Chula Reorienting Engineering Curricula For Asean Economic Community (AEC)

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Chula reorienting engineering curricula for AEC

Wannapa Khaopa

The Nation

Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Engineering will adjust its curricula with the aim of preparing its students to tap opportunities that will come with the launch of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in the next three years.

Faculty dean Assoc Prof Boonsom Lerdhirunwong said in a recent interview with the media adjusting the curricula for all 17 Bachelor of Engineering programmes, including four international courses, would focus seriously on the outcome of the students' learning.

"We will look into what we want them to be able to do, for instance being able to design a high tower. Then, we will consider and provide what they must learn in order to have the required skills to do it well. This is the method we will follow while focusing on the learning outcome," he said.

"Our students' hard skills needed for their engineering professions will be stronger while their soft skills, which will help them work with others from different countries, will be improved, too," Boonsom said.

English would be also given priority, as it was a weakness among students. Those who are studying in Thai language programmes would have to do at least one subject per semester in English.

They would be motivated to do at least 100 hours of self-learning in English at the university language centre.

The faculty would pay the test fee for students able to obtain a score of at least 550 in the TOEFL test, he said.

Making the students more knowledgeable about the Asean region and AEC was also an important mission. An "AEC passport" would be given to students to provide them guidelines of what they have to know about the region and what activities they should join to learn about it. A crucial activity would be getting Thai students and those from neighbouring countries to join annual voluntary camps that assist people in remote areas, he said, adding that they would learn from each other during the one-two week-long camp.

Boonsom also wants faculty lecturers to join hands with those from other faculties to initiate relevant programmes, like biomedical engineering, to respond to society's need and problems. This programme could help Thailand invent medical equipment and reduce imports of such equipment.

"We have worked for eight years to adjust the curricula to make our graduates accepted within Asean when the AEC comes into effect," he said.

"Now, companies in Japan and China directly recruit our graduates to work there. Many of them have worked in Singapore. When the labour market is wider and there is more competition from other countries, we want our graduates to be skilled enough to choose where they want to work - not being chosen - so that they can earn higher incomes," Boonsom said.

About a third of 900 graduates each year pursue higher education while the rest embarked on a career, Boonsom said.

-- The Nation 2012-01-24

[sparebox2]

The faculty would pay the test fee for students able to obtain a score of at least 550 in the TOEFL test, he said. - quote

Why TOEFL? Why pay Farang more money?

I though CU is very proud of their own version of English test call Test of English Proficiency (CU-TEP)

http://www.atc.chula.ac.th/en_html/en_tep.html

Edited January 26, 2012 by sparebox2

[Rhys]

Chula actually within the English Department... HAS GOT IT RIGHT... The English Majors...and graduates are in fact, the cream along with MUIC, TU, KU, and many of the university that develop Debate programs, which feature......critical thinking, expression of ideas, and presented in English..