eXtensions - Monday 14 July 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Students at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, study for four years before graduating. At the end of year 3 students have internships, and in year 4 they complete a senior year project. Once in a while, a student may be offered an opportunity that is too good to miss, although it may mean they do not graduate within the 4 years.
A lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Dr Surachoke Thanapitak is focused on developing integrated circuits. The potential applications for these low power devices are wide, especially in health care. His work is fairly well known and he was contacted by Dr. Richard Al Hadi and Mathieu Gratuze of the École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) with an offer of collaboration. As part of the arrangement, which had him traveling to Canada, he was offered a scholarship for a student to work on one of his projects at the university in the LACIME Lab of the Electrical Engineering Department there as a research Intern.
Dr. Surachoke offered this place to Thamnarong Iansarn (nickname, Ong) who, after some consideration took up the offer, which has a full SEED scholarship (Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development) from the Canadian Government. He went to Canada at the end of February this year and will be there until late October.
|
|
|
His project there involves work on DC/DC converters and LDO (Low dropout) for low-power circuit and energy management which matched his interest in low power circuits. Working at the École de Technologie Supérieure has helped him focus on practical design, testing and solving problems. Ong is working with students from France and Pakistan whose own projects are related. He admits that he has some trouble with accents when they all discuss their work, but that is improving with time. Ong meets bi-weekly with Richard Al Hadi and Mathieu Gratuze as well as online with Dr. Surachoke, who also went to the University for a supervisory visit.
|
|
|
The position at École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS) has provided new opportunities for Ong who recognizes that this has opened the door to global experience and helped him discover a future academic path. He adds that he has learned new theories and been able to use advanced, industry-level software. When he has struggled with his project design, the professor helped him greatly, which improved his skills and efficiency. He offers advice to other students considering an internship or applying for a research scholarship at ÉTS, or any other institution: "If you love studying abroad and want to explore a new career path, go for it. Don't doubt your skills - believe in yourself. If I can do it, you can do it too".
|
|
|
On a more personal level, he reports that while at the university, he has visited Old Montreal, Mont Royal, China town, and some nearby parks, commenting, "It's beautiful here." He adds that he likes the mix of old and modern architecture. Montreal has great energy - "on hockey days, everyone wears Canadiens shirts, and during F1 weekend, you will see luxury and hyper cars everywhere. There are also lots of fun music festivals." He says that he has had some minor problems with food and French, but that he is adapting.
He adds that the winter was very cold, but also a beautiful experience. Thais always react positively to their first experience of snow. Montreal is a multi-cultural city, with some French-speaking areas. Ong tells us he is learning a few basic French phrases for daily communication, but focuses more on improving his English: pronunciation, fluency, and grammar.
|
|
|
With a few months to go before the end of this internship he has not yet decided on his future path after his return to Thailand and graduation. He is considering further research, but is not closing the door on industry. Whichever direction he finally decides on, this period in Canada will give him an impressive entry on his resume.
This exposure is just one of the many ways in which Mahidol engineering students benefit from the university's commitment to expanding its network of international collaboration. It also underscores the Faculty's ongoing mission to elevate education, research, and technology development for a more sustainable and inclusive future.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
For further information, e-mail to
Back to
eXtensions
Back to
Home Page