64 Pad Lavankura and Rattana Lao
that there should be greater academic services between Thai and foreign
universities. Lastly, it recommended the establishment of Thai Studies in
foreign universities (Ministry of University Affairs (MUA) 1990). Most
importantly, the Plan articulated the need to establish international, regional
and local networks amongst different higher education institutions in order
to promote and facilitate academic exchanges and ensure that Thai students
and academics acquire greater “global perspectives”. Nilphan (2005)
argued that “the discourse of ‘global challenges’ has become prevalent in
the Thai bureaucracy; the MUA’s long-term plan is peppered with such
terms such as global awareness, economic competitiveness, international
level competence and specific skills” (p. 107).
Since the First Long-Range Plan recognized the importance of
“internationalization”, the Seventh (1992–96), the Eighth (1997–2000)
and the Ninth (2002–06) Higher Education Development Plans have also
endorsed this as an important aspect of Thai higher education. Lao (2015)
analysed these policy papers and highlighted the Thai state’s aspiration
to include and integrate “international” dimensions into the system.
Particularly, in the Eighth Higher Education National Development Plan
two policy objectives were outlined. In the first objective, the Thai state
expressed its aspiration to make Thailand the educational hub of the
Southeast Asian region. Given its geographical advantage, it was argued
that Thailand is in a strategic position to become an educational hub. The
Eighth Plan’s second objective specified different strategies to upgrade
Thai higher education to become more internationalized and regionalized.
These strategies include the need to ensure that the quality of International
Programmes in Thailand to be on par with international standards, enable
credit transfers between Thai higher education and foreign institutions,
and encourage collaborations between Thai and foreign academics.
Furthermore, the Eighth Plan argued that it is necessary to equip Thai
students to become “visionary” in order to survive in the global market
place. To achieve this goal, it outlined six policy strategies: (1) establish
more international programmes; (2) use foreign languages as medium of
instruction; (3) develop more academic exchanges; (4) create the institutional
environment conducive to become “international”; (5) create more Area
Studies Centre to encourage more international and cultural understanding;
and (6) use information technology in teaching (MUA 2003, p. 91).
While the MUA/Office of Higher Education Commission (OHEC) has
reiterated the importance of the internationalization process, it has also