New initiative will see greater access to the Professional Standards Framework for academics in Thailand

Ian Hall, Head of Membership (International) at Advance HE has visited long-standing Advance HE member, Suranaraee University of Technology (SUT) in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand to discuss further collaboration and greater access to professional development for both teaching staff and those who support teaching.

SUT is Advance HE’s most longstanding member in Thailand, having worked with Advance HE for over eight years, and was the first Thai institution accredited by Advance HE for its STARS faculty development programme. 

SUT is now in the process of developing a further accredited programme – STARS Plus – while transitioning its existing accredited programme to use the 2023 revision of the Professional Standards Framework (PSF). SUT has now recognised over 200 of its staff as Advance HE Fellows across all categories, and continues to focus on supporting teaching alongside its mission to deliver scientific innovation. 

During the visit, Ian met with the Rector of SUT, Assoc. Prof. Dr Anan Tongraar, to discuss further collaboration on Fellowship. They discussed the development of SUT’s accredited programmes, and also the exciting work to translate the PSF into Thai, and a partnership to assess Fellowship applications in the Thai language in future.

Ian also ran a session for around 50 SUT staff exploring the changing global landscape of higher education and how this has influenced the development of the revised Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education (PSF), which was launched in January 2023. 

Ian Hall said, “I am delighted to be visiting SUT again after a five year gap since my previous visit. The continued commitment of SUT to high quality education is wonderful to see, and I’m delighted that we will be working together to provide further access to Fellowship for Thai speakers.

Dr Anan commented, “It is our pleasure working with Advance HE to continue our ground-breaking partnership on teaching excellence. SUT has always been at the forefront of delivering high quality education and was the first institution to embrace the PSF in Thailand. I am delighted to partner with Advance HE to deliver Fellowship in Thai in future – our work together has been a 'win-win' for both organisations and I look forward to continuing, and even upgrading,  this collaboration.”