Chula Business School unveils 'lifeline learning safe haven'
Chulalongkorn Business School (CBS) is starting a new semester under the “new normal” with the “CBS Lifeline Learning Approach”, a model that aims to create a new dimension of learning and teaching in higher education. It has been designed to motivate learning that goes beyond the combination of online and offline and take it towards a lifeline learning concept.
“We have to go further than just the development of an effective platform and change the mindset of students, convincing them that learning cannot be obtained just in the classroom or online but all the time and everywhere including at home, while using mass transit or through social media,” said Assoc Prof Dr Wilert Puriwat, dean of CBS.
“Our goal is to build a learning culture where students are enthusiastic about learning all the time and not just in following education programmes."
Wilert said that CBS remains the country’s leading school for international programmes, both for bachelor’s and master’s degrees. This year, the number of applicants was almost three times higher than admissions last year, partly because Covid-19 has made it difficult for Thai students to go abroad and they have therefore opted for the CBS.
“Notably, the CBS attracts talented students to its international programmes. Exams for admission to the Bachelor of Business Administration saw the SAT [Scholastic Assessment Test] attain a new high with scores of 1,560, which is the top score in Thailand and qualifies the student to apply for admission to the world's leading universities,” he said.
Wilert added that the new learning model will support well-known professors from leading global universities including Harvard, Cambridge, Stanford and Oxford in teaching courses online at both the bachelor and master levels. Formerly, it has been difficult to invite them to lecture as they needed at least one week for each trip and this proved expensive for the CBS.
“Today, the CBS is not just an institution offering both an offline and online system, but a symbol of lifeline learning to develop life values anywhere and at any time.”
Meanwhile, under the CBS Safe Haven Model, free face shields and masks are distributed to all students, while Banshi Robots spray disinfectant and conduct body temperature checks at screening spots. The CBS has also partnered with Dhipaya Insurance to offer students and staff insurance with special coverage for the treatment of Covid-19.
The school also continues to encourage students to make social contributions through various projects, among them the CBA (Chulalongkorn Business Administration), an internship programme that allows students to operate a real business enterprise. The project is expected to produce students with the capacity to conduct business and return the profits to society in form of social and environmental activities.
Wilert added that the CBS would sign an MoU with the Office of SMEs Promotion to allow students to help SMEs develop business plans in the digital age. It will also team up with Siam Piwat Co Ltd, so that students can help small vendors at IconSiam’s Sook Siam Zone, who have been severely affected by the pandemic, to create marketing and sales strategies.
“The CBS crisis management based on ‘the Safe Haven for Lifeline Learning’ model ensures that the school is not only on par with international learning standards, but underlines CBS’s position as the most excellent management school of the Thai people,” said Wilert.
