Government delegation visit to Leicester shapes University's Thailand partnership

The University of Leicester’s growing relationship with Thailand took another key step forward when it received a government delegation from the Southeast Asian country.

The team from Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) came to campus to learn how Leicester and fellow UK universities approach internationalisation.

The talks will inform the Thai government’s efforts to develop policies to make its universities more competitive in the global marketplace – including through partnerships with the UK and the University of Leicester.

The government delegation included senior representatives from three Thai universities: Chulalongkorn, Mahidol and North-Chiang Mai.

The Thai team met with Leicester’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, and Professor Henrietta O’Connor, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, along with colleagues with responsibility for global partnerships and some key academic leaders. The delegation also met with members of the Thai Student Society.

The visit was the latest in a number of Leicester-Thailand link ups over the past year, including a series of partnership agreements that pave the way for Thai students to study in Leicester, open the door to research collaborations and promote bilateral knowledge exchange.

In the summer, the University also announced collaborations with its partners King Power and Leicester City Football Club – which will include a ‘Leicester City Football Club Scholarship’ for students in Leicester that have faced educational disadvantages and hardship.

Professor Canagarajah said: “Key to our international strategy is developing mutually beneficial partnerships that impact not only upon the universities but benefit communities.

“Leicester has spearheaded such partnerships in India and our collaborations with Thailand are already raising aspirations for prospective students who visited Leicester on their government’s One District One District scholarship scheme.

“Through our links with King Power and Leicester City Football Club, we are also ensuring that we harness the power of higher education to support child health, education and professional development as well as creating new scholarships to help disadvantaged students in Leicester and Thailand.”