As the sun peeked through the tropical trees of Nakhon Si Thammarat on the balmy morning of January 10, 2024, the ivy-draped walls of Walailak University resonated with the echoes of a triumph like no other. Mere days into the glistening New Year, Walailak had just bagged the illustrious 2023 Excellence Award for stellar, globe-spanning research prowess, courtesy of MHESI – an accolade that splashed the university’s name in golden letters across academic hallways.
In an era where advancements in academia forge the backbone of national prestige, MHESI’s mission to identify and elevate the creme de la creme of Thai universities came into full swing in 2023. Fueled by an unwavering commitment to three cardinal ventures: the amp-up of national research propensities, the blending of competitive research at an international forefront, and the nurturing of a fecund research habitat, the initiative distinguished the paragons amongst the Global and Frontier Research University camarilla.
Associate Professor Dr. Udomsak Saengow, the mastermind orchestrating the symphonic achievements at the WU Research and Innovation Institute, took to the stage draped in pride on December 27, 2023. With the poise of a conductor, he unfurled the tale of Walailak’s ascension in four riveting acts: the surge of impactful exploratory manuscripts gracing the pages of Q1 Scopus-indexed journals, the tidal wave of citations cascading across the scholarly landscape, the blossoming of external research roses in the funding garden, and the magnetizing of global minds toward the university’s academic turf.
The chronicles sing of President Sombat Thamrongthanyawong steering the Walailak ship through turbulent seas of research and knowledge from 2018 to 2022. Anchored by a formidable repertoire, the university’s literary fleet quadrupled, navigating from the depths of the unknown to the summits of the prestigious Q1 and Q2 journals, with an average annual growth shouting a thunderous 45%. The crescendo soared with Tier 1 publications basking in a brilliant 56% yearly climb, while total citations and research fund coffers burgeoned with a hearty 22% and 5% increase, respectively, year over year.
Weaved into the academic tapestry of 2023, the revelation of five Walailak intellects within the hallowed Stanford University’s World’s Top 2 Percent Scientists List was nothing short of legendary – placing these luminaries on a pedestal alongside 200,000 of the globe’s most influential thought maestros. The cherry atop this bountiful cake of achievements was Walailak’s elegant pirouette up the ranks of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, boasting a fleet-footed leap from the realm of 1501+ to the exalted bracket of 1201-1500 for a second consecutive year, securing a tie for third in the Young University titans of Thailand – a debutant’s bow in the global 501+ category.
This prestigious merit, embroidered with the sweat and brilliance of Walailak’s finest, serves not just as a beacon of academic excellence, but also as a testament to the relentless pursuit of knowledge that soars across borders and cultures, shaping a future as promising and lush as the gardens of Walailak University itself.
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