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Pattaya Education and Tutoring School celebrates 3rd anniversary
Suchada Tupchai
Administrators, teachers, relatives and friends of the
Pattaya Education and Tutoring School packed the school’s Sukhumvit
premises for a merit making ceremony as part of it 3rd anniversary of
operations. Kalaya Somotong, school director, welcomed her guests attending
the religious ceremonies as part of the celebrations.
 Administrators,
teachers, relatives and friends of the Pattaya Education & Tutoring
School attend the merit making ceremony on the occasion of the school’s
3rd Anniversary.
The school, located near the Central Pattaya Road
intersection began operations 3 years ago and teaches and tutors students
from primary to secondary levels in wide variety of subjects. Approved by
Thailand’s Ministry of Education, the subjects covered included general
science, English and Thai languages, mathematics, physics, chemistry and
biology.
Classes range from 8-10 students who also require extra
tutoring outside schools hours, enabling those with difficulties in learning
to be able to stay ahead in their studies.
Wai Kru ceremony held at ISE
 Students
performed the Wai Kru ceremony at ISE last month.
A very meaningful Wai Kru ceremony was held at the
International School Eastern Seaboard (ISE) on Wednesday, September 10.
Elementary students presented flowers to their teachers, lit candles and
incense and recited poems and songs of respect.
 The Wai Kru ceremony is an ancient Thai ceremony which
gives children the opportunity to pay respect to their teachers. There is a
Thai belief that the performance of Wai Kru will help students succeed in
their studies.
Young
scholars show their respect for teachers and mentors.
Although less than 20% of ISE students are Thai, this
ceremony had significance for all the students and staff. It reminded us all
of the importance of education in our lives.
Asian University confers degrees in fourth annual commencement ceremony
The Asian University of Science and Technology, now entering its sixth
year, held its fourth graduation ceremony on Monday, September 22. At the
ceremony, fifty-three students received their academic diplomas in the
lecture theatre on the campus of the university near Jomtien. The ceremonies
were attended by family and friends as well as foreign dignitaries and
academics and the academic and administrative staff of the university. All
joined in congratulating the students on their achievement.
 Lord
Ronald Oxburgh, former rector of Imperial College (left), and Dr. Viphandh
Roengpithya, founder and president of the university (right), welcomed
family members and friends, foreign dignitaries, graduating students and the
academic administrative staff of the university. All joined in
congratulating the students on their achievement.
Following the welcoming and opening remarks by the
founder and president of the university, Dr Viphandh Roengpithya, thirty
three students were awarded MBA degrees (Master in Business Administration),
fourteen students received BBA degrees (Bachelor in Business Administration)
and six students received B. Eng degrees (Bachelor in Engineering).
 September
2003 graduates on their way to the demanding science and technology job
market.
From its inception, Asian University has maintained ties
of close academic cooperation with London University’s Imperial College of
Science and Medicine. The university was, therefore, honored to have Lord
Ronald Oxburgh, former Rector of Imperial College, to deliver the diplomas
and to personally congratulate the graduating students.
In his address, Lord Oxburgh recalled climbing to the top
of a nearby hill nine years before with his wife and Dr Viphandh, who is
also an alumnus of Imperial College. From there they surveyed the
surrounding tapioca fields which had been selected to be the site of the
future university campus. He characterized the transformation of those
fields from typical farmland to the impressive university campus that exists
today as “a miracle.”
Lord Oxburgh went on to emphasize two important issues.
Firstly, he drew attention to the role of English as the international
language of business, commerce, diplomacy, science and engineering, shared
by everyone in the modern world. Secondly, he asked the graduating students
to show their appreciation to their parents for the role they had played in
providing support throughout their undergraduate years.
Also present to deliver his remarks, in both English and
Thai, was the British ambassador to Thailand, His Excellency David Fall. In
his comments, Mr. Fall echoed Lord Oxburgh’s observations concerning the
contemporary emergence of English as the international language of
communication around the world. He further commented on the associated
importance of an international education as exemplified by the Asian
University and the United Kingdom’s historical role in facilitating
English language education around the world.
At the close of the formal proceedings, participants
reassembled in front of the Academic Building for formal photos and family
snapshots. Occasional cheers and expressions of relief could be heard amid
the milling crowd of celebrants and well-wishers. Eventually, groups made
their way inside to the waiting reception for horsd’ oeuvres,
refreshments, and, of course, more photos.
Burapha University and Marketing Association of Thailand organized Eastern Marketing Day 2003
Suwanthep ‘Tony’ Malhotra
The Eastern Marketer’s Day 2003 at Ambassador City
Jomtien was the first time the eastern part of Thailand has hosted such a
remarkable ensemble of representatives from many outstanding corporations,
as well as individual entrepreneurs from around the Eastern Seaboard of
Thailand.
