Kobe	  University	  Global-­‐Link	  Forum	  in	  Bangkok	  International	  Academic	  Symposium-­‐Towards	  Sustainable	  Development	  of	  Our	  Societies-­‐	  Sunday	  23rd	  January,	  2011	  	  	  Lecture	  II	  International	  Training	  Program:	  Education	  for	  Sustainable	  Development	  	  Poonpipope	  Kasemsap	  Associate	  Professor	  Horticulture	  Department	  Kasetsart	  University	  Abstract	  World	  development	  have	  been	  achieved	  through	  heavy	  reliance	  on	  natural	  resources	  and	   the	   implications	   this	   might	   have	   on	   the	   environment	   could	   potentially	   leave	   adverse	  footprints	   for	   future	   generations.	   Climate	   change	   and	   loss	   of	   biodiversity	   have	   increased	  vulnerabilities	   and	   inequalities,	   especially	   in	   developing	   countries.	   Food	   security,	   safety,	   and	  sustainability	   are	   going	   to	   be	   the	   most	   important	   global	   issues	   during	   the	   current	   multiple	  and	   interrelated	   financial	   and	   economic	   crises.	   The	   need	   for	   sustainable	   development	   is	  more	   critical	   than	   ever.	   The	   time	   is	   ripe	   to	   renew	   the	   call	   for	   changes	   in	   higher	   education	  system	  so	  that	  it	  could	  effectively	  and	  efficiently	  address	  the	  massive	  needs	  in	  high	  quality	  human	  resources	  required	  by	  the	  above	  challenges.	  	  Education	   collaborations/networks	   have	   started	   to	   address	   global	   and	   regional	  challenges	   by	   pooling	   and	   rationalizing	   limited	   resources	   and	   leveraging	   on	   international	  partnerships	   to	   implement	   joint	   and	   collaborative	   training	   program.	   Increasing	   mobility	   of	  staff	  and	  students,	  pooling	  of	  human	  and	  other	  resources,	  improving	  resource	  mobilization,	  and	  strengthening	  partnerships	  with	  both	  public	  and	  private	  partners	  have	  made	  education	  system	   much	   more	   efficient.	   New	   international	   training	   partnerships	   between	   Northern	   and	  Southern	   Universities,	   such	   as	   offering	   joint	   degrees,	   sandwich	   programs,	   and	   conducting	  joint	  researches	  should	  be	  encouraged	  while	  the	  existing	  partnerships	  should	  be	  strengthen.	  	  	  	  In	   addition	   to	   academic	   competence,	   international	   training	   program	   should	  emphasize	   non-­‐academic	   capacity	   development,	   for	   example,	   social	   and	   human	   skills,	  communication	  and	  negotiation	  skills,	  and	  leadership	  competence.	  Besides	  critical	  thinking,	  ability	  to	  apply	  knowledge,	  hands-­‐on	  experiences,	  be	  adaptive	  to	  change,	  analysis	  in	  multi-­‐disciplinary	   teams,	   and	   other	   conventional	   ‘soft’	   skills,	   it	   is	   crucial	   to	   promote	   respect	   and	  appreciation	   for	   all	   peoples	   and	   cultures	   in	   the	   international	   training	   program.	   Therefore,	  the	  international	  training	  program	  should	  extend	  beyond	  simple	  training	  in	  academic	  field,	  it	  must	  be	  able	  to	  create	  enabling	  environments	  to	  learn	  from	  joint	  experience	  and	  implement	  changes.	  	  	  Examples	   of	   international	   training	   program	   in	   agriculture	   education	   will	   be	   discussed	  in	  the	  presentation.	  	  1	  	  Kobe	  University	  Global-­‐Link	  Forum	  in	  Bangkok	  International	  Academic	  Symposium-­‐Towards	  Sustainable	  Development	  of	  Our	  Societies-­‐	  Sunday	  23rd	  January,	  2011	  	  	  	  Short	  Biography	  Poonpipope	  Kasemsap,	  Ph.D.	  
Poonpipope	   Kasemsap	   is	   Associate	   Professor	   of	   Crop	   Eco-­‐Physiology,	   Chair	   of	   the	  Horticulture	   Department,	   and	   Director	   of	   the	   International	   Studies	   Center	   at	   Kasetsart	  University	   in	   Bangkok,	   Thailand.	   He	   is	   the	   chair	   of	   the	   International	   Biology	   Olympiad	   (2008-­‐
12)	  and	  has	  been	  the	  National	  Coordinator	  of	  ThaiFlux	  Network	  since	  2007.	  His	  research	  and	  teaching	  focuses	  on	  the	  effects	  of	  climate	  changes	  and	  air	  pollutants	  on	  the	  eco-­‐physiology	  of	  horticultural	  crops	  and	  on	  the	  physiology	  of	  horticultural	  crop	  production.	  

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