Chula Pushes Forward with Future Literacy

Futures literacy is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates concepts from futurism, foresight, strategic planning, scenario planning, and design thinking. Individuals and organizations must possess this ability in order to anticipate and prepare for change, and to build the future in a proactive and deliberate manner. Futures literacy is an important skill in the 21st century. Chulalongkorn University has prepared students and the community to cultivate this skill in order to build a better future. In addition to this, the university also uses a teaching and learning approach that emphasizes critical thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship, and lifelong learning to support the development of its students, community, and society as a whole. Chulalongkorn University is taking a proactive approach to fostering future literacy in students and the broader community, with the goal of creating leaders who will bring about positive change in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Chulalongkorn University is placing a strong emphasis on fostering future literacy in its students, recognizing it as a crucial skill for the future. To support this, the university has established cross-disciplinary platforms such as the CU Innovation Hub and CU Social Innovation Hub, where students faculties and researchers from different disciplines can come together to collaborate and solve problems. These platforms provide opportunities for students to extend their imagination and creativity, and to use new methods and approaches to tackle problems and create innovative solutions. By fostering cooperation beyond differences in disciplines, cultures, age, and occupation, Chulalongkorn University is helping to create a more inclusive and diverse learning environment that supports the development of futures literacy.

Chulalongkorn University is implementing a number of strategies to instill future literacy in its students. These strategies include establishing cross-disciplinary platforms for students and researchers from different faculties and disciplines to collaborate and solve problems, creating a supportive and conducive environment for students to take on tasks and experiments, and employing learning paradigms such as critical thinking, collaboration, and entrepreneurship to support lifelong education. Additionally, the university supported over 304 creative teams that the university supported last year in developing social innovations such as a Covid-19 vaccine, a real-time public transportation tracking app, and other innovative products and services, which gives students the opportunity to use their imagination and creativity to create solutions to real-world challenges.

Chulalongkorn University has also appointed Associate Professor Natcha Thawesaengskulthai, Ph.D. as its Global Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) in order to build collaborations with top universities and international organizations across various sectors. In this role, the CIO will be responsible for driving innovation and identifying new opportunities for growth and collaboration within the university. They will work closely with leaders in the business, industrial, non-profit, and government sectors to ensure that the university stays competitive and adapts to changing needs and trends in the global market. Additionally, the CIO will help the university contribute to the development of innovative solutions to local and global challenges, and foster a culture of innovation within the organization.