NAVIGATING THAILAND’S SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND INNOVATION DIPLOMACY ECOSYSTEM
As part of the Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Initiative, in 2025, we conducted the Country Focused Workshop Series entitled “Navigating Science and Technology Diplomacy Ecosystems”.
This workshop series builds upon the research done in 2024 for the Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Report. which mapped Science and Technology Diplomacy strategies, priorities, and tools across Asia and Europe, providing a mapping of the status of Science Diplomacy across the two regions. Learn more about the Report and ASEF’s work in the field of Science and Technology Diplomacy in 2024 here.
THAILAND is an emerging regional leader in Southeast Asia, that integrates traditional and innovative S&T diplomacy with innovation diplomacy to drive economic competitiveness, international research collaborations, and sustainable development. Thailand’s STI diplomacy follows a decentralised model, allowing diverse stakeholders to contribute towards common national goals while maintaining flexibility in their approaches. This model is reinforced by interagency coordination, international partnerships, and data-driven policies, positioning Thailand as a hub for collaboration in space exploration, biotechnology, and green technology.
The Thailand workshop series explored this decentralised approach in action, showcasing the country’s strategic vision, institutional frameworks, and emerging opportunities, and how coordinated efforts across multiple sectors can enhance international partnerships and strengthen Thailand’s role in the global STI landscape.
ASEF organised 3 Webinars in July 2025 where we deep dived into Thailand’s Science and Technology Diplomacy Ecosystem:
- Webinar 1 | 7 July 2025 : The Role of Government Strategy and Actions in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem
- Webinar 2 | 14 July 2025: The Role of Academia and Research Institutions in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem and How to Work with Them
- Webinar 3 | 21 July 2025: The Role of Businesses in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem and How to Work with Them
Webinar 1 | 7 July 2025
The Role of Government Strategy and Actions in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem
WELCOME REMARKS
Mr ZHANG Lei, Deputy Executive Director, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
Mrs Chulamanee CHARTSUWAN, ASEF Governor for Thailand
Assoc. Prof. Wongkot WONGSAPAI, Vice President of the Office of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO)
KEYNOTE PRESENTER
Mrs Salinee PHONPRAPAI
Deputy Director-General, Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
Mrs Salinee Phonprapai is a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, currently Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs. Prior to that, she was a Director in the Department of East Asian Affairs, responsible for Thailand’s bilateral relations with neighbouring countries in the maritime area. She also served in the Ministry’s Office of Policy and Planning for 6 years. Her overseas assignment includes her posting at the Royal Thai Embassies in Yangon and Tokyo. Salinee graduated from the London School of Economic and Political Science,UK, where she received a PhD in International Relations in 2003.
MODERATOR
Dr Pranpreya SRIWANNAWIT LUNDBERG
Director of International Policy Partnership at the Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO)
Dr Pranpreya Sriwannawit Lundberg is Director of International Policy Partnership at the Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) in Bangkok, Thailand. She leads international collaboration efforts on higher education, science, research, and innovation policy, working across multilateral and bilateral platforms. She has represented the Government of Thailand in various international committees and task forces including the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy (CSTP), the UN ESCAP Committee on Information and Communications Technology, Science, Technology and Innovation (CICTSTI), and the BIMSTEC Expert Group on Human Resources Development. She has also served on secondment as Assistant to the Minister of Science and Technology and the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Pranpreya holds a PhD in Industrial Economics and Management from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.
PANELLISTS
Dr. Pongpan KAEWTATIP
Director of Intelligence Unit: Science Research and Innovation for Economic Development, Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI)
Dr. Pongpan Kaewtatip received his PhD from Nippon Institute of Technology (NIT), Japan in 2000. He has been working at Faculty of Engineering, KMUTT until the present. Now, he is an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He had been the head of department from 2010-2014. He is also the Committee of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Thailand (TSAE) until now. He was the Vice President for R&D of TSAE for several years. He has also served as Vice president for research promotion of the Electric Vehicle Association of Thailand (EVAT) since 2016. His research interest includes metal forming technology, as well as the forming of new frontier materials such as SMA, biomedical materials, etc. He is also interested in the field of energy policy, renewable energy especially in transport sector. Now he is focusing on Innovation policy which relates to his current position at TSRI. Dr.Pongpan has been working with The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) since 2014 before TRF has been transformed to Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) in 2019. He has played an important role in establishing a national research funding program to support industrial-academia partnership. He was the Vice President of TSRI between 2019 to 2024. He is now Director of Intelligence Unit: Science Research and Innovation for Economic Development. TSRI is the national organization responsible for policy planning and budget allocation for Science, Research and Innovation from 2nd May 2019.
