King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) is one of nine national research universities in Thailand. The Taiwan–KMUTT Internship Program Alliance was set up two years ago to bring together Thai and Taiwanese university level students through internships in each other’s country.

The internship program has two objectives. One is to promote cultural exchanges between Thai and Taiwanese students so that they will get to know each other’s country better. And more importantly, it’s been found that university students who have experienced work-integrated learning or internships before they graduate tend to learn better and faster.

This alliance started with four Taiwanese universities sending students to do an internship in Thailand – National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Cheng Shiu University, and National United University – and the number has since increased.

Last year, KMUTT sent students to two universities in Taiwan under the Taiwan–KMUTT Internship Program: National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, and National Taipei University of Technology. And this year, 20 KMUTT students went to these, and also to Tamkang University, National Changhua University of Education, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

Ten of the 20 students are master’s degree students currently in Taiwan, where they will spend six months doing a thesis project between June and December. The other ten are undergraduate students who did a 2-month internship in Taiwan during June and July.

The students are in the fields of chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, food engineering, robotics, and biotechnology, with the highest percentage in chemical engineering.

Special thanks should go to Taiwan’s Ministry of Education for providing funding for the Taiwanese students doing internships in Thailand and some funding for KMUTT students to do internships in Taiwan. And the Taiwan–KMUTT Internship Program would not be possible without the contributions of KMUTT’s Sensor Technology Lab, and Big Data Exchange Center, and its industrial partners: SCG Chemicals, BDI, Betagro, and Delta Electronics.

Photo:Dignitaries from Taiwan and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (seated), and students from universities in Taiwan participating in this summer’s Taiwan–KMUTT Internship Program, at a welcome ceremony at the host university  .