The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023, unveiled on June 1, 2023, has listed King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) as the top-ranking institution in Thailand and fourth globally for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 – No Poverty. A total of 1,591 universities from 112 countries were evaluated based on their environmental and societal contributions that align with the United Nations’ SDGs. These rankings recognized the universities’ positive impacts at local, national, and international levels through their educational, research, operational, and public engagement activities. In 2023, King Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) ranks first in Thailand and fourth in the world for SDG 1 – No Poverty with the total scores of 87.3.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suvit Saetia, President of King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) revealed that “According to the 2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, KMUTT’s performance is most outstanding in SDG 1 – No Poverty as a result of its focuses on several key missions, such as providing scholarships to both Thai and foreign students at undergraduate and graduate levels who need financial assistance. The institution’s measures aimed to enhance educational readiness while easing financial worries, promoting academic excellence, and assisting financially struggling students, including those affected by disasters.The University also promotes educational excellence by providing scholarships to students with exceptional performance in different fields. Other assistance that it provides are Siriwiriya Scholarships for struggling students with insufficient funds, and scholarships for students who are disaster victims.
Apart from students undertaking formal educational programs, KMUTT also gives importance to other groups of students such as the disabled. It has been organizing occupational training programs for the disabled over the last 10 years. With no restriction placed on participants’ educational background, the training programs provide the disabled with an opportunity to acquire suitable skills to earn their own living. The programs also provide continuous monitoring and assistance for participants. Other non-formal educational measures offered by KMUTT include promotion of learning development and educational opportunities for children and youth in remote and marginal regions, occupational promotion programs, community product enhancement program to generate provincial enterprises, etc. These programs are consistent with KMUTT’s goal of learning development for people of all ages.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suvit Saetia also provided additional information on KMUTT’s accomplishments. “Apart from SDG 1, KMUTT also achieved high ranking in other SDGs. For example, for SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy, KMUTT achieved the scores of 75.9 and ranked 22nd in the world. KMUTT’s outstanding research for this SDG includes the introduction of ‘Khiriwong Waterwheel’ which employs a small electricity generation waterwheel technology to produce renewable clean energy for use in remote communities. After a 10-year collaboration with the community, KMUTT has successfully elevated this project into a Master Development Plan to promote small electricity generation waterwheel in communities surrounding the Nakhon Si Thammarat Mountain under the use of participatory public policy making process. The master plan aims to expand the use of waterwheel in small communities to other communities in Nakhon Si Thammarat and in other provinces across Thailand. For SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, KMUTT achieved the scores of 77.8 and ranked 39th in the world. KMUTT has a number of experts in water management who have conducted joint research and cooperation with several communities, and who are the driving force behind an effort to introduce water management instruction in schools to educate everyone on this vital topic. Some of KMUTT water management experts are Dr. Pariwate Varnakovida, Head of the KMUTT Geospatial Engineering and Innovation Center (KGEO) at the Faculty of Science; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Usa Humphries, a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the Faculty of Science; and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amnat Chidthaisong, Deputy Director of the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE). All three experts are also members of the 2023 Water and Waste Management International Conference & Expo Thailand: Water for Life (WWM) Working Committee. For SDG 17 Partnership for the Goals,KMUTT achieved a score of 92.0 and ranked 43rd in the world for its significant contribution to drive such policy toward this SDG at the University, national, and global levels. It also collaborates with national and global sustainable development networks, namely, the Sustainable University Network of Thailand (SUN Thailand). For SDG 14 Life below Water,KMUTT achieved a score of 73.9 and ranked 69th in the world. Several KMUTT faculties and researchers come from different research units focusing on conducting joint research with other agencies on the topics of animal populations, conservation of animal species, problems of human-wildlife coexistence for sustainable and peaceful human-wildlife coexistence, and non-threatened animal species. Examples of these projects are the Assessment of Human Activities Impacts on the Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of Orcaella Brevirostris in Thailand and Indonesia Project, and the Threat Assessment and Prioritization of Sustainable Conservation Management of Otters in the Coastal Wetlands of Southern Thailand Project.
KMUTT has always recognized the importance of sustainable development with special emphasis on the achievement of SDGs 2030. It has formulated policies and plans to encourage students and personnel to adopt a “Green heart” approach in working with communities as well as local and national networks. In addition, KMUTT has also been certified as one of 77 Climate Action Leading Organizations and is the first academic institute to be certified by the Thailand Carbon Neutral Network Committee. In March of this year, KMUTT was awarded and granted a certificate for Excellent Green Management for 2023, being one of 12 agencies in the Central region and in Bangkok and its vicinity that took part in an assessment under the Green Management criteria of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. These measures are consistent with KMUTT’s testament to their pledge of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2040.
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For more information, please contact
Ms. Kannika Songja (Jan) 084 071 6688 // Ms. Naliya Jirapakkanakorn (Praew) 096 408 0495
Corporate and Research Communications, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
E-Mail: pr@mail.kmutt.ac.th // Tel.: 0 2470 8415-7