ON-SITE AND ONLINE COMBINATION FOR STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Yeungnam University (YU), South Korea, and Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT), Thailand, have collaborated internationally for a short-term exchange program for students under the project titled Global Capstone Design Project (GCDP) since 2018. Its objectives are to provide students with an actual product design-build-test hands-on experience, to enhance design capability for an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device, to interact with students and faculty from different universities and countries, to develop a global mind-set and effective communication skill, and to improve a global competence through international teamwork. The program consists of 3 phases: (1) a 3-day on-site program 1 for project scoping and planning held at RMUTT, (2) a 6-month online collaboration with coaching supports from both institutions and (3) a 5-day on-site program 2 for project finalizing and presentation held at YU. Ten teams of Thai and Korean students are formed and worked together for 8 months on implementing Design Thinking and creating an IoT product. The team’s projects are assessed and awarded at the end of the exchange program. GCDP in 2018-2019 year has finished successfully as planned. However, for 2019-2020, the last phase of the GCDP, which was planned to be held on-site at YU, was changed due to the forbidding of travel to Korea. The activities were re-designed to provide opportunities for the student to finalize and present their projects using an online meeting platform. At the end of program 1 and program 2, student feedback surveys were conducted using an online questionnaire. The results show that the students experienced product design, production, and testing based on their disciplines. They have strengthened their capabilities through the actual product design using design thinking. In addition to improving personal and interpersonal skills when solving engineering problems, they have developed international sense, effective communication skills, and international teamwork skills.