As with all things regarding educating Thais - "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

[Kasane]

Great job, Thailand. Every small step in the right direction helps. But Thailand must insist on participation in research and not merely in "observing the activities" at CERN.  This institution is surely getting it's coffers filled with this deal because this is how economic hitmen work at these Western institutions of "higher learning". 

[DrTuner]

Big boost for the Kingdom? How many Thais are there not as janitors or massage ladies, one or two?

[DrTuner]

7 hours ago, quandow said:

Thais running nuclear power plants. Why did that just send a shiver of fear up my spine?

Whaat? Somchai with a pickup truck will be there shortly to pick up the used fuel sticks, no worries, maibpenrai.

[Scottjouro]

12 hours ago, mikebell said:

How many Thai scientists have sufficient English/German/French/Italian to work in Switzerland?  On a day when Thai Education is under the spotlight for more corruption involving ghost students, these pronouncements are just steam.

How many all knowing farangs on here who speak English even know what or where CERN is without using google ? 

[janclaes47]

13 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

13 hours ago, mikebell said:

How many Thai scientists have sufficient English/German/French/Italian to work in Switzerland?  On a day when Thai Education is under the spotlight for more corruption involving ghost students, these pronouncements are just steam.

How are your Thai language skills?

Good question and, going by the first sentence of his post, there was obviously no need to ask about his English language skills.

 

12 hours ago, mikebell said:

Pom put Thai dai nit noi.  Pom ben ajarn, gassian lao.

Let pray that you aren't teaching English

[melvinmelvin]

40 minutes ago, Scottjouro said:

How many all knowing farangs on here who speak English even know what or where CERN is without using google ? 

I do

 

 

[lemonjelly]

Concentrate on training thai sparkies properly before thinking about particle physics.

[Scottjouro]

10 hours ago, quandow said:

Thais running nuclear power plants. Why did that just send a shiver of fear up my spine?

Cos you need toilet...?

 

You do know Thailand had been running a nuclear facility /reactor - TRR-1/M1 since...1962 dont you ?

 

Quick the sky is falling, you need to pack your bags, leave Thailand quickly, Thais have their finger on the button...

 

 

[melvinmelvin]

28 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

Concentrate on training thai sparkies properly before thinking about particle physics.

 

no sweat

at CERN the electrics are done by professionals

 

trust me, been there several times

[lemonjelly]

1 minute ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

no sweat

at CERN the electrics are done by professionals

 

trust me, been there several times

I wasn’t referring to the sparkies at CERN, rather the chimps with tools here in Thailand, for example; the tree swingers that chased a cable into the wall and mounted a socket 20cm directly above a kitchen sink tap in the house my gf’s younger sister just bought.... you couldn’t make this stuff up !!

[melvinmelvin]

3 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

I wasn’t referring to the sparkies at CERN, rather the chimps with tools here in Thailand, for example; the tree swingers that chased a cable into the wall and mounted a socket 20cm directly above a kitchen sink tap in the house my gf’s younger sister just bought.... you couldn’t make this stuff up !!

 

actually,

it was supposed to be a joke

 

[lemonjelly]

8 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

 

actually,

it was supposed to be a joke

 

The mother in-law always comes to our place for Christmas, but we’re doing it differently this year, i’ve promised to let her in this time. 

 

That’s a joke. ????

[quandow]

3 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

You do know Thailand had been running a nuclear facility /reactor - TRR-1/M1 since...1962 dont you ?

Quick the sky is falling, you need to pack your bags, leave Thailand quickly, Thais have their finger on the button...

Snarky response. Also incorrect, there are PLANS to build a nuclear facility, but none running at this present time. Are you actually DT trolling TV?

[HalfLight]

Great, studying with high energy particle physicists my sweet bippy, and they have to pull out a calculator to add up their lunch bill. Just great. Embarrassing but great.

 

I doubt the next great CERN achievement will come from a Thai.

 

How about a cure for AIDS instead? Oh, already done that. Ebola? Lassa Fever? Dengue? Is there nothing Somchai cannot do?

 

Legend in their own minds.

 

 

[mikebell]

11 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

Good question and, going by the first sentence of his post, there was obviously no need to ask about his English language skills.

 

Let pray that you aren't teaching English

Puzzled by what you find wrong with my first sentence.

I taught English for 38 years up to and including Oxbridge entrance level.  I was Head of English in a 1500+ Northern Comprehensive School where my department's results were significantly higher than the national average.  I would love to contribute to Thai schools.

[ballpoint]

8 hours ago, quandow said:

Snarky response. Also incorrect, there are PLANS to build a nuclear facility, but none running at this present time. Are you actually DT trolling TV?

Maybe you should do some research of your own before jumping in.  The Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology has been running a research reactor in Bangkok since 1962, and another (the Onghharak Nuclear Research Centre) is currently under construction in Nakhon Nayok.  For many years the TINT one was the only one in this part of the world, with much of the medical and oil field radiation monitoring equipment in the region sent there for their mandatory periodical calibrations.  The UN trust it.  The IAEA trust it.  The people operating the equipment calibrated there (including myself back in the day) trust it, but a bunch of Thai bashers on an internet forum know better.

[ecline]

The agreement with CERN will likely go further to increase the quality of Thai scientists than many of the governmental efforts to "reform" education here. The agreement is nothing but positive and the negativity and disparaging comments directed at Thai people in this forum is frankly repugnant. To all the folks that automatically slagged off the Thais upon reading the OP, I have a simple question: What do you know about science in general and the quality of Thai scientists in particular?

 

I would guess that answer to that in most cases is "jack sh*t". I am a scientist, a data scientist to be precise. I work in the life sciences here doing analysis and research in the molecular genetics of vegetable crops. My work routinely brings me in contact with Thai scientists in academia and industry. My work sits at the intersection of biology, mathematics and computer science and so I have had the privilege to interact with scientists here from many different disciplines. My PhD thesis supervisor is Thai, an astrophysicist and well respected here and abroad. There many talented and dedicated Thais here and most people on this forum would be very surprised to learn that many Thai universities are held in high regard by academics at prestigious schools in Europe and America. This is not apparent by looking at global rankings, but it is a fact.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

Maybe you should do some research of your own before jumping in.  The Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology has been running a research reactor in Bangkok since 1962, and another (the Onghharak Nuclear Research Centre) is currently under construction in Nakhon Nayok.  For many years the TINT one was the only one in this part of the world, with much of the medical and oil field radiation monitoring equipment in the region sent there for their mandatory periodical calibrations.  The UN trust it.  The IAEA trust it.  The people operating the equipment calibrated there (including myself back in the day) trust it, but a bunch of Thai bashers on an internet forum know better.

Probably some think of a nuclear facility only on the lines of producing electric power for the grid.