AI-powered education platform will power up Thai economy: NetDragon

The artificial intelligence (AI) powered education platform called “aom-ai” is expected to help boost the potential of human capital, create jobs and stimulate the Thai economy amid rapid digital transformation. 

The lifelong learning platform has been jointly developed by Chinese digital platform company NetDragon Websoft Holdings and IT company EDA (Thailand), with support from the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry.

In an exclusive interview with The Nation on Tuesday, NetDragon’s vice chairman Simon Leung explained how platform focuses on personalised learning through AI integration, allowing users to accumulate knowledge efficiently and effectively. 

The platform’s AI teacher offers lessons and a personalised educational journey by enabling users to communicate and develop their chosen course, he explained.

Enhancing skills development 

Initially, lessons in English for healthcare will be made available to help Thailand’s medical staff communicate fluently with foreigners in line with the country’s plan to promote medical tourism.

Leung said this course will encourage more foreigners to come to Thailand for treatment, adding that people from China and Hong Kong love coming here for medical checkups and tourism.

“I believe this is a great opportunity for Thailand, but the fact is that you need better language skills [to achieve this goal],” he said, adding that English for tourism will be launched later to support the tourism sector.

Thanks to AI’s learning potential, he said the platform can offer other courses instead of just language skills tailored to the needs of Thais, such as financial survival, digital foundation, knowhow on electric vehicles (EVs) and semiconductors.

“The idea is not only just for education. We want to impact the economy by creating jobs, and then people can go get jobs and make more money,” he said.

Leung affirmed that the platform will not replace teachers. Instead, he said, teachers will be even more important because they have to learn soft skills for their students.

“The idea is to free up teachers, so they can go do more things with students,” he said. 

NetDragon’s resource centres to train nationwide

Leung said he expects Thai universities to collaborate with NetDragon to help young people learn and understand artificial intelligence, so they can make the most of career opportunities both locally and internationally.

He said the company is planning on setting up resource centres in Thailand to offer knowledge to people nationwide. “What we want to do is train people. We want them to grow and expand initially to other parts of Southeast Asia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Natasak Rodjanapiches, executive director of EDA (Thailand), said the aom-ai platform enhances learning efficiency and career development, with recognised certification.

“The word ‘aom’ in Thai means embracing and saving. So aom-ai refers to saving a lot of knowledge,” he said.

He added that combining NetDragon's technological expertise with EDA's local knowledge has resulted in a modern educational solution tailored to individual learning styles and industry needs. 

The aom-ai platform, along with other cutting-edge education and online gaming platforms, are being showcased at the “MHESI Fair 2024: SCI Power for Future Thailand” at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok from July 22-28.

Technology key to consistent quality in digital transformation

Leung went on to say that NetDragon is collaborating with Thai agencies as it has witnessed a growing demand for upskilling and reskilling of people amid rapid digitalisation of industries. 

He noted that Thailand needs both human capital and technology to successfully transform. For instance, he said, if you just rely on humans, the quality will fluctuate and to address this problem, you need technology.

When asked about people’s uncertainty about new technology, he said he believes AI will start playing an increasing role in people’s lives, much like the internet.

“When the internet first arrived, a lot of people were worried about it. But at the end of the day, you use the internet, he uses the internet. You are going to die without using the internet. I think AI is going to be like that,” he said.

He affirmed that AI helps reduce time spent on certain jobs, so people can go into something that is more interesting, more valuable and makes more money. Technology is crucial for boosting Thailand’s potential to attract foreign travellers and investors, resulting in positive sentiment on the economy, he added.

Leung stressed that factors crucial for digital transformation in Thailand include the government’s commitment and people’s readiness to embrace digitalisation.

He recommended that the government continue training young people to embrace digitalisation, especially AI. “I do not think Thailand has a problem for young people to embrace. That is why I am really positive about the development,” he said, adding that the company is ready to support the government on the development.

 

Background 

NetDragon has been successfully operating in the field of educational technology and online gaming industry worldwide over the past 10 years, thanks to the development of hardware, software, platforms and learning resources. 

The company currently provides educational services in more than 2 million classrooms with more than 150 million students across 192 countries.

EDA, meanwhile, has expertise in developing AI-based lifelong learning platforms and skill-matching that meet international standards in a bid to close the gap between education and employment amid rapid changes in the labour market.

The company also focuses on offering digital literacy, access to education and skill development for people across Thailand, especially underprivileged ones.