Assistant Professor Dr. Orawit Thinnukool, Acting Assistant to the Dean, College of Arts, Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University (CMU), coordination team of the International Affairs Division, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. represented Chiang Mai University as an invited speaker at “Erasmus+ Thailand 2026: Strengthening Thai Higher Education towards Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) Funding.” The event was held on 28 August 2026 at Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square, Bangkok, Thailand.
The event served as a national platform to strengthen Thai higher education institutions’ understanding of Erasmus+ and the Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) programme. Key topics included opportunities for Thai universities to participate in Erasmus+, approaches to identifying international partners, building collaborative networks, and preparing competitive CBHE proposals.
As part of the programme, Asst. Prof. Dr. Orawit Thinnukool led a workshop entitled “From Ideas to Proposals: Developing High-Quality and Competitive CBHE Projects.” The session focused on transforming project ideas into well-structured proposals by connecting key elements, including the identified problem, evidence and needs, project objectives, methodology, activities, expected outputs and outcomes, impact, and sustainability.
Drawing on his experience as Project Coordinator of the Erasmus+ CBHE Tourism-Zero project, Dr. Thinnukool shared practical lessons from Chiang Mai University’s participation in international cooperation projects, including Tourism-Zero, INNO4Tourism, ASTRA, and International Credit Mobility (ICM). His presentation highlighted the importance of building strong international partnerships, identifying shared challenges among partner countries, and designing project activities that can produce measurable and sustainable results.
The Tourism-Zero project was presented as a practical case demonstrating how an Erasmus+ project can connect higher education with the tourism and hospitality sectors. The presentation highlighted activities undertaken by Chiang Mai University in areas such as responsible tourism, innovation in tourism and hospitality, and waste management towards Zero Waste practices. These examples demonstrated how CBHE projects can extend beyond curriculum development and training by connecting universities with businesses, communities, and other stakeholders.
The seminar also provided an opportunity for representatives of successful CBHE projects to share their experiences and lessons learned with participating institutions. A further highlight was a session by Dr. Petronela Burceag, Project Manager and Adviser at the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), European Commission, who presented key CBHE issues and perspectives on proposal evaluation from EACEA.
Through its participation in Erasmus+ Thailand 2026, Chiang Mai University contributed its experience and good practices to the wider Thai higher education community while strengthening connections with universities, national agencies, and European partners. The event also created opportunities for future collaboration and the development of new Erasmus+ initiatives linking Thailand, Europe, and international higher education networks.
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