 Manit
Rattanasuwan (center), past president of the Marketing Association of
Thailand, Sopin Thappajug (second left), representing the tourism sectors
and Sudjai Pongpaew (second right) SMEs businesspersons, shared their
fascinating experiences while the two emcees break in with queries.
It was much appreciated to have such a functional seminar
in the eastern part of Thailand, as for the last 12 years it has always been
held in Bangkok.
The day started at about 8:45 a.m. after registration was
done and when everyone entered the hall, notes of welcome were then given.
The first orator, Dr. Sompop Chareonkul, executive
administrator of Loxley Co., Ltd., gave a very interesting presentation
about, “The adjustment of the business proprietors at regional level”.
He explained about the process of adapting to globalization and how we
should administer our human resources in the modern world.
Snacks and coffee were then served during the break while
all of the attendees had a chance to visit the booths of some of the
sponsors.
In the second session topic of “CRM or Customer
Relationship Marketing - the new business vision for the new generation’s
enterprises” was explained by Ajarn Chalit Limpanawetch, dean of the
Faculty of Communication Arts, Assumption University.
“CRM is nothing but old content in a new package. In
other words, a new name is given to an old concept of heeding the customers,
which was introduced more than 50 years ago, applied with additional
contemporary techniques,” Ajarn Chalit observed.
After a delicious lunch, Preecha Chaochotchuang,
president of Publics (Thailand) Ltd. briefed the audience on the subject of
“Creating brand strategies for the SMEs”. He discussed the need to
create brands for most types of commerce and the essential steps to be taken
for an effective brand creation, as SMEs are the major contributors to the
country’s economy, which has grown from small and medium size businesses
to larger scale operations. So the need to create an original brand is
significant in order to compete with other traders, not only in their own
region or country but throughout the world.
The topic “Opportunities for local Thai norms and its
products in the marketing world” was addressed after another short coffee
break. It was more like a symposium as there were three distinguished
individuals talking about the initiative period of their ventures, the
growth and their future plans, while the 2 emcees broke in with some
interesting questions.
The first presenter was senior marketer, Manit
Rattanasuwan, past president of the Marketing Association of Thailand, who
shared many impressive views regarding successful operations - some of them
were: “There are no emotions when it comes to trading”, “dedication is
the key to success” and “must seize full control over the pace of your
own business”.
The second guest was well well-known Sopin Thappajug,
managing director of the Diana Group, representing the successful tourism
and services industries. Sopin talked about how the Diana Group grew, and
described its present success. Sopin explained that it all started with a
service-minded mentality which demanded that she take care of each of the
clients, whom she regarded as family members, and she trained all her staff
to be industrious persons. Sopin added that from a small business which was
confined to tourism, the group has grown into the more comprehensive concept
of a one-stop service for the travel industry.
The third speaker was well recognized among the
shopkeepers in the Nongmon market, Bangsaen - Sudjai Pongpaew the owner of
Sasichon Dried Fruits Company. About 16 years ago she started her venture by
selling dried seafood there. A few years later she created her own brand -
the first product was dried sweet fish filled in a nice package with
trademark. Then she started selling dried traditional fruit candy; varieties
of tasty fruit were chosen and transformed into candies which received a lot
of good response from the consumers. She had proven that from a small-scale
traditional shopkeeper one could become the owner of a high margin
establishment.
Words of thanks to all of the presenters as well as the
successful marketers who attended the seminar were then given by Asst. Prof.
Patchanee Nontasak, head of the Business Administration Department, Burapha
University, the co-organizer. Flowers and gift presentations were made and a
group photograph concluded the day.
Hopefully, in the near future, similar constructive
seminars will be held in the East - particularly in the growing city of
Pattaya.
Lions Club Jomtien-Pattaya takes students from School of Regents on tour of the Nongphangkae Community Clinic
Damri Muangkaew
Earlier this year students from the School of Regents
conducted a 24-hour ‘Swimathon’ for charity. The money raised from the
event was given to the Lions Club of Jomtien-Pattaya to fund the renovation
and expansion of the Nongphangkae Community Clinic.
 Paul
Davies, past president of the Lions Club, explains in detail the renovation
and expansion of the Nongphangkae Community Clinic.
Last week, 20 students visited the facility to see how
the funds had been used and view the results of their efforts. The high
school students were shown the newly improved facilities such as the
emergency care room, the medicine storage facility and patients’ ward.
The community clinic treats many of the local residents who are unable to
make a visit to the hospital or unable to afford medical care. The Lions
Club of Jomtien-Pattaya took the clinic under its wing to improve the
facilities and enable nurses to provide better outpatient care. The Lions
Club plans to provide further improvements in the near future with more
fundraising projects.
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