µ¦¦³»
¤ª·
µµ¦Â¨³Á°¨µª·
´
¥¤®µª·
¥µ¨´
¥´
¬·
¦´Ê
¸É
19 ¦³Î
µe
2552
there, selection was based on GPA (Grade Point Average). GPA refers to the grades pupils got in the last year of
secondary school. This is a way to take into account their former academic achievements. Next to that, students
also took an additional test submitted by the university. At the time of research, it was a multiple-choice test, but
the head of the programme said it would be better to screen them in other ways, to have the possibility to assess
for instance critical thinking and self-expression abilities of students.
All interviewed universities receive many applications and therefore they do not have problems in filling
up their programme. Students are attracted by the fame of the university but also by the specificity of the
programme taught there. They have high expectations regarding this curriculum.
2. Setting up a relevant curriculum
The different co-op education programmes we took into account in our study deal with IT, Human
Resources (HR), Quality Assurance (QA), and Engineering. They are taught at a Bachelor Level (4 years).
Companies are interested in those programmes because they, and this is one of the first reasons, want to
set up partnership with universities. They chose to be involved in that particular programme because it was taught
by that particular university. We can assume it is a way to enhance their image, and this idea is also conveyed by
the fact that many companies brought to the fore that co-op education was part of their “
corporate social
responsibility
”.
Though the fame of the university is important and the willingness to be linked with it is also a major
explanation for their involvement, other motives are of course to be taken into account. Companies want to attract
good students before they graduate so as to be able to keep them when they finish their studies.
The companies we interviewed indeed underlined the difficulties they face in recruiting skilled labour,
and especially middle-range managers. They think by joining together with the universities they can contribute to
the training of the labour force Thailand needs, and also benefit from that effort. In that respect, they think
cooperative education is more interesting than internships, mainly because it is spanned over a longer period.
Companies also mentioned their desire to bring into the company updated knowledge from students and
expertise from lecturers. They want to seize the opportunity of co-op education to create innovation and realise a
win-win situation for universities, companies, and students. Achieving this relies on one hand upon a strong
curriculum, and on the other hand on an appropriate assignment in the workplace. We will first focus on the
curriculum and section 3 will deal with the company’s assignments side.
2.1 Developing human skills for the working environment
The remarks below are based on the interviews of companies and students. They both have expectations
as far as the curriculum of the co-op programme is concerned. They emphasise the need for students to have the
following human skills: coordination; communication; personality and leadership; sense of responsibility and self-
confidence; adaptability and problem-solving; creative thinking.
