On Friday, 9th June 2023, The Center for International Affairs (CIA), Walaialk University organized a zoom meeting with St. Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics (UMTE), Russia. The meeting aims to seek for potential academic collaboration and strengthen friendship relation between the schools and departments. The meeting was run by Mrs. Jiraporn Kansuwan, a senior officer from the CIA, and was attended by UMTE’s participants: (1) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anna Rumyantseva, Vice Rector for Research and International Affairs, (2) Evgeny Schipanov, Director of the Institute of Economics, Management and Information Technologies (The institute has 3 departments which implement programmes and research in Management, Economics, IT, Sociology etc.), (3) Alexander Arefiev, Representatives of the departments of the Institute of Economics, (4) Management and Information Technologies: Department of Information Technologies and Mathematics, (4) Elena Ushakova, Department of Management and Public Administration, (5) Vitaly Mordovets, Department of Economics and Social and Economic System Management, (6) Elena Sintsova, Head of the department of International Finance and Accounting, (7) Evgenia Alexandrova, Head of the Department of Pedagogics and Psychology, (8) Mr. George Varlamov, International office. The participants from Walailak University were (1) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Poonpong Boonbrahm, Dean of the School of Informatics, (2) Asst. Prof. Siwarut Laikram, lecturer, School of Law, (3) Asst. Prof. Dr. Trairong Swatdikun, Head of Research Unit, School of Accounting and Finance (4) Asst. Prof. Dr. Chuleerat Kongruang, lecturer, School of Accounting and Finance, and Mrs. Jiraporn Kansuwan, CIA officer.

The meeting was taken 1.45 hours started by the presentation of each university. The discussion was the first initiative from each party. To implement an academic collaboration project by each school and department, many potential areas were proposed and discussed during the meeting. Potential areas of collaboration were included but not limited to finance and economic, stock market, accounting, information technology, management as well as pedagogics and psychology.

After the end of meeting, some scope of collaborations were committed by both parties were; 1) workshop and conferences, 2) guest speakers, 3) conference paper adjudicator, and 4) staff mobility. For student mobility and research, the two universities will further discuss.

St. Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics (UMTE) has been WU- MOU partner since June 2022. The MOU was signed during the visit by President Sombat Thamronthanyawong and WU executives members; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suwit Wuthisuthimethavee, Vice President, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Charun Bunyakan, Vice President and Asst. Prof. Dr. Patnarin Supakorn, Acting Director of Center for International Affairs, have attended the President forum and visited 6 universities in Russia between 23th -28th June 2022. A return visit to WU by UMTE has been made on 15th May 2023 by Asst. Prof. Dr. Oleg Smeshko, Rector, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anna Rumyantseva, Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs.