All contents

Recently the launch of the "Sharing their Narratives" report - a research by Dr Victor Karunan and Dr Justin Rogers on alternative care in Thailand was held at our Faculty with a wide range of participants and partners from Thailand and from across the world. Check out the details here, and many thanks to all who supported this event including many of our students.

SPD Director Dr Sorasich Swangsilp was recently interviewed by the Bangkok Post as a Thai expert on Southeast Asia. In this article called "Time ripe for a review", Ajarn Sorasich shares his views on the challenges posed by regional ASEAN disunity, and the opportunities which exist for greater integration, including the special role that Thailand can play moving forward.

BANGKOK—The Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University is pleased to announce the release of the ‘Sharing their Narratives’ report on Wednesday 24 August 2022 from 15.00-18.00, in room 302, the Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat university (Tha Prachan campus). The launch of the report was led by Dr. Victor Karunan, a member of the Social Policy and Development (SPD) programme board, Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat university; Dr. Justin Rogers, The Open University; and Dr. Pryn Ketnim, a researcher.

On 9-10th August 2022, the Faculty of Social Administration Dean, Auschala Chalayonnavin and the Director of SPD Programme, Dr Sorasich Swangsilp promoted the SPD curriculum to International Schools within Phuket Province in order to show what the Faculty can offer to students living in the province.

On 6 August 2022 our SPD team visited Thailand Education Expo 2022 to promote our programme to prospective students. A big thanks to Mia, Nam, Joey, Thorfun and Jenny -our SPD students for representing us so well at this event.

SPD organized "SPD Freshy Trip 2022" to officially welcome the 09th cohort to programme at Khao Yai, from 03 to 05 August 2022. The trip comprised 1) a study visit to Learning Center for Older Persons in Muak Lek District to learn about welfare policy for older persons in the district; 2) a tour at Thai-Denmark Milk Farm, Khao Yai; 3) Group discussion on specific social issues and policy recommendations, and 4) Indoor and outdoor activities to build a stronger connection between current students and new students. We hope SPD09 students enjoy their learning journey with SPD! #SPD #SPDFreshyTrip #SPDStudents #SPDStudyVisit

On 23 May 2023 our SPD team visited Thammasat Secondary School Education Fair 2022 to promote our programme to prospective students. A big thanks to Mia and Nam-our SPD students for representing us so well at this event.

Congratulations to our 3rd-4th graduating cohort from the Bachelor of Arts in Social Policy and Development (International Programme), Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University. Hope to see all of you again on Saturday 29th May 2022 for the Graduation Ceremony Day

SPD Program was excited to host Dr. Gavin Shatkin, Professor of Public Policy and Architecture at Northeastern University, as part of our ongoing Speaker Series. Dr. Shatkin spoke about the flooding, development, and politics of Jakarta, as well as other related issues throughout Southeast Asia. Thank you again to Dr. Shatkin, as well as to all of the attendees for joining!

SPD students attended a special session led by a U.S. diplomat, Ms. Sarah Quinzio, Deputy Director at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. Ms. Quinzio spoke about public policy, climate change, international cooperation, and many other important topics. A big thank you to the U.S. Embassy for taking the time to speak with our students, and we greatly look forward to our future collaboration together.

This is an activity that the Thammasat University Student Council Organization recognizes as an important activity and as a way to ecourage participation in the activities of the university. It is also a way to learn about public relations, to plan management and teamwork, with the experience of working with others and collaborating with students from different faculties and also connecting in terms of relations with senior students and developing a respect for the rules of sports games.

Hi! I am Eve (Tanyakorn Thippayapokin), a former Social Policy and Development (SPD) student at Thammasat University in 2020 and a current Master's student under a Chinese government scholarship in International Public Administration and Policy (IMPA) at Renmin University of China. During my final semester in postgraduate school, I successfully completed my dissertation and I have just started my first career in the role of a project coordinator at Anti-Corruption Organisation (ACT), supervising the internationally-recognized Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) in Thailand.

On 17th March 2022, SPD welcomed Khun Lee Ayu Chuepa from Akha Ama, an award-winning community-based social enterprise committed to sustainable coffee. In this highly engaging session, Khun Lee shared with us how his coffee is enriching people’s lives and transforming communities, and how the enterprise provides high-quality coffee to global consumers while protecting the livelihood of his community's farmers. Many thanks to Khun Lee for taking the time out to be with us and for all the truly inspirational insights into what it takes to create meaningful social change. For those who missed it, you can check out the special session here

On 16 March 2022, the SPD programme welcomed Dr Carl Middleton as a guest lecture on the Research for Social Welfare and Development (SPD419 course for 4th year and exchange students). Dr Middleton is Professor and Deputy Director on the Graduate Studies in International Development Studies (MAIDS-GRID) Program, and Director of the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) in the Faculty of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University. His insightful and engaging lecture introduced many interesting ideas as to the nature of research supported by his rich body of work with cases studies, including unique research related to the Salween River. Thank you Ajarn Carl for taking the time to join us! You can check out the recording of the class here

