January 27, 2022, 15:00 p.m. at Sarasin Room, 2nd Floor, Sirikunakorn Building, Office of the President of Khon Kaen University – Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D., the President, chaired the 1st/2022 Strategic Committee Meeting. Vice Presidents, Assistants to the Presidents, Director of the Office of the President as the Meeting Secretary attended the meeting onsite, whereas VDO Conference system was available for the other members.
Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D., President of Khon Kaen University related that the meeting discussed a number of issues. The first was the following-up of the KKU Transformation Strategy. There was a progress report on Human Resource Transformation, in which the regulations for administration of personnel have been amended in order to accommodate multiple employments, one tactic under the HR Transformation. Another tactic is the progress of academic and supporting staff. The normal growth of academic staff is now added with 5 more lines to be in accordance with the announcement of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. In fact, Khon Kaen University did carry out plans prior to the Ministerial announcement. The position of clinical professor has been added in the health science discipline. However, clinical professorship will only continue from assistant and associate professorships. For the supporting staff, the positions already existing are the professional and senior professional positions. These are to be adjusted in accordance with what has been recommended by the Hay Group Consultancy.
The second agendum was on Educational Transformation. The University has prepared the University Regulations on undergraduate studies for the University Council meeting. The regulations will effectively enable educational transformation from the teaching paradigm to the learning paradigm.
The meeting also discussed the Flagship Projects that the University has been assigned by the University Council to complete within the 3 remaining years of the office of this administrative team. There are 4 Flagship Projects: 1. Medical Hub, 2. KKU ERP Project, 3. KKU Park and Campus Village, and 4. Spin-off Company. The construction of the Excellence Medical Center is in progress. Some part was delayed due to the problem of laborers and the Covid situation. The KKU ERP Project is under the stage where TOR is being adjusted together with the assessed cost. It is expected that the issue can be filed for the University Council meeting in March this year. The third Flagship on KKU Park and Campus Village is being under site preparation and needs survey from the personnel. The last Flagship of Spin-off Company has been reported on its progress of plantations of hemp and cannabis as well as the extract work on the crops. The commercial battery manufacturing is now on its way at the prototype factory with the capacity of 2-10 megawatts per year. The University has contacted the private sector for co-investment in factory expansion. There is also a plan to establish a co-investment company with the private sector in the form of a Holding Company for the KKU Start-up.
The third agendum was on the following-up of the University’s progress on becoming a ‘Global Frontier and Research University’. The Vice President for Research and Graduate Study, the Vice President for Education and Academic Service, and the Vice President for International Affairs reported on the works each section has completed on ‘Global Frontier and Research University’ strategy. For example, it is found that Q1 research studies have increased a lot in number. Research collaboration at an international level has also expanded, which can be seen in a number of projects. The University has also conducted an analysis on the factors behind good rankings of certain institutions and the results have been taken into account in the improvement plans. Overall, Khon Kaen University has been operating under the plans with the goal and target that signal promising in becoming a Global Frontier and Research University.
News: Communications Division
