On 5 July 2021, the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a formal framework for future scientific collaborations. 

To mark this event, NSTDA, IRD, CIRAD and the French Embassy in Thailand held a virtual meeting divided in 2 sessions to promote bilateral partnerships between Thailand and France:

  • Destination France: Funding and Fellowship Opportunities for Researchers in Thailand
  • NSTDA-CIRAD-IRD Virtual Matchmaking event

During the first session, Dr. Guillaume Da (Attaché for scientific and higher education cooperation, French Embassy in Thailand), Dr. Olivier Evrard (Representative of IRD in Thailand) and Dr. Michel de Garine Wichatitsky (CIRAD representative in Thailand) presented ongoing and future scientific collaboration opportunities between Thailand and France and in particular with researchers from the NSTDA. They highlighted the fact that France is currently the 3rd leading country for foreign doctoral candidates in the world, in particular thanks to multiple co-funding research programs:

Dr. Noppol Kobmoo and Asst. Prof. Dr. Sirinan Kulchat, two alumni who benefited from European grants to pursue their studies and research in France, shared their insights regarding their experience abroad. They underlined the fact that the scientific expertise and the international connections they developed in France opened up doors for many more programs. Until today, they still work with the European colleagues they met while accomplishing their mobility programs. Finally, they strongly encouraged young researchers to put their fears apart (regarding the language, cultural differences, etc.) and to take advantage of these mobility opportunities. 

For this second session, NSTDA, CIRAD and IRD organised an online meeting between their researchers to spark fresh ideas and new projects between them. Taking inspiration from the concept of matchmaking, researchers working on similar topics were invited to present their project to each other in 5 minutes.  Together they covered multiple topics regarding health and biodiversity.  Click on the programme below to find out more about the speakers and their areas of focus: