On February 6, 2023, TOYOTA TSUSHO NEXTY ELECTRONICS (THAILAND) CO., LTD. (hereinafter "NETH") and Khon Kaen University (hereinafter "KKU") signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at expanding collaboration in the areas of education, research, and employment.

A signing ceremony was held at KKU between the Dean of Engineering and President Takabayashi of NETH. Attendees from KKU included professors from the university's Faculty of Engineering, while attendees from NETH included the company's President and the Assistant General Manager of Device Sales, the General Manager of Software Development, and the General Manager of Human Resources. Following the signing ceremony, attendees toured KKU's facilities and Science Park before sharing a luncheon where they exchanged various ideas.

1．Purpose

KKU is a science park engaged in smart city planning in collaboration with the National Smart City Committee established by the Thai government and is equipped with a variety of agriculture-related initiatives and cutting-edge facilities. While mainly focused on research into AI and IoT technologies, KKU has been seeking places to effectively utilize the knowledge and experience of its students. Meanwhile, NETH has been facing its own challenges, such as a lack of research themes and engineering resources in its R&D department. This provided an excellent opportunity to work toward resolving these issues by expanding collaboration with KKU.

2．MOU Content

NETH and KKU agreed to collaborate in promoting the following three themes:

(1) Education: NETH engineers will provide basic technology and engage in human resource development together with KKU

(2) Development: Both parties will select joint R&D themes and carry out research with students

(3) Employment: By implementing (1) and (2) above, an exclusive hiring channel for outstanding students at NETH will be established

Through this industry-academia collaboration agreement, NETH will not only provide KKU students with valuable opportunities to conduct practical research and gain industry experience, but it will also help to resolve issues such as human resource shortages and leverage a variety of mutual benefits that include securing human resources, improving R&D capabilities, and fostering new business opportunities.

＜Photo from the signing ceremony＞

Left: Yasushi Takabayashi, President of NETH;

Right: Associate Professor Ratchaphon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at KKU