Chula’s Faculty of Veterinary Science ranks Top 53 in the world

Assoc. Prof. Dr Nuvee Prapasarakul, Associate Dean for Research, Innovation, and Corporate Communication of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University acknowledged how proud it was for the Faculty to be ranked first in Thailand, ninth in Asia, and 53rd in the world – an improvement from last year where it was in the 83rd place.  

This is a reflection of strength in the area of research that will increase our potential, making it better known in the international arena.  

The rankings can be found at https://www.scimagoir.com/institution.php?idp=8211

The main indicators used in the SIR 2023 university rankings fall under these 3 categories:    

1.    Research amounts to 50% based on the number of academic documentation, journals, research works, number of citations, and number of writers related to academic and research works referenced in the Scopus Database.    

2.    Innovation amounts to 30% with emphasis placed on knowledge of innovations, patents, or scientific publications in institutions according to the Patent Statistical Database. 

3.    Societal amounts to 20% based on public relations, website size, number of website pages connected to each institution’s URL, the number of subnets that link the access to the institution’s website, and the volume of documentation and news publicized on social media.

The Associate Dean identifies the five outstanding features of Chula’s Faculty of Veterinary Science that give them a competitive edge in comparison with other universities in Asia, as being:   

1.    The Faculty of Veterinary Science has applied various research works to problems related to the veterinary profession which include epidemics, drug resistance problems, wildlife conservation, etc.     

2.    Qualified human resources – at present as many as seven of our faculty members are outstanding national researchers. 

3.    Funding – the Faculty has been able to generate no less than 60 million baht (or no less than 500,00 baht per person) through the research produced by its highly competent faculty membersท.   

4.    Connecting research works to the education it provides — the continuing education unit which falls under the Faculty’s Research Section is responsible for presenting and disseminating the research works that respond to the needs of society.  Training courses are offered to the public which is a form of Lifelong Learning and fulfilling Chula’s mission of being a Research University as well. 

5.    Policies supported by the University such as the Chula Centennial Project with the establishment of the Dairy Innovation Center in Saraburi Province and the Animal Cadaver Donation Center have enabled its faculty members to contribute more significantly to society.  There is also the C2F project which provides financial assistance to students and post-doctoral researchers who show good potential and the Research Support Fund through the Ratchadaphisek Sompot Fund, the Office of Research Management.  

Nuvee also added that “Our success derives from applying our outstanding features at the right place and time. We are also fortunate that our lecturers are part of networks at both the national and international levels resulting in many collaborative efforts for research.”  

He also stressed that the Faculty has been able to lend its support to new and mid-career researchers.  There is a mentor system that enables new researchers to acquire funding for their research projects at a higher level.  There is a centre that is tasked with promoting innovations and submitting research works to international competitions as well as helping develop skills in writing research articles and project proposals.  

He acknowledged the fact that Chula has become a Comprehensive University with interdisciplinary work that has enabled us to avail of new opportunities for technological development and novel forms of innovations in the research work we produce.     

The Faculty of Veterinary Science places great emphasis on promoting the creation of innovations by its students and faculty through its project to promote eco-innovations. This has been done by way of creating a study space through Chula’s Spin-Off company with the support of the CU Enterprise that has brought about various types of activities like the Innovation and Enterprise Clinic supported by its alumni; innovation support and dissemination to businesses and enterprises via the CUVET Startup for Future Leaders; the Innovative sandbox incubation program for students; creating sustainability for start-up businesses by enabling them to access sources of funding and carry out the business with greater ease with such projects as a training course for management of corporate governance and taxes, the Demo Day for Innovators project and a project to promote the entry of companies to the capital market, etc.     

As such, the Faculty of Veterinary Science of Chulalongkorn University has produced numerous amounts of research and innovations to serve society and the Thai nation some of the highlights are innovative products used to replace antibiotics in both the agricultural and pet care sectors, the development of needleless nano vaccines for fish, probiotics using micro-level packaging technology to disinfect wounds and ear canals of pets, increasing tilapia productivity through gender switching hormones, upgrading cow rearing with sensors to create a smart farm, improvement of pet car through stem cell technology, creating models for educational purpose and development of a test kit for dust mite allergies in dogs, etc.     

“On the whole, it appears we are now on the right track.  What is needed now is to see to it that the research we have generated can be used as a vital part of the learning we provide within and outside the curriculum.  We should also find ways to make the research relevant through perspectives such as the social perspective and not only medicine or science. We also aim to expand our innovative services so that they can be applied to Small Animal Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University” the Associate Dean for Research concluded.