Dr Kanchana WANICHKORN
Director of Sectoral Development, ASEAN Economic Community Department, The ASEAN Secretariat
Dr Kanchana Wanichkorn is the Director of Sectoral Development under the ASEAN Economic Community at the ASEAN Secretariat, a position she has held since June 2023. She currently oversees the formulation of the ASEAN Economic Sectoral Plans, which supports the realization of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. Kanchana plays a central role in shaping strategic regional initiatives, including the advancement of the ASEAN Power Grid, the ASEAN sustainable agriculture and food systems and the implementation of ASEAN Blue Economy Framework. She also oversees the Initiative for ASEAN Integration & Narrowing Development Gap and subregional cooperation (IMT-GT, BIMP-EAGA and GMS) supporting economic development across border areas. Prior to joining the ASEAN Secretariat, Kanchana served as Vice President of Thailand’s Office of National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO), where she led national and international STI policy, and inter-agency coordination to enhance Thailand’s innovation and policy landscape. Kanchana brings over two decades of experience at the intersection of science, public policy, and regional cooperation. She holds a PhD in Engineering & Public Policy and a Master’s in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University; an MA in Applied Economics and an MS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan; and a BS (with Distinction) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
Mr Thitidej TULARAK
Minister-Counselor (Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation), Royal Thai Embassy, Washington D.C.
Mr. Thitidej Tularak is the Minister-Counselor (Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation) at Royal Thai Embassy, Washington D.C. responsible for all bilateral and regional matters related to the work of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Mr. Tularak had a background in Electrical & Computer Engineering and Mathematics, and received his Master of Engineering from Cornell University, U.S. through the Royal Thai Scholarship Program. Before his post at the Embassy in 2024, he served the Thai Government at the Office of Atoms for Peace, the nuclear regulatory body of Thailand, as a senior nuclear engineer. He also served as the Head of International Cooperation Section there for over two years. He had been working closely with several countries and international organizations including International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), Governments of US, Canada, ROK, Australia and ASEAN countries.
Webinar 2 | 14 July 2025
The Role of Academia and Research Institutions in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem
KEYNOTE PRESENTER
Assoc. Prof Rattachat MONGKOLNAVIN
Associate Professor, Chulalongkorn University Chairperson of the Committee on Promoting and Enhancing Higher Education Toward Quality and International Standards, MHESI, Thailand
Assoc. Prof. Rattachat Mongkolnavin is currently the Chairperson of the Committee on Enhancing Quality of Higher Education toward International Standards, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI). The Committee plays a crucial role to support MHESI in driving the key policy on ‘Reinventing Thai Universities’ to raise the standard and enhance the quality of Thia Higher Education institutions and Transnational education is one of the key approaches to support this policy. Assoc. Prof. Rattachat is an Associate Professor at the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University. He is specialised in plasma physics and nuclear. He received PhD (Particle Physics) from Imperial College London.
MODERATOR
Dr Somkiat KAMOLPUN
Minister-Counsellor (Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation), OHESI Brussels, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand
Dr. Somkiat Kamolpun is the Minister-Counsellor (Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation) at the Office of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in Brussels, Belgium. He oversees academic and technical cooperation between Thailand and the European Union, countries in continental Europe and the UK. Prior to his tenure in Brussels, he served as the Director of Global Human Development Group, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, oversaw student, faculty and researcher mobility programs, including AIMS, ASEM DUO-Thailand Fellowship Program and UMAP Micro-credential programs. In addition, he was in charge of the Thailand Scholarships Program, ASEA-UNINET and research collaboration under the Thailand and France education and research cooperation framework. On the regional level, Somkiat served as the member of ASEAN Working Group on Higher Education Mobility, UMAP Board, AIMS Steering Committee, as well as the Drafting Team of APT Joint Guidelines for New Forms of Mobility in Higher Education. He obtains a doctorate in higher education management from University of Pittsburgh. His research interests are international and comparative education, strategic plan and budget management, and learning outcomes.
