Summer College in Thailand

The Department of Electrical Engineering organised a Summer college on the topic of "Internet Technologies for Engineers and Scientists“ for students taking Masters courses and lecturers on the Computer Science course at Burapha University in Chonburi (Thailand) from 25th May – 29th May 2009. The main mover behind the Summer college was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reinhard Langmann, who organised and performed the event together with a former Masters student at our UAS, Prajaks Jitngernmadan. The graduate now works at Burapha University as a head of department.
Burapha University, with some 30,000 students, is one of the largest state universities in Thailand. The students benefit from an expansive, modern campus in Chonburi (some 60 km from Bangkok) with all imaginable facilities. The University also operates satellite facilities distributed over the whole country.

Apart from an 8-hour lecture programme, the 20 or so participants were asked to develop a web-based, user interface for a simulated hub unit on the PC during a several-day placement. All worked in a concentrated manner from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and were thus able to successfully pass the final examination on the last day.

The organisation of the Summer college by the Department of Computer Science was excellent. After registration, the participants were given a comprehensive folder with all the English language teaching material prepared by Prof. Langmann. The state-of-the-art technical equipment in the seminar room left nothing to be desired. The Summer college also left a lasting impression on the lecturers at the Faculty of Science and other faculties. During discussions, it became clear that there is a great interest on the Thai side in German educational functions, and in pursuing the teamwork further.

The academic education sector in Thailand is currently dominated by British and American universities. Although German universities generally have a good reputation in Thailand, they are still fairly thin on the ground there. This was changed somewhat, at least at Burapha University, by the faculty's Summer college. It is not unthinkable that this will lead to other collaborations in the future. As a further step, it is planned that Prajaks Jitngermadan will start cooperative doctorate studies under Prof. Langmann from 2010.