Sweden takes good care of creative ideas and clever innovations, from idea to market, while Thailand is full of great entrepreneurs making decent incomes and often not much more.
The idea behind RSU’s, Rangsit University’s, new Master of Arts Programme, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management, is to merge the best of the above from the two nations.
That will enable Thai students, who wish to work in an international environment by creating products and services from their visions, to achieve their goals.
RSU starts the programme early next year at its Sathorn campus in downtown Bangkok.
“We hope to have up to 30 students enrolled when we begin in March 2007,” says Mr. Peter Bjork, who holds a Master and is one of the full time instructors. He is joined by Mr.Toni Ivergard, PhD (UK), Docent (Sweden), Associate Professor – Programme Chair; Mr. Arthur Morse, PhD (UK).
”The programme runs over approximately 18 months. Five to ten months of them will be spent at Mälardalen University in Sweden, innovation and entrepreneurship is taught at the school’s centre for creativity/innovation/design. How long one stays in Sweden depends in which country the student wish to write the thesis that rounds off the programme,” explains Peter Bjork.
Target groups of this programme are entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs-to-be, people with background in engineering and anyone with a passion for design, innovation and creativity.
“I like to stress that this programme teaches students management, meaning how to manage your ideas and creativity and realize the products and services you envision.”
Accompanied by a team of experts from Sweden, Scandinavia, UK and Thailand, participants will sharpen their capacity to identify core creative, artistic or scientific, technological or human/technology issues, to take and implement decisions.
In this way, the programme demonstrates its ambition to differentiate itself from the mainstream curricula found at most Thai universities.
“This cooperation is a part of our internationalisation process and shows how RSU resolves to differentiate the university by offering programmes that elevate students’ capacities to levels needed in today’s competitive global marketplace,” explains Peter Bjork.
A glance in this year’s Global Competiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum explains why programmes like the RSU one are so important.
“Good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world-class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy,” says Mr. Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist; Director, Global Competitiveness Network when asked to comment why Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world’s most competitive economies 2006-2007. Thailand holds 35th spot on the ranking. Last, 125th, is Angola.
