Stamford prepares for AEC, plans new campuses
Stamford International University plans to establish two new campuses in Bangkok by 2017 to cash in on the expected increase in demand from local and overseas students after the Asean Economic Community takes effect in 2015.
“The AEC will open more doors not only for business but also the for education sector. Students are seeking proper schools and universities to help them develop their skills and knowledge to be ready for the new competitive environment in the near future,” Stamford president Boonmark Sirinaovakul told The Nation.
As part of this expansion plan, Stamford has invested Bt260 million in a new building in Bangkok near the existing one. It will also offer new international programmes. The new six-storey building will almost double student capacity to 3,000 from 1,600 now.
Under an open-ended agreement made last year with Laureate International, the world’s leading international network of private universities, Boonmark said Stamford would also add two more campuses in Bangkok in the next five years, one downtown and another in the outskirts. This could help Stamford handle student capacity of 8,000 by 2017. Currently there are two operating campuses, in Bangkok and Hua Hin.
Gilles Mahe, chief executive officer of Laureate Thailand, said: “We aim for Thailand to become Laureate International’s hub in the CLMV countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – after all new facilities are well prepared.”
Mahe added that Laureate International had a network of 60 leading educational instit-utes in 29 countries, including Brazil, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, Turkey |and the United States. Stamford’s students are able to take ex-change programmes in univer-sities in Laureate’s network as well as meet world leaders such as former US president Bill Clinton, who serves as honorary chancellor of Laureate International.
Currently, 65 per cent of Stamford’s students are local, with the rest from Africa, Europe and Asia. The university expects to see more students from Asean countries after the opening of the AEC.
Irene Chung, regional director of marketing for Asia at Laureate International, said Stamford offered different in-|ternational programmes along with good value for its tuition |fees. The most popular bachelor’s and master’s degree program-
mes are business management, communication and hospitality, as students and their parents still believe that those are important, preparing them for careers with good prospects.
Mahe said that in 2014, Stamford and Laureate International would launch new international programmes that are expected to meet future demand in the Kingdom, including art and design and sport management.
“Sport management has become more crucial, but Thailand still needs those who specialise in such skills. Laureate International, which has partnered with Spain’s Real Madrid International School, can support those who wish to develop their professional [skills] in the sport-business sector,” he said.
