Despite a drop in birth rate and the decreasing number of young people in Thailand, joint or double degree programmes are expected to grow due to increasing demands from neighbouring countries such as Vietnam. 

According to the Vice President of Mahanakorn University of Technology (MUT), one of Thailand’s private universities, 45% of the Vietnamese population are aged under 25, making Vietnam one of top countries sending students to study overseas; Thailand is ranked in the top ten most popular destinations for Vietnamese students (number 8 globally and number 3 in Asia, behind Japan and South Korea), with Engineering ranked number 3 among most popular subject areas. The number of Vietnamese students in Thailand this year has grown by over 70% compared to the previous two years, which is due to the quality of education in Thailand and living costs which are similar to Vietnam. MUT is promoting joint and double degrees in Engineering, developed in partnership with UK universities.

Comment and analysis by Uraiwan Samolee, Head of Business Development, Education: 

Recently there has increasing demand for TNE course development at Thai universities which are looking for opportunities to attract students from other countries in Asia such as Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. As a result, this is a good opportunity for UK universities to expand their own markets through TNE and reach students not only from Thailand, but also other Asian countries. With the world-famous hospitality of local people and reasonable living costs, Thailand remains one of the most popular study destinations in Asia.

Source of information: Siam Rath Newspaper, Tuesday 21 March 2017