On May 17, the inauguration ceremony of the Bangkok Field Station of the Institute for International and Area Studies (IIAS) of Tsinghua University and the “Area Studies as a Discipline” Workshop were held at Thammasat University Rangsit Campus. Jointly founded by the IIAS and the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University, the Bangkok Field Station will provide Tsinghua University and its partner institutions a platform for field studies, promote academic exchanges and cooperation across countries, and explore the development direction and path for area studies.
The founding ceremony was hosted by Assist. Prof. Dr. Li Yuqing from Tsinghua IIAS. Assist. Prof. Dr. Chaiwat Meesanthan, Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University, and Assist. Prof. Dr. Duan Jiuzhou, Assistant Dean of the IIAS delivered welcoming speeches successively, introduced the development and academic concepts of the two institutes respectively, and presented an outlook into future cooperation between the two institutions.
Dr. Li Yuqing presided over the ceremony.
Later, Associate Professor Roj Khunanake, Vice President of Thammasat University, addressed the ceremony. He introduced the tradition of area studies at Thammasat University and expressed his expectation for closer cooperation and frequent exchanges between faculty members, students and researchers of both sides.
At the ceremony, Dr. Duan Jiuzhou and Dr. Chaiwat Meesanthan signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on behalf of both institutions, and cut the ribbon at the unveiling ceremony of the Bangkok Field Station of the IIAS.
Dr. Duan Jiuzhou and Dr. Chaiwat Meesanthan cut the ribbon at the unveiling ceremony of the Bangkok Field Station of the IIAS.
Dr. Duan Jiuzhou and Dr. Chaiwat Meesanthan unveiled the nameplate of the Bangkok Field Station of the IIAS.
During the keynote speech session, Professor Lu Guangsheng, Dean of Yunnan University Institute of International Relations, gave an introduction to the development of area studies discipline in China. Timothy Niblock, Director of the Center for Global Issue Studies of the IIAS and Emeritus Professor of the University of Exeter, delivered a speech via video and addressed the significance of cross-country and cross-region cooperation, and that of the establishment of field station to the area studies. Professor Sitthiphon Kruarattikan, the former Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University, explained the history and current status of China study at higher education institutions in Thailand.
Professor Lu Guangsheng, Dean of Yunnan University Institute of International Relations and member of the Academic Committee of the IIAS, delivered a keynote speech.
Professor Timothy Niblock, Director of the Center for Global Issue Studies of the IIAS, delivered a keynote speech via video.
In the end, local dancers in Thailand presented the guests a wonderful performance full of cultural features.
In the afternoon, the IIAS of Tsinghua University and the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University jointly held the “Area Studies as a Discipline” Workshop. , with experts and scholars from Thammasat University, Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, National University of Singapore, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, and other institutions and academies participating in the discussion about the development paths and methods for area studies.
Two parties signed an MOU on cooperation.
During the visit to Thailand, the IIAS delegation visited Kyoto University ASEAN Center in Bangkok, and exchanged experiences in area studies and field station construction with Dr. Taro Sonobe, Deputy Director of the Center.
The Bangkok Field Station of the IIAS, Tsinghua University (ศูนย์ประสานงานภาคสนาม IIAS, มหาวิทยาลัยชิงหัว กรุงเทพฯ) is located at Thammasat University Rangsit Campus and established based on the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the IIAS of Tsinghua University and the Institute of East Asian Studies of Thammasat University, with Li Yuqing, an assistant researcher at the IIAS as its presiding officer and Chaiwat Meesanthan, Director of the Institute of East Asian Studies, as the coordinator from the Thai side. Thammasat University enjoys a high prestige in Thailand with great strengths in law, economics, and political science and other disciplines. Its alumni include members of the Thai royal family, prime ministers and well-known entrepreneurs. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand laid the cornerstone of the Institute of East Asian Studies of the university in person, aiming to promote good-neighborliness and friendship between Thailand and countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia.
