Bangkok--1 Sep--Index Creative Village
On Thursday 24th August, Dr Andrew Scown, President of Stamford International University and Gilles Mahe, CEO Laureate Thailand, detailed Stamford's plans as it progresses toward the 4.0 era as well as announcing its graduate survey results, which show 71% of Stamford graduates getting jobs with a higher salary than the market average.
With its focus on providing superior outcomes to its students, Stamford firmly embraces the digital future and opportunities offered by the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' and Thailand 4.0. Stamford will navigate the challenges of this new era by leveraging its '4-I' framework which consists: International perspective, Industry linkage, Innovation and Integrity.
Dr Scown elaborated on the 4-I model and how its principles will guide Stamford through the fluid and ever-changing technological landscape. Beginning with its outlook, he said: "Stamford is truly international and we have applied international perspective in everything that we do including the classroom experience, curriculum and standard of operation. We have also partnered with reputable universities like Kendall and Pace in the USA, Blue Mountain in Australia, the European University, and the Media Design School in New Zealand. Additionally, we are part of the Laureate International Universities network, the largest higher education network in the world and we have IACBE accreditation."
Stamford doesn't just have impressive global academic links, it also has considerable Industry Linkage. "We have close ties with a broad spectrum of industry partners and we continue to develop these links. We recently signed an MOU with Index Creative Village and another with L'Oreal. We strongly believe that industry experts with hands-on experience help our students understand real business challenges and create graduates that are job-ready. To further facilitate these ties, we have opened our Career Hub to help students with internships, career services, and industry relations."
The dynamic nature of technology and the digital realm require adaptable and innovative techniques to maximize benefits to students. As a forward-looking university, Stamford strives to deliver state-of-art education with cutting-edge teaching methodologies. Dr Scown explains, "We are innovative in the way we design our program and curriculum. As well as co-developing curricula with industry partners, we also embrace technology to interact with students. We use internationally recognized teaching platforms like Blackboard to offer blended and fully online programs, so students can learn anywhere and anytime." He continues, "The final and most important element of the 4-I model is integrity. It ensures that as Stamford moves into 4.0, graduates have recognized and demonstrated good local and global citizenship."
All these elements are an integral part of Stamford's forward-thinking strategy. Gilles Mahe, CEO of Stamford Thailand, reiterated the need for adaptability in the current landscape in relation to Thai higher education. "With Thailand 4.0, universities need to adjust programs and deliveries to match the demand of industries and businesses of today and the future. At Stamford, we are focusing on providing our graduates with high-quality education, with up-to-date knowledge and hands-on skills to ensure that they meet the needs of the ever-fluid modern workplace."
With its raft of new programs such as a BBA in Entrepreneurship, BBA concentrations in Business Intelligence and International Relations, a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Art in English (Global Communication), Stamford continues to develop and adapt to the needs of the modern workplace. This, combined with a variety of delivery options, new campuses and education spaces, has been showing results. Mr Mahe said: "We have succeeded in providing superior outcomes to our graduates. For example, according to a 2016 graduate survey, 82% of our graduates got a job in 6 months, with 31% of our graduates getting a job before graduation. Additionally, 71% got a salary higher than market average. These figures show in concrete terms how well our programs and methods have worked."
With 4.0 upon us, there are considerable technological and pedagogical challenges posed by the ever-changing state of technology. As Stamford International University has shown however, the digital revolution can be embraced and leveraged for advantage if the correct models and frameworks are in place. With its '4I model' and modern flexible student-centered approach to education, the university is more than ready for the future.