PANELLISTS
Dr Worajit SETTHAPUN
Assistant Dean, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University
Asst. Prof. Dr. Worajit Setthapun is the lecturer and the former Dean of the Asian Development College for Community Economy and Technology (adiCET), Chiang Mai Rajabhat University, Thailand. Currently, Dr. Setthapun is also the Thailand’s Expert Group for Talent Mobility for ASEAN (EGTM). She is the EGTM secretariat to coordinate Talent mobility programs with the ASEAN Dialog partners. She was the former Deputy Director for the Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B). She oversees the global partnership and climate change programs for Thailand frontier research. Dr. Setthapun was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship and received her MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan with doctoral appointment at Argonne National Laboratory. She established the Chiang Mai World Green City as the living laboratory for green technologies with renewable energy-based Smart Community. She was the ASEAN-U.S. Science and Technology Fellow and worked at the Ministry of Energy, Thailand on Decentralized Community Power. She was the 2016 ASEAN-US Women in Science for sustainable energy.
Ms Leonie NAGARAJAN
Representative, EURAXESS Worldwide
Ms Leonie Nagarajan works at the nexus of education, research, and sustainability. She is the ASEAN Representative for EURAXESS Worldwide, a European Commission initiative that advances researcher mobility, international collaboration, and science diplomacy between Europe and the global research community. As the former Education Director at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), she led multilateral programmes spanning higher education, teacher training, lifelong learning, and youth leadership across Asia and Europe. She is also the Co-founder of a Singapore-based social enterprise that drives circularity in the education sector. Leonie holds a Master’s in Communication Sciences from the Free University of Berlin.
Dr Romyen KOSAIKANONT
Vice President, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand
Dr. Romyen Kosaikanont is Vice President at Mae Fah Luang University (MFU), Thailand, and former Centre Director of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation: Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (SEAMEO RIHED). At SEAMEO RIHED, she advanced the internationalization of higher education in Southeast Asia, working closely with member countries and the ASEAN Secretariat to co-create a common higher education space with the DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusive and Belonging) principles. Under her leadership, SEAMEO RIHED lead key regional initiatives aimed at harmonizing higher education through policy dialogues such as the Southeast Asian Higher Education Senior Officials Meeting (SEA-HiEd SOM), student mobility programs like the Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS), and collaborative platforms including the RIHED-SHARE online knowledge exchange.
Webinar 3 | 21 July 2025
The Role of Businesses in Thailand’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Diplomacy Ecosystem
KEYNOTE PRESENTER
Dr. Krithpaka BOONFUENG
Executive Director, National Innovation Agency Thailand
Dr.Krithpaka Boonfueng is the Executive Director of the National Innovation Agency in Thailand. She graduated LL.B.(Second Class Honors), Thammasat University in 1994, LL.M. (Business Law), Chulalongkorn University in 1997, Barrister-at-Law, Thai Bar Association in1998, LL.M. (International Business Law), American University, U.S. in 1999, LL.M. University of Pennsylvania, U.S. in 2000, and Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.), American University, U.S. in 2003. She received the Thai Government Scholarship to study the intellectual property law in the US. After graduated she launched her career at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) as the intellectual property specialist for 12 years and then worked at the Biodiversity-Based Economy Development Office (Public Organization) as the Director of Legal Development and Intellectual Property Management Group from 2015-2018. She was the Legal Expert, Board of Directors, Defense Technology Institute, Ministry of Defense from 2012 to 2017 In academia area, she is the part-time lecturer (Master Degree) at the Graduate School of Management and Innovation, Thammasat University and the King Monkut’s University of Technology Thonburi and the School of Law at Ramkhamhaeng University and Bangkok University. Moreover, she is the Associate Judge of the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court. Her expertise is in the Intellectual Property Law (Copyright, Patent, Trademark), the Electronic Commerce and Internet Law and the Intellectual Property and Innovation Management.
