The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) will take the lead in the modernization of the curriculum of industrial engineering in Thailand by developing the curriculum of a Master’s degree program in Industrial Engineering for Thailand Sustainable Smart Industry (MSIE4.0). AIT will be the project coordinator of a consortium of nine universities, which has been selected for co-funding from the European Union for the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education.
Led by Industrial Systems Engineering (ISE) at AIT, MSIE4.0 is a three-year project totaling nearly € 980,000. A joint capacity building project between six Thai universities and three EU universities, it seeks to enhance the capacity of Thai universities in the delivery of a high-quality competency-based curriculum which will support sustainable smart industry (Industry 4.0), while conforming to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). 
According to project leader Dr. Pisut Koomsap of ISE, the curriculum will include 15 new student-centered courses, out of which nine will also undergo a pilot test. Teaching and learning materials are included in the project, and so is online learning. Other aspects include a creating a laboratory with remote access, and intensive training from EU partners in both teaching and technical staff.
“Our curriculum will focus on product, process, and production being the three pillars of an industry that is both smart and sustainable,” Dr. Pisut said. The focus is on modernization of education in the discipline of industrial engineering; development of courses, learning, and teaching tools; creating the delivery processes and creating a platform for student-centered learning; implementation of modern ICT tools and methodologies; introduction of quality assurance and the EQF approach; and the creation of a sustainable partnerships among universities. With EU moving towards a “Factories of the Future 2020” programme, the Thai government is also focusing on a shift from a production-based economy (Thailand 3.0) to a value-based economy (Thailand 4.0).
The partner universities in this project include the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as project coordinator; Chiang Mai University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Thammasat University, Khon Kaen University, and Prince of Songkla University in Thailand; University Politechnica of Bucharest (Romania), University of Minho (Portugal), and Częstochowa University of Technology (Poland) from the EU.
