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Published on December 2, 2007

Students will be able to tailor their own courses to meet their needs and preferences when the Innovative Learning Institute starts next academic term.

ThaiCom Foundation deputy chairman Paron Israsena said people performed three times better when they did what they liked than what was required of them.

"This is how the institution originated. This is the first time in Thailand, or probably in the world, that undergraduate students have been able to design their own courses in competitive university study," he said.

"If a student wants to be a pilot, curriculum and courses will be tailor-made. This student will focus on related subjects when first entering the institute. It's like they begin doing their thesis in their first year," he said.

The institute is a cooperation between King Mongkut's Institute of Technology at Thon Buri and the foundation.

Home is a Bt240-million, 15-storey building on the Thon Buri campus. There are 14,500 square meters of space. Its inauguration on Friday was presided over by Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya.

The institute will provide education from kindergarten to upper high-school in the future, after the pilot run at undergraduate level.

The director, Assoc Prof Wiwat Ruengpanyakul, said the first term ,starting in May, would be open to five students, each under the supervision of two to three advisors. Each course costs Bt200,000, which will be made available through scholarships.

Each student needs to earn 120 credits. Sixty are available in subjects of their choosing while the remainder are for the general and compulsory content of an undergraduate degree.

The institute has an electronic library and an administrative staff.

Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong

The Nation