Prince of Songkla University
Prince of Songkla University (PSU) was established under the Southern Development Plan policy with the intention to become the leading university in the southern region of Thailand, in terms of delivering graduate students, academic research and academic services whilst appreciating and maintaining arts and culture. The university’s management aims to develop and deliver graduate students that empower the country and also hold on to Thailand’s educational guidelines, which focus on graduates equipped for the real world.
Prince of Songkla University (PSU) was established in 1967 as the first university in southern Thailand. On September 22, 1967, His Majesty the King graciously granted the University the name “Prince of Songkla University” in honour of his beloved father, His Royal Highness Somdej Chao Fa Mahidol Adulyadej Kromma Luang Songkla Nakarin. In commemoration of this auspicious occasion, the university has since proclaimed September, 22 of every year as “Songkla Nakarin Day”, one of the important dates in the calendar of yearly events of the university.
The original aims of the university were to raise the general education standards and support regional industry and development. Today, PSU is a leading public university, committed to academic excellence, reputable research and innovation. It is one of the nine national research universities and among the top 10 comprehensive universities in Thailand by Quacquarelli Symonds’ ranking. The university is proud of its distinguished record of achievements in teaching, research, development, and services to community. It has significantly contributed to the development of the country and consistently turned out well-qualified graduates of high-professional standing.
PSU’s educational philosophy is based on Progressivism, with the aim to develop students in all aspects and prepare them to thrive in their respective societies. This includes assisting them in adapting to unpredictable circumstances by using learning process methods and treating students as the centre of attention. Various learner needs, such as problem solving, self-researching processes and taking action inside and outside of the classroom, are considered fundamental to PSU’s “sustainable learning” approach. This led to the formulation of the idea that “change brings improvement” – a type of learning where students are able to apply these methods both at the university and in real-life environments. PSU aims to provide their students with a lifelong learning approach.
The above-mentioned rationale forms the basis of outcome-based education, developing curricula and the various learning processes listed as follows. Active Learning means learning from a variety of activities and actions. Problem-based Learning describes learning based on problems-solving, e.g. through case studies. Project-based Learning refers to learning based on projects such as assignments and assessments. Service Learning means learning by serving the community. Prince of Songkla University aims to apply these principles successfully, as guided by the motto of the “Prince of Songkla”, His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol Adulyadej: “Our Soul is for the Benefit of Mankind”.
The vision of Prince of Songkla University (PSU) is to become an educational institution focusing on innovation and society with academic excellence, aiming to become one of the top five universities in ASEAN region by the year of 2027.
The university Missions are as follows:
To build academic leadership and innovation through research for developing the country in general and the southern region of Thailand in particular, creating a linkage to the society and global network.
To produce globally-recognized graduates with academic and professional competence, honesty, discipline, public service mindset and practical skills for the 21st century, based on experience gained from practice.
To develop the university into a society of learning based on a multi-cultural background and sufficiency economy principles, and allow the general public easy and convenient access to learning and gain from whatever forms and sources of knowledge are available at the university.
A brief history of the University and the biography of the University namesake, His Royal Highness the King’s father may be found through the links shown below.
Several outstanding programs, researchers, rankings, and achievements have made PSU well-known and admired as a leading educational institution, not only in Thailand, but across the ASEAN Region. A positive reputation, combined with the contributions of our high-quality researchers and academics, results in the academic excellence of PSU in many disciplines attracting students from all over the world. Therefore, among about 200 universities in Thailand, PSU is placed as the following indicators show:
- We are ranked 4th in Thailand by Times Higher Education World University Rankings
- We are ranked 5th in Thailand by US NEWS and WORLD REPORT.
- We are ranked top ten in Thailand and 156th in Asia by QS Ranking.
- Nationally, PSU is ranked: 3rd for Agriculture and Forestry; 4th for Life Sciences and Medicine, and the 5th for Chemistry.
- Worldwide, PSU is ranked in the top 151-200 in Agriculture (QS), and in top 401-500 in Medicine (QS).
- 7th in Thailand for Research and Innovation by SCIMAGO;
- At present, 67% of lecturers hold doctorate degrees.
- PSU is ranked 4th in Thailand for research publications in international journals, which reflects our capability to share our knowledge with humankind.
- Webometrics ranks PSU 6th in Thailand and 19th in Southeast Asia.
- We scored 4.65 out of 5 from the national quality assessment administered by the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment of Thailand - the highest among Thai State universities.
- One of our two Confucius Institutes was given the award of Confucius Institute of the Year 2009 by Hanban (the Office of Chinese Language Council International) for its achievements and contributions to promote the Chinese language and culture and for its outstanding Chinese teaching activities. It was also given the award of the 2008 Overseas Chinese Test Center of the Year, for its effective management and increasing number of applicants for HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, or the Chinese Proficiency Test)
PSU STEM Teaching and Learning Centre
PSU STEM centre is named after His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, its official inauguration will be held in February 2021. The grand opening event will start with an opening speech, followed by visiting and exhibition, exploring the history of STEM, visiting the STEM room, and a question-answer session. The following honorable guests to be invited to the opening ceremony of the STEM Center: Professors and students of Prince of Songkla University and nearby universities; secondary school teachers and students in southern Thailand; industrial partners; representatives from the media sector (Newspaper and television).
The STEM centre management team (a leader/head, team members, their E-contacts):
Associate Professor Dr.Chutamas Satasook ( )
Assistant Professor Dr.Ophat Kaosaiyaporn ( )
Associate Professor Dr.Sirilak Bangchokdee ( )
Assistant Professor Dr.Tanate Panrat ( )
Associate Professor Dr.Wandee Suttharangsee ()
Assistant Professor Dr.Jareerat Ruamcharoen ( )
PSU STEM centre is an office established as a subunit under the Education and Innovative Learning Academy (EILA).
STEM Centre Structure:
PSU has realized the drastic changes of technologies and the need to prepare students for life-long learning having competencies and skills required in 21st century to serve a fast-growing industries. STEM knowledge, STEM skills, and STEM abilities are required to improve professional development and work values. It is a necessity for faculty members and educators to understand and to be trained in STEM education in order to prepare scientifically and technologically literate students to become STEM workers. The establishment of STEM Centre is to provide STEM education training program for higher education educators, not only for PSU faculty members but also for higher education educators and school teachers.
PSU STEM Center’s goal is to develop regional STEM network partners and focus on the inclusion of various types of institutions involved in ensuring the long-term effectiveness. The STEM missions will require the commitment of the target groups including higher education faculty members, industrial partners, Government partners, parents and University leaders. Thus, STEM centre is seen as the lifelong learning education centre.
The PSU STEM centre aims to train, coordinate STEM education and activities and research in STEM education through inter-disciplinary/trans-disciplinary/community-services content based activities for PSU and partners. The focus of the centre is to inspire continuing professional development of in-service school teachers for gaining the knowledge how to integrate STEM techniques into the classroom activities.
More information can be found at http://eila.psu.ac.th/stemcenter http://www.en.psu.ac.th/erasmus