MODERATOR
Ms Linnéa REGNELL
Project Executive, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
Ms Linnéa Regnell, a Swedish national, joined ASEF and the Education Department in 2023 to work with the Youth Projects, which aim to bring young people, aged 18-30, together from Asia and Europe for Global Citizenship Education, Leadership Capacity Building, and Intercultural Understanding. Most recently, in her role at ASEF and in the scope of the Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Initiative, she coordinated and authored the comparative report of the ‘Asia-Europe Science & Technology Diplomacy Report: Mapping Science & Technology Diplomacy Strategies and Actions in the Two Regions’. Linnéa graduated with a Master of Laws from University of Uppsala in 2022 where she specialised in Public International Law, mediation, and negotiation. Besides her studies – and during the year following her graduation – she worked with student organisations to organise projects for law students to enrich their experience at University. She did this in her role as an executive board member of the largest law student organisation in Europe (the European Law Students Association) and in cooperation with universities, law firms, and institutions such as the Council of Europe and the World Trade Organization.
PANELLISTS
Dr. Pun-Arj CHAIRTATANA
Chairman of the Board, Canvas Ventures International (CVI)
Dr. Pun-Arj Chairatana, a pioneering Thai leader, serves as Chairman of the Board for Canvas Ventures International (CVI), a venture capital firm launched in 2024 to propel Thai startups in deep tech, creative tech, and pink economy ventures, including LGBTQ-focused initiatives, onto the global stage. Based in Bangkok, CVI, under his leadership, positions Thailand as a regional hub for inclusive innovation. Dr. Chairatana is the original visionary behind the “innovation diplomacy” concept, integrating it into real-world practice to foster global collaboration through innovation-driven policies. As a key figure in Thai politics, he champions these policies to enhance regional economic integration and inclusivity. His prior role as Executive Director of Thailand’s National Innovation Agency (NIA) honed his expertise in sustainable growth. With a physics background, Dr. Chairatana’s philosophy, “Crafting every dot of imagination,” drives his mission to establish Thailand as a global leader in innovation through diplomacy and collaboration.
Dr Ajaree TAVORNMAS
Partner, Access-Europe and Chair of Sustainability Committee, Thai European Business Association (TEBA)
As an EU-Thai national, Dr Ajaree Tavornmas has over 20 years of experience fully dedicated to international public affairs both in Europe and Thailand. Specialised in international trade, foreign & security policy, as well as strategic dialogue & partnership building across key industries, her professional career has always been linked to Asia, ASEAN, and Thailand. Ajaree has a solid track record advising governments, international organisations, multinational companies, as well as trade associations on strategies for engaging and influencing public policy as well as solving complex political, economic, and business problems, to improve the alignment and collaboration and to further market access at both national and global levels. Ajaree is a co-founder and partner of Access-Europe and LINKS advisory. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Politics, International Relations and European Studies, from Loughborough University, United Kingdom. She also received a Master in International Political Economy from Warwick University, United Kingdom and a Master in European Studies from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Her passion is to build stronger partnership between Europe and Asia and to promote sustainability and diversity in the business world.
Dr. Darmp SUKONTASAP
Lecturer, Rangsit University and Member, Legal Committee, National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), Thailand
Dr. Darmp Sukontasap is currently a lecturer at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies (IDIS), Rangsit University, Thailand. He is also a Member of the Legal Committee, National Cybersecurity Agency (NCSA) of Thailand and was involved in the drafting of Thailand’s National Cybersecurity Act (2019) from the outset. Dr. Sukontasap was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in 2022. He was also Chairman of the Executive Board of the Export-Import Bank of Thailand during that same period. A Fulbright and an ASEAN Fellowship Scholar, Dr. Sukontasap received his doctorate degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. He also completed the Program on Managing Global Business for Senior Executives at L’Institut Europeen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD), France.
Look out for the announcement of further speakers for the sessions soon!
WHO JOINED?
We invited attendees from Asia and Europe from the following areas:
- Academics, managers of public and private tertiary education institutions
- Government officials, policymakers and diplomats working with Science and Technology Diplomacy topics in international collaboration
- Professionals working for businesses focusing on Research, Innovation, and Science Diplomacy.
Attendees could join all of the workshops or just select those they felt were most relevant for them.
The sessions were open to the public.
PARTNERS
Are you interested in engaging in or collaborating with us on this project? Please do not hesitate to contact us at scitech[at]asef.org.
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