About Our Project
The overall goal of the ASTRA is to enhance the financial sustainability and to secure additional funding for promoting the research activities in the areas of ICT and Social Sciences in the four participating Universities from Laos and Thailand. The objective of the project is to support the operation of Higher Education Institutions in Laos and Thailand, by increasing their staff’s capacity for accessing financial resources through the exploitation of relevant donour-funded Research and Development Programmes and by offering state-of-the-art consulting support services to private clients. In practice, 4 Research & Development Innovation Centres will be established (one in each participating Partner university) for serving the above-mentioned purposes.
ASTRA during its 36-month duration, will:
Conduct in depth desk and field research on the specific needs of governance, financing models and funding opportunities in the ICT and social science fields in the Higher Education environment of Laos and Thailand
Develop and design a comprehensive blended training programme, to ensure that the HEIs and their competent staff are fully equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to manage and implement the fundraising strategy
Organise a large-scale, capacity building programme, which will focus on the transfer of knowledge and expertise from the EU experts to the trainers of the four Universities from South East Asia.
Set up of 4 new Research and Development Innovation Hubs (one in each University from Laos and Thailand), ensuring their sustainable operation and access to donor funded programmes
ASTRA at a glance
One comprehensive blended-learning training programme on accessing and acquiring funds through donour funded Programmes
60 academic staff from Laos and Thailand trained
Set up, organisation and operation of four new Research and Development Innovation Hubs (2 in Laos and 2 in Thailand)
More than 500 academic and professional staff directly reached through dissemination and exploitation activities
Partners
National University of Laos
Prince of Songkla University
Athens University of Economics and Business
Chiang Mai University
Symplexis
Savannakhet University
BK Consult
University of Firenze
Our Hub of Chiang Mai University
ASTRA’s monitoring visit to Chiang Mai University
The first monitoring visit of the ASTRA project at Chiang Mai University in Thailand was completed with success (20-22 November 2023). ASTRA’s European partners traveled to Thailand and visited the R&D Innovation and Consulting Hub, where they were amazed by its operation and progress.
Partners had, also, the chance to have an overview of the project, discuss about the progress of the pilot operation of the ASTRA CMU Hub and set up a Roadmap for its long-term operation.
Number of staff members (and their roles) working in the HUB
One manager is responsible for establishing strategic objectives for the operation of the Hub’s direction and activities, aimed at enhancing funding opportunities and fostering networks with faculties, universities, HEIs stakeholders, and funding agencies both domestic and international levels.
10 Researchers are responsible for training and coaching, offering guidance on drafting project proposals for HEIs staff, and providing consulting support services tailored to the specific needs of the private sector. Moreover, they try to submit their own project proposals aligned with their interests in order to secure additional funding independently through utilizing the resources available at the hub, such as computers, video conference systems, meeting rooms, etc.
Four Administrative staff: These four administrative staff already hold administrative roles within the university and are involved in policy-making and organizational management direction, both at the university and faculty levels. The administrative staff will provide guidance, financial support, and assess the feasibility of connectivity/integration of the ASTRA Hub’s activities into the policy plans of the organizations they oversee, including (1) Human Resource Division; (2) Research Administration Division; (3) Office of the University, CMU; (4) Financial Support Unit (Faculty level).
One support staff is responsible for coordinating activities with various departments both within and outside the university, including documentation support and disseminating information about the hub’s operations to HEIs stakeholders.
Summary of the work The “ASTRA R&D Innovation and Consulting Hub, CMU, Thailand” serves as an additional platform to strengthen capacity building, offer assistance, and facilitate CMU staff, particularly new researchers with limited access to international funding opportunities. The assistance provided by the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub will enhance skills in drafting project proposals and facilitate access to relevant research collaboration networks for researchers. This will increase opportunities to secure additional funding.
The following activities were done during the implementation of the hub’s pilot operation in its first year, with a focus on its financial sustainability and long-term benefits to the target groups:
Official opening of the hub and the signing ceremony for the hub’s mandate.
The launch event of the hub and the signing ceremony for the hub’s mandate were organized on March 31, 2023, in order to raise awareness about the establishment of the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub among HEIs staff and relevant HEIs stakeholders. A total of 52 participants warmly joined in this event, including CMU academic staff, administrative staff, and researchers from various departments. In addition, relevant HEIs local stakeholders, including representatives from government and private sectors, business groups, entrepreneur groups, and local news agencies, actively participated in this occasion. They warmly visited the ASTRA Hub and engaged in discussions to share ideas regarding collaboration between their organizations and the university. The conversation involved building a network of researchers and enhancing opportunities to seek further research funding on an international scale.
Development of a donor and fundraising pipeline for exchange opportunities with regional partner universities.
A database was developed to record the existing funding opportunities of the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub, including both open and forecast funding opportunities, totaling more than 70 items. Furthermore, the database of developed donor and fundraising pipeline from each hub was consolidated into a regional pipeline, in order to foster the exchange of research information and increase opportunities for collaboration at the regional level among partner universities involved in the ASTRA project.
Coaching and consulting to prepare project proposals in real scenarios.
