What are your key priorities as President for the University?

To help the country’s health sector to be able to compete with others in the region and the world. Within the Thailand 4.0 strategy, there is a segment for bioeconomy in which we were named the innovation hub for health. As leaders in innovation, we have six ‘spokes’ (such as Chiang Mai University and Khon Kaen University) and we are in charge of driving the country as a research hub of public health and biomedical science.

You often quote H.R.H. Prince Mahidol of Songkla: “True success is not in the learning, but in its application to the benefit of mankind.” What does it mean to you?

He believed in doing everything unto others and for others. His vision went beyond helping Thai people to helping mankind. We keep his philosophy alive today and preach it to our students so that they can spread his view throughout the world. It is important in building their character.

What makes Mahidol University a unique place to study?

If you observe campus life it is in the typical Thai style, with scattered buildings and open spaces. This is attractive to students, especially the new generation: it is a clean, green environment. We are well-equipped, compliant with environmental safety standards, and trying to be economically efficient in terms of energy savings. We also provide an international environment, with the highest number of international students and staff in the country.

Is internationalisation something you are actively pushing for?

Internationalisation is important to us. I have introduced a new policy in which everybody – both students and staff – has to pass the Cambridge Proficiency Exam. After all, we are specialised in health sciences and English is the international health science language. In Thailand, we are the university with the highest proportion of the curriculum taught in English.

We believe that once students have overcome language barriers they can gain wider knowledge in their fields and have enhanced competitiveness as global citizens.

There is a global shift toward a more practical way of thinking and learning, is this what you are aiming for?

Traditional teaching methods in the classroom tend to limit the student to memorisation. We are striving for creative thinking and innovation, and we have had to transform our curriculum and teaching methods to become more competitive. Students themselves have changed, being part of the new technological era. Teachers need to worry less about the content, which can be found easily online, and focus on transmitting skills that students can only learn from them. This is the only way we can respond to a globalised world.

How big is the connection between the university and industry?

Mahidol University prides itself on having one of the strongest bonds with industry, which explains why we were chosen to lead the innovation hub. We have partnerships, co-investments and even companies of our own, which is something other Thai universities don’t have. We have numerous joint ventures and collaborating centres, five hospitals of our own, and we rank highest in terms of industry income: our budget is around 50 billion baht per year. We encourage our students to take part in both integrated and experimental learning, something few universities offer.

What message would you like to deliver to the readers of the Asia edition of TIME?

Bioscience and medicine are becoming increasingly important as populations age and living standards improve. We are making important contributions to biomedicine and preparing our facilities and staff to become a world-class university. We also have an investment plan involving a joint venture  with a Cuban pharmaceutical company, we sponsor drug trials within our own hospital for a distribution company in Japan, and are manufacturing robotics equipment within the biomedical engineering department. All of this is testament to the strength of our commitment to innovation.