“Bamboo Diplomacy”: Check out a recording here of Dr Jittipat’s fascinating guest lecture on 9th March (SPD419) to learn about the process of research for his new book, and to access excellent tips and advice on research. https://zoom.us/rec/share/-dVH01AFpMY0Jv0y0m4Nkc3-JqCeTr5j72-gQWzqWrGQVjUF3jdKZbv171b_q92R.DBRwnfpfYdBz4NEt Dr Jittipat Poonkham is Associate Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science, TU. His book can be found here* Link to *https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/authors-editors/jittipat-poonkham)

On 7 March 2022, the Thammasat University SPD Programme was joined by the CEO of Bitkub Infinity, Khun Peerasit Chiwabhorn, who gave a fascinating talk about his experiences and expertise in business leadership and innovation. Full of excellent, motivational and highly relevant advice and tips, we were treated to a whole hour of Q&A. A big thank you to Khun Peerasit and the friendly and efficient team at Bitkub who helped to set this opportunity up. Thank you also to all of you who attended and for the excellent questions! Check out the recording here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptaA2LM7fZc

We are proud of Dr Victor Karunan's leading contribution towards the completion of a major research project offering fascinating and important insights into alternative care across Thailand., involving many stakeholders and partners, as well as children in the 9 research sites in all regions of Thailand, with data gathered from over 150 children and 20 parents and 10 members of the public.

I am Saw Thein Soe, a former student of SPD (Social Policy and Development) from the years 2017-2021. I am from Myanmar. After graduating from SPD, it took me a while to get a job due to the pandemic, documentation issues and the coup d’état in my country. However, while I was searching for a long-term job, I engaged in translation and transcription work as a freelancer. Fortunately, I got to work with several individual contractors and it was an amazing experience. Currently, I am working at Digiserve Cooperation Co.,Ltd as a content moderator where I mainly have to deal with social media policies. Working at this company, I come across numerous social issues which can severely bring a negative impact to society and people. Witnessing these kind of issues help me realize the value of learning social policies and why it is essential for a major such as SPD to exist for a better society. I felt really happy and proud that I was a student at SPD and able to learn all those useful lessons which are helping me overcome challenges and difficulties at my workplace. Last but not least, SPD is a place which makes you feel at home. If anyone out there is looking for a wonderful experience as a student, I highly recommend joining SPD because I believe SPD can help equip you with many skills and knowledge that you can use to create social changes. Thank you SPD and everyone involved. - Saw Thein Soe

SPD Through the Eyes of our Alumni Hi guys! My name is Ice or Pattarapong Sangsipipattaraboon. I am a former SPD (04) student. After graduating from SPD, I looked for a job that related to what I learnt right away and became a trainee as a communication assistant that helps an organization publicize its research.

Check out our new series of alumni reflections on how SPD has helped them in their careers! SPD Alumni Series 2021 - SPD Through the Eyes of our Alumni Hi! My name is Tanyakorn Thippayapokin or Eve. After getting my bachelor’s degree in Social Policy and Development (SPD) at Thammasat University,

On 3 November, the SPD Programme was delighted to host a very special talk by Dr. Prinat Apirat, Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand.

On 21 October, 2021, we were privileged to host an expert on social impact investment, Dr Artak Melkonyan, to give a special talk on how business sustainability can be achieved through the sustainable development goals set out by the United Nations.

Zombie lives? Urban refugees? Join us to find out how they connect in this special public lecture on Wednesday 6th October from 4.30-6.30 pm via Zoom. Professor Abraham Itty, a global expert in migration from the National University of Singapore, will shed light on the complex interaction between migrants and the state, and related identity creation through a political lens in an increasingly digitalised world.

Ms. Tawanrat Marit for being accepted to present her academic study on "Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand" at the Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research, organized by The Australian National University on 17 September

On September 15th, 2021, the SPD Program was very pleased to welcome Associate Professor Prashant Loyalka of Stanford University. Professor Loyalka discussed and analyzed comparative education research pertaining to the United States, India, Russia, and China, regarding the skills and abilities of university students. Our thanks again to Professor Loyalka for taking the time to be with us, and we hope to welcome him again in the future. Thanks as well to all of the many students and faculty who attended and participated in the event.

Big congratulations to Ms. Tawanrat Marit for being accepted to present her academic study on "Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand" at the Australasian Conference of Undergraduate Research, organized by The Australian National University on 17 September 2021.

Congratulations to Panpan (Pannika Vichaithanaruks - 4th year) and Bua (Bimvilai Sundararohita - 2nd year)! We are proud to announce that our SPD students have been selected as representative delegates to participate in the Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program (SSEAYP) Youth Conference 2021 on the topic of "Youth Engagement in Achieving SDGs: A route map for change" from November 2021 - January 2022 You both are doing a great job so far! Keep it up!