The ASTRA CMU R&D Hub conducted the coaching and consulting activities both mini-online and offline sessions of proposal preparation in real-case scenarios in order to pursue at least one funding opportunity. The staff of the hub took the role of mentors and coaches, providing extensive support and technical suggestions to CMU academic staff throughout the proposal development process, including guidance on application procedures, techniques for writing proposals, and submission processes. As a result, the CMU academic staff who received guidance on preparing project proposals from the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub have submitted two project proposals for research funding. Moreover, in order to secure additional funding and foster the hub’s financial sustainability, the ASTRA-CMU R&D Hub staff jointly developed three project proposals to apply for research grants from funding organizations both at the national and international levels. One of these project proposals is from brainstorming sessions among ASTRA members during participation in a joint workshop held in Luang Prabang, Laos
Therefore, during the 1st year of pilot operations of the hub, a total of five project proposals were developed. One project successfully secured funding, three projects failed, and the rest of them has been currently under consideration.
Networking strategy with potential clientele.
After the hub’s conducting market research to acquire insights into the requirements of target groups (Clients) regarding R&D/Consultation Project needs and their potential interest in collaborating with the ASTRA-CMU R&D Hub in the future, the networking action strategy for the ASTRA CMU Hub was developed, focusing on engagement with businesses in the local industries, in particularly with Micro-SMEs group, Arts/Design/Media businesses, and ICT companies. Then bilateral/multilateral in-person meetings were held with local industries and private businesses to introduce ASTRA CMU Hub in order to offer its services. The Hub has successfully established a network with potential clients. This network enhances opportunities for further academic/research collaboration between the hub and local industry groups as well as private business sectors.
Monitoring and reporting on the 1st year of the pilot operation of the hub.
The 1st year of pilot operations of the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub would be assessed by EU expert partners during a three-day monitor visit under the implementation of the ASTRA project, aimed at evaluating its performance in terms of capacity building, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement.
Expanding the network through institutional cooperation at the international level during the 1st year of pilot operations of the ASTRA CMU R&D Hub.
The outcomes of the 1st year of the hub’s implementation have established a robust network of academic and research collaboration between Chiang Mai University and leading universities, as well as expert group organizations, spanning across the Asian region, the United Kingdom, and the European Union more than 11 institutions.
Number of national research proposals pursued
Two project proposals were developed by the academic staff under the hub’s operations, further details are in the table.
Educational Tourism Innovation
Sectoral Social Innovation Project 2024
≈ 53.333 EUR
National Innovation Agency (NIA), Ministry of Science and Technology
FailedAn Integrated Framework for Evaluating the Cognitive Workload and Aberrant Driving Behavior of Professional Motorcyclists
Strategic Fund 2024
≈ 154.667 EUR
Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMU-C)
Failed
Number of international research proposals pursued
Three project proposals were developed by the academic staff under the hub’s operations, further details are in the table.
Curriculum development for zero waste management in the hospitality and tourism sector
ERASMUS-EDU-2024-CBHE-STRAND-2
≈ 792,890.88 EUR
European Commission, Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS+)
Under considerationFrom Local to Global: Empowering Communities for Economic Transformation through Digital Connectivity and Capacity Building for Micro SMEs
Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund 2024 (LMCSF 2024*)
≈ 797,915 EUR
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand, (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China)
FailedInnovative Curricula for Life-Long Learning of Sustainable Tourism Workforce
ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE (Capacity building in the field of higher education)
748,054 EUR, ≈ 86,840 EUR
European Commission, Erasmus+ Programme (ERASMUS+)
Granted
Number of private sector actors engaged
The ASTRA CMU R&D Hub has engaged in discussions with nine private stakeholders from the private sector, including representatives of local businesses, industries, and entrepreneurs. With the aim to enhance and broaden the hub’s network with potential clients in order to offer tailored R&D/Consulting Project services to target groups, the hub’s services were presented to the private sector and also engaged in discussion on further collaboration between the ASTRA Hub and the private sector.
The launch event of the ASTRA Hub and the signing ceremony for the hub’s mandate
Coaching activities
Coaching activities
Coaching activities
ASTRA’s final Conference: a great success!
An important milestone of the project was reached with great success!
On 20th June 2024 the ASTRA International Conference took place in Vientiane, hosted by the National University of Laos. More than 80 attendees participated, all of them important stakeholders of the Higher Education ecosystem in Southeast Asia, including highly esteemed guests and speakers such as representatives of the Lao Ministry of Education and the EU Delegation.
Among captivating key-note speeches, the tangible results of ASTRA were presented by the partners through the work of the four newly established ASTRA R&D Hubs in Vientiane, Savannakhet, Phuket and Chiang Mai.
All partners agreed to ensure the sustainability of the ASTRA Hubs and the continuation of their work and operation after the end of funding period in the next step ahead!
The success of the Final International conference encapsulates the real, visible impact that the project has had on regional and national development and on advancing the modernization and internationalization of the Higher education systems in Laos and Thailand.
Thank you to all speakers, guests and participants for making the Conference a success!
