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the same pattern. However, companies complained this is a heavy workload for mentors and “
university should
support the company and give financial support for mentors in company
”.
Interaction between company and university is essential to ensure success in terms of knowledge
acquisition and transmission. A strong relationship between the two components is therefore necessary to be built.
Companies and students alike mentioned that more communication between university and company is needed.
What was true regarding the curriculum (see section 2 of this chapter) is reiterated as far as the assignment within
the company is concerned. There is not enough consultation between company mentors and university supervisors.
Students also mentioned the lack of follow-up by their supervisor during their time spent within the company.
“
Supervisor from university should come more than one time per semester to solve problems
” and in some cases,
“
the supervisor did not come on the site during the co-op period
”.
Supervisors often do not come to the company directly. Companies are not always located in the
neighbourhood of the university and site visits are a cost that cannot be borne by some universities. Some
supervisors only do follow-up over the phone, meaning that in some cases, students do not come face to face with
their supervisor during their company assignment at all. In Northeast University, the students we interviewed felt
mostly left on their own while in the company. When supervisors do come to the company, still there are some
problems. They do some evaluations but companies deplored that assignment grids and criteria do not match the
reality. They are designed solely by the university, and so are the company’s assignment guidelines. Companies
regret not being involved in the processes of elaborating these documents.
Moreover, evaluation and supervision are made by lecturers but they lack experience regarding working
with and within private companies. “
Supervisor should talk more when he/she comes for a site visit to understand
the context of the job
”.
Co-op is a recent concept in Thai education, and lecturers are not familiar with the supervising duties
involved by it. Interviewees explained that university supervisors should clearly know what their students are
doing in the workplace, the related job description, and also how work is organised in companies.
Conclusion
Though the sample we had is far too narrow to give a broad scope of co-op education in Thailand, it has
underlined some features and issues. Most students joining co-op programmes come from general education and
selection at the entrance is not specific. Concerning the curriculum taught by universities, it looks like there have
been many lacks in terms of human skills, and basic and specific knowledge acquisition. Concerning the
company’s assignment side, many students do not spend a long period at the workplace and the duties they are
assigned with resemble the one of a low-qualified internship. Supervision during their time within the company is
scarce and university supervisors lack experience and knowledge to deal with their supervising duties.