Congratulations to Chum Sopheakneat! We are proud to announce that our second-year SPD student has been selected as representative delegate for Thai Youth to participate in the ASEAN-China Young Leaders’ Summit (ACYLS) on the topic of "Commemorating 30 Years of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations: Strengthening Strategic Partnership for the Next Decade and Beyond" during 23-26 September 2021. Well done Chum and we wish you all the best at the Summit! Check out more details about the Summit here: https://www.aseanfoundation.org/asean_china_youth_leaders...

The Social Policy and Development (SPD) International Programme would like to congratulate 2 of our students for being selected as representative delegates for Thai Youth to participate in the 11th ASEAN YOUTH FORUM, organized by ASEAN Chairman, Brunei during 5-27 August 2021. Congratulations to Ms. Tawanrat Marit (4th year) and Ms. Bimvilai Sundararohita (2nd year) on this wonderful achievement. Another one of our students, Ms. Miranda Rolfe (4th year) has been selected as 2nd reserved seat.

Dr Victor Karunan from our SPD academic team has kindly shared this invitation for an open online course on “Child Participation and the Right to a Sustainable Environment” by the Global Campus on Human Rights in Venice, Italy. Ajarn Victor, an expert on children’s rights, is a member of the faculty for this new and exciting online course. “This MOOC asks children’s rights experts, environment specialists, human rights scholars and young climate activists to examine concepts, standards and practices of rights-based participation of children in environmental matters. Through free and open access to current knowledge and debates, the course speaks to a worldwide audience - and young people specifically - to inform those who are seeking human rights guidance, encourage those who are curious to know more, support those who are already acting, and ultimately boost effective change”.

On May 11th, the SPD program hosted an exciting career talk for students. 6 distinguished speakers shared their insights, perspectives and advice on a wide range of important and highly relevant career related topics. The conversation was dynamic, and the speakers offered practical tips and valuable firsthand experiences. SPD program thanks the speakers for their time and generosity, and looks forward to hosting another career talk in the near future.

Thank you to everyone who joined the public seminar by Dr Bob Doherty!

On 14 December our SPD team visited St Andrews International School Higher Education Fair to promote our programme to prospective students. A big thanks to Noomam and 3rd year student Kaew for representing us so well at this event. #spdthammasat #spdtu

On December 4th, 2020, our faculty members held a virtual conference with National Taiwan University. The conference was an opportunity for experts and thought leaders from Thailand and Taiwan to engage with one another on a wide range of highly relevant topics; with presentations covering some of the most pressing social work and social policy issues of our times. Our faculty views this conference as the first of many, and looks forward to much future collaboration with National Taiwan University, in the full spirit of our joint-MOU.

From Thursday to Saturday 26-28 November, TU Open House was held at our Rangsit campus. SPD had produced new posters to promote our programme and these were proudly displayed at People Hall, Puey Park, while we set up our SPD booth at the Faculty of Social Administration. The atmosphere was lively with music and Chinese opera performances, and busy throughout the whole three days, and many students showed an interest in our programme. We will now follow up by sending additional information to those who left their contact details with us. Many thanks again to all the students who made the effort to help SPD to share information and explain more to students about our programme. Thank you Ploydao, Jeen, Mook, Natty, Bam, Take, Ing etc! We are now looking forward to meeting more students at the TU Open House which will be held on our Ta Prachan campus early in 2021. #spdthammasat #spdtu #tuopenhouse2020

On Friday 27 November, SPD was invited to promote our International Programme at Ruamrudee International School’s annual Thai College Fair. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, only students from RIS could join, unlike previous years when students from other schools also came. However, we managed to meet with many students and promote our 4-year course to both students and parents. A big thank you to Pleum (first year), Nana (second year) and Kaew (third year) for their great support! #spdthammasat #spdtu

On Saturday 30 October, our SPD team (lecturers and students) joined the annual and extremely popular Dek-D TCAS Fair at Union Mall to promote SPD to hundreds of high schools students from Bangkok and all over Thailand.

Gifts from SPD of daily necessities were safely delivered to Karen people living in Kaeng Krachang National Park whose circumstances have been further exacerbated by the challenges posed by Covid-19. This year's annual academic field trip (3-5 August) focussing on our new first year students took place in this beautiful area of Thailand, and explored the sustainability of communities and livelihoods in this area.

Students in TU102 (Social Life Skills) had an opportunity to relax and take a break from busy schedules, to learn some useful yoga moves. Students tried numerous yoga and breathing techniques, and learned about the many health and wellness benefits of practicing yoga. It was a fun experience for all, and we hope to do yoga again in the future. Namaste!

"Is the deinstitutionalisation of alternative care a ‘wicked problem’? A qualitative study exploring the perceptions of child welfare practitioners and policy actors in Thailand."