Thammasat University: Championing Education for Global Goals in the Wider Community

HIGHLIGHTS

Empowering Local Citizens and Marginalized Communities: Through the Citizen School for Public Engagement, Thammasat provides structured education for non-students and local residents in Pathum Thani, equipping them with knowledge on governance, democracy, and social innovation. In parallel, the “Friend of the Hill Tribe” student volunteering program reaches remote and disadvantaged communities, offering integrated learning and inclusive activities for both students and villagers.
Supporting Local Entrepreneurs and Cultural Industries: The Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, in collaboration with the Lampang Provincial Community Development Office, delivers specialized training and consultancy for community enterprises and artisans. This partnership enhances local skills and preserves the Lanna region’s cultural heritage while strengthening regional economic resilience.
Fostering Lifelong Learning and Sustainability Awareness: Thammasat promotes continuous education through the Cooperative Education and Career Center (TUCEEC), supporting alumni in lifelong skill development and employability. Meanwhile, public-facing initiatives like SDG Move’s “SDG Word Search Puzzle” enhance SDG literacy and engage diverse audiences in sustainability learning.

Thammasat University is deeply committed to embedding the principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) not only within its academic walls but also across various segments of society. Through dedicated outreach and purposeful collaboration, TU ensures that knowledge and critical skills necessary for a sustainable world are accessible to the wider community.

Here are key initiatives that illustrate Thammasat’s commitment to advancing the Education for SDGs mission:

1. Empowering Local Citizens and Rural Development

Thammasat actively engages with local residents and disadvantaged groups through educational programs that address core sustainability challenges:

Citizen School for Public Engagement: In collaboration with the Puey Ungphakorn School of Development Studies and the Pathum Thani Provincial Civil Society Development Center, Thammasat offers the Citizen School Program (โรงเรียนพลเมือง). This structured educational activity provides non-Thammasat residents and local citizens in the Pathum Thani area with essential knowledge and skills in governance, democracy, public policy, social innovation, and inequality alleviation. The 2024 iteration ran from May 4, 2024, to June 14, 2024. This initiative directly empowers local communities to become informed and active citizens in sustainable development.

Volunteering for Disadvantaged Communities: The “Friend of the Hill Tribe” (ค่ายเพื่อนดอยพัฒนา) student camp, organized by the Thammasat Dome Community, demonstrates a strong commitment to marginalized communities. The camp involves students integrating with and learning from hill tribe villagers in remote areas, such as the Huay Phak Kud Learning Center in Tak province. The program features integrated teaching sessions for local students and community engagement activities, focusing on diversity and inclusion by facilitating cooperation between students with and without disabilities. This unique approach ensures that educational outreach reaches the most underserved populations and promotes intercultural understanding.

2. Upgrading Skills for Regional Economic Resilience

Thammasat leverages its academic expertise to bolster local economies and preserve cultural heritage through specialized upskilling and development programs:

Art and Craft Industry Development: The Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts established an academic partnership with the Lampang Provincial Community Development Office on July 3, 2024, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This formal collaboration focuses on providing educational support and expertise, through organizing specialized training, offering consultancy, and conducting research, to local entrepreneurs, community enterprise personnel, and skilled artisans in Lampang and the Lanna region. The joint effort aims to enhance and elevate local craft industries, directly aligning regional development with sustainability goals.

3. Promoting Lifelong Learning and Sustainability Awareness

Thammasat ensures continuous learning opportunities for its alumni and the broader public, reinforcing a culture of sustainability beyond graduation:

Alumni Skill Enhancement: The Thammasat University Cooperative Education and Career Center (TUCEEC) offers specialized skill development and job preparation support. Critically, it serves as a platform to support alumni in acquiring new skills, ensuring their lifelong employability and adaptability in a rapidly changing world.

Public SDG Literacy Initiatives: Through the SDG Move initiative, Thammasat helps the public, students, and professors increase their literacy on the SDGs. This takes the form of publicly accessible and reproducible learning tools, such as the SDG Word Search Puzzle, which was featured at the Sustrends 2025 summit on September 5, 2024. This engaging and user-friendly resource aims to simplify complex SDG terminology and make the 17 Global Goals more understandable for a diverse audience.