MSU HOSTS 2ND IQS MASTERCLASS AND INTERNATIONALISATION SEMINAR

On March 2 Mahasarakham University hosted the 2^nd iQS International Seminar and QS Masterclass on Internationalisation of Higher Education (iQS2) at the prestigious J.W. Marriott Hotel in Bangkok. The first iQS Masterclass was held on campus in Mahasarakham just over seven months ago with mostly Thai universities represented. The interest and

positive feedback generated within Thailand prompted the expansion of iQS2 to a more international stage with MSU, in partnership with QS (Asia), inviting universities outside Thailand to co-host the event.

Guangxi University for Nationalities (GXUN, China), University of the Free State (UFS, South Africa), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and University of the Philippines (UP, Diliman Campus) joined iQS2 as co-hosts sending executive representatives as well as providing keynote speakers of international renown.

MSU President Dr. Supachai Samappito gave the welcoming address affirming the theme of the seminar to establish cooperative relationships between Thai and international universities in obtaining and maintaining Masterclass status as well as to provide a platform to share knowledge and ideas in the promotion of their individual institutions.

Former Minister of Science and Technology in Thailand, Professor Dr. Yongyuth Yuthavong, headed a strong list of keynote speakers who provided a wealth of material for the two hundred participants at the seminar. Dr. Yongyuth spoke entertainingly, giving a knowledgeable overview of Asian governmental and NGO’s concerned with higher education as well as how smaller universities can work to their relevant strengths in the international education arena.

Mandy Mok, Managing Director of QS Asia, provided an oversight of the many services provided by the QS Corporation. Quacquarelli Symonds Pty. Ltd. is arguably the world leader in independently providing integrated tools and solutions for universities to fulfil their potential internationally.

Dr Kevin Downing of the City University of Hong Kong provided innovative and valuable information on challenges faced by Asian universities, while Dr. Mohmd Ismail Abd Aziz gave an insightful and thorough presentation on his as yet unpublished work on aspects of cross cultural student exchange management from actual experience at the University of Teknologi Malaysia.

Professor Wu Jinzhoo, Vice President of Guangxi University of Nationalities, China, provide a perspective of the system of minority universities in China, their relationship with the Chinese government as well as important information relevant to Chinese trade and education towards ASEAN 2015.

The inclusion of South African co-host University of the Free State speaker Dr. Drieke Hay further broadened the scope of the forum with information on international curriculum design imperatives while Dr. Maria Milagros Laurel of University of the Philippines spoke on changes and the need for adaptation occurring in higher educational institutions within the Philippines.

The intensive one day seminar was completed with an hour and a half long open forum chaired by MC Dr. Intisarn Chaiyasuk. All keynote speakers kindly made themselves available for questions and comments.

Participants partook of a sumptuous buffet dinner in the evening and next day visited the famous reclining Buddha at Wat Pho before spending time shopping at Chatuchak weekend markets.

Click here for more pictures

Click here for video (in Thai)

MSU CONTINUES IMPROVEMENT IN LATEST WEBOMETRICS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS

Mahasarakham University continues to improve in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities with the latest half yearly rankings released in January.

Webometric rankings are designed as an indicator of the quantity and quality of electronic publications of the institution. They are published twice yearly and rank over twenty thousand higher education institutions worldwide.

 MSU broke the thousand barrier in world rankings jumping over three hundred and seventy places between July 2011 and January 2012.

Table of Webometric World University Rankings  Mahasarakham University 2009 - 2012
Month/Year	World Ranking	South East Asia	Thailand
January 2009	1393	31	18
July 2009	1443	35	20
January 2010	1470	38	20
July 2010	1618	43	18
January 2011	1254	44	17
July 2011	1101	26	13
January 2012	727	21	10

MSU continues to improve in all areas, currently rated by Webometrics as twenty-first in South East Asia and tenth in Thailand.

As MSU continues towards its goal of becoming an internationally recognised world class tertiary institution it can be expected these numbers will continue to improve.

Click here for Webometrics World University Rankings (South East Asia)

QS MASTER CLASS SEMINAR HOSTED AT MSU

On June 16 Mahasarkham University delegates from all over Thailand participated in a QS World University Rankings (QS WUR) Master Class seminar. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings is reputed as one of, if not the, world’s most reliable guides to university performance.

The seminar was held at the MSU Faculty of Infomatics with Mandy Mok, Managing Director of QS Asia, giving a presentation on strategies for universities to achieve world class status in the early morning session. Ms. Mok’s informative presentation explained the workings of the QS organisation and what benefits can be gained by tertiary institutions joining and making use of QS networking capabilities.

Senior QS consultant, Dario Consoli, also spoke in the morning session providing a thorough explanation on varying criteria used in the creation of the major university world rankings. Mr Consoli also included advice on how some universities successfully create marketing strategies and most importantly how a university can learn to discover and analyse its own strengths and weaknesses before creating a marketing plan to attract international students.

Mr. Consoli had a busy day, also running a four hour open Globalisation Workshop in the afternoon, providing extra information and fielding many questions on the world university rankings process. Questions were asked and answered on how Thai universities can best adapt to find their place in an increasingly mobile academic world.

Normally seminars such as this are held in major city centres. It was a pleasure for Mahasarakham University to bring this world class QS Master Class seminar to the heart of north east Thailand.