On 17 January 2018, at meeting room 9 on the 2nd floor of the Golden Jubilee Administration and Information Center Building at Kasetsart University, the University administrators including Assistant Professor Dr. Buncha CHINNASRI, Acting Assistant to the President; Assistant Professor Dr. Somchai ANUSONTPORNPERM, Head of the department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture; and Associate Professor Dr. Pongsak NOOPHAN, Department of Industrial Engineering Faculty of Engineering, together welcomed three delegates from Cranfield University, United Kingdom, consisting of Dr. Robert SIMMONS, Senior Lecture in Soil Erosion and Conservation; Dr. Sofia KOURNPETLI, Lecture in Plant Sciences, Cranfield Soil and Agrifood Institute; Dr. Trista HUANG, International Development Manager, International Office on the occasion of visiting Kasetsart University. The meeting focused on establishing working collaboration and making connections for future collaboration between Kasetsart University and Cranfield University, United Kingdom particularly in the field of Tropical Agricultural and Engineering.

           Previously, Associate Professor Dr. Pongsak NOOPHAN, Department of Industrial Engineering Faculty of Engineering, visited Cranfield University and gave a guest lecture in May 2017.  For the past 50 years, Cranfield University has been contributing to enhancing natural capital and ensuring that global food systems are more resilient for the future. Cranfield University is recognized worldwide by industry, government and academic for research and teaching in plants, soil, water and air. The University believes that environmental problems can be alleviated through technological innovation and risk management. Cranfield University is working with the UK government on two multi-million pound agricultural technology centers Agri-EPI (the Agricultural Engineering Precision Innovation Centre) and CHAP (Center for Crop Health and Protection).

             As a result, the delegation requested to meet the university administrators to discuss potential cooperation between the two institutions. Hopefully, the discussion will enhance the relationship between the universities and create opportunities to cooperate in the near future focusing on the outstanding fields of both universities which are agriculture and engineering. The priority issue discussed at the meeting was to establish a general relationship for cooperation between two institutions or as an initial agreement that is intended to lead to future agreements and program such as developing the 3 + 1 + 1 curriculum and the 4 + 1 curriculum; the Southeast Asia Scholarship which has £ 4000 reduction fee, Knowledge Exchange Programs; Short Courses especially in Tropical Agriculture, Joint Research Project in Engineering for instant the research of wastewater reuse and reclaim; Online Learning modules and etc. Nevertheless, Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities should soon develop in the near future.