Guests from Thai university and FHSU to discuss re-establishing partnership

Left to right; Natchaya Humna (Nath) & Sireetorn Pratumkaew, (Mint) from Thailand's Rajabhat University visit FHSU this week. — *Left to right*; Natchaya Humna (Nath) & Sireetorn Pratumkaew, (Mint) from Thailand’s Rajabhat University visiting FHSU this week.

By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

One professor and one student from a university in Thailand are touring Fort Hays State University today and will meet with FHSU President Dr. Mirta Martin Tuesday morning to discuss a possible partnership with Thailand’s Rajabhut University.

Director of Fort Hays State’s Colorado Higher Education Opportunity Center Mike Leikam said the partnership could provide new opportunities for students and teachers on both campuses.

“Opportunities such as faculty exchanges, study-abroad programs for students from both Fort Hays and Rajabhut Universtity, and to create some collaborative degree programs that would provide some online opportunities for the universities,” Leikam said, adding the partnership includes opportunities to apply for both corporate and private grants that neither university would be able to do on their own.

The Thai guests are Natchaya Humna (Nath), a teacher and researcher for the Department of Teacher Education at Rajabhat University, and Sireetorn Pratumkaew (Mint), a student in the Teacher Education program.

Both guests will visit classes in the College at Education and Technology and the English as a Second Language Institute before speaking at the Rotary Club meeting Monday at noon.

Nath and Mint are visiting as guests of the Aurora Gateway Rotary Club in Aurora, Colo. Every year, Gateway Aurora Rotary Club sponsors a student and teacher from Thailand to visit Denver for six to eight weeks.

Leikam, former chair of FHSU’s Department of Information Networking before moving to Denver in 1998 and eventually heading FHSU’s Colorado Higher Education Opportunity Center, is also a member of Aurora Gateway Rotary club.

He said the trip to FHSU was included in the teachers’ visit this year to show the Thai guests what university life is like in less populated areas and to hopefully re-establish a former relationship between Thailand and FHSU.

“When I was teaching we had significant number of Thai students, and they were some of the best and brightest students we had. … That relationship kind of faltered, and we hope to re-establish that connection.”