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Global Tufts

IAPP Thailand

A photo collage shows small pictures of an owl, plants, a tropical bird, and lab objects like a test tube and microscope

In the spirit of our motto, Pax et Lux (“Peace and Light”), Tufts University faculty and students work together as active global citizens, illuminating each other and the world. Centered in the vibrant academic landscape of Greater Boston, Tufts is the best of all worlds: a close-knit community with the resources of a major research university, welcoming campuses near big city opportunities, and a global network of accomplished alumni. Since 1852, Tufts University has prepared exceptional students in diverse fields for lives of learning and leadership. Our commitment to the liberal arts, vital research enterprise, and collaborative, interdisciplinary culture combine to spark curiosity and create resounding global impact. 

Global engagement is an essential part of our identity, with over 1,300 international students, 450 international faculty and scholars, 6,000 alumni living outside the US, and 60% of our faculty engaged in international research and education. 

One Health at Tufts

One Health is a particular strength of Tufts that we wish to explore with our Thai counterparts. One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach-working at the local, regional, national, and global levels-with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes while recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Cummings, the Medical School, and the Dental School are particularly strong in One Health. In addition, the Fletcher School offers the Global One Health Diplomacy Initiative, an ongoing research project on infectious disease and outbreaks in conflict-affected states. We offer these strengths to potential collaborators in Thailand. 

Specifically, we hope to develop One Health programs in the following areas:

We are interested in working with partners to develop opportunities for students collaboration online and in person, and for research and internship opportunities in Thailand and at Tufts.

  • We would be interested in creating opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to conduct research with faculty and/or labs, in Thailand and at Tufts.
  • The Global Integrated Learning and Design (GILD) initiative supports faculty in creating course-based collaborative, online experiential learning opportunities and/or co-curricular collaborative student research opportunities with international partners.  We are eager to explore possibilities for collaboration between Tufts and Thai faculty to develop modules integrating online collaborative learning activities that would allow students to work together and learn from each other, with the possibility also of short visits and in-person activities in the US and/or Thailand. 
  • Given Tufts’ particular commitment to active citizenship, supported by programs through the Tisch College of Civic Life, we would be interested in exploring collaborations on service learning together with Thai students. 

We are interested in exploring possibilities for joint and collaborative research and faculty exchange.

Faculty and scholar exchange

  • In the context of research collaborations and exchanges, Tufts departments have expressed interest in hosting Thai faculty to teach and research in One Health.
  • Tufts hosts more than 200 post-doctoral scholars on our Boston, Medford and Grafton campuses. We view these scholars as vital to our research and educational community and we recognize that postdocs contribute greatly to the success of Tufts faculty. We hope to develop relationships that will benefit both Thai post-docs and Tufts faculty members with cutting edge research.

Conferences and symposia 

We are interested in developing relationships with Thai universities to host Tufts students in existing summer courses or to work with our faculty to jointly develop short term courses in Thailand that would be offered in the summer or during winter term and provide an opportunity for Tufts and Thai students to interact.

  • Areas of interest for faculty-led short term courses include One Health and Global Health, among others.
  • In addition, Tufts offers a summer term featuring hundreds of classes across a number of disciplines—from humanities, languages, and arts, to engineering, computer science, politics, nutrition, and public health, which Thai students would be welcome to join. 

Tufts has offered a range of continuing and executive education opportunities to mid-career professionals and would be interested in working with Thai universities to develop such programs in Thailand.  Areas we would be interested in building on include:

  • The Fletcher School offers Diplomatic Leadership Academies (5-day immersion) each year for the Ministry of External Affairs, India. This annual partnership with the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service provides mid-career and senior-level foreign service officers with in-depth understanding of how to address the complex challenges they face in their work in South and East Asia. We could use this program as a template to create a program for our Thai colleagues.
  • Our Courses at Tufts portfolio features courses offered through nearly all the schools at Tufts and provides a wide range of opportunities for Thai learners to access world-class Tufts faculty and experience rigorous coursework. Students can explore coursework in Global One Health, Climate & Health, and Global Nutrition, just to name a few. Students may take individual courses, or, in some areas, participate in non-credit certificate programs, where courses are focused around a theme.

Tufts Activities in Thailand

Tufts currently has a high level of engagement with Thailand across our schools. Tufts is an attractive destination for Thai students, especially in the School of Arts & Sciences. In addition, Tufts has several active institutional affiliations and many programs and faculty engaged in research in Thailand. We hope to identify partners with whom to collaborate to expand and deepen existing activities.  

We believe that establishing personal contact with key people both in senior administration as well as in relevant departments and units will provide a solid foundation for realizing activities. In addition, with a large and engaged alumni base in Thailand, including two alumni clubs, we believe that there are possibilities to engage alumni with Tufts and partners around planned activities to mobilize support and help make them sustainable.

Active affiliation agreements:

  • Mahidol University 
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University
  • Chiang Mai University 
  • SEAOHUN - South East Asia One Health University Network Foundation 
  • Many Tufts faculty are active researchers in Thailand, especially among Cummings Veterinary School faculty. 
  • Additionally, Academic Analytics reports publication collaborations between Tufts faculty members and ten universities in Thailand.
  • Tisch College of Civic Life offers Tufts Civic Semester, a semester abroad opportunity for first year students in Chiang Mai. This transformational program combines academic and experiential learning with a focus on community engagement and social and environmental justice. Participants join a small cohort of peers to create a living and learning community which engages deeply with important social issues through Tufts coursework and hands-on learning with local community organizations. 
  • Ten Tufts students have done internships or research in Thailand since 2016. Many of these were veterinary students undertaking research projects.