Page 58 - The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand Vol.XIII-2021

The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand
Volume XIII – 2021

learning of the same calibre as Nalanda a huge amount of investment would be
needed. Of course we can no longer rely on patronage from kings, since the source
of economic wealth in our time comes more from private corporations than from

the nobility. Consequently, universities should foster stronger ties with private
corporations. Indeed, this is what universities in Asia should be doing more. The
typical mentality of universities in Asia is that they look at themselves as teaching
21
institutions only. Their main mission appears to be only to produce manpower
for either the public or private sectors. But it is now widely recognized that in order
to create and maintain economic growth, a strong tie between the industry and
the university needs to be forged. It is beyond the scope of this paper to lay out in

detail what the ties between the industry and the university should be, but at least
the university should be a place where knowledge and technical know-how is
produced, and this knowledge and know how then becomes tools for wealth
production by the private companies. The wealth created by the private companies
then return to the university to facilitate creation of more knowledge and
technology. Furthermore, the tie can be made tighter when the corporations
themselves become knowledge producing entities and the universities becoming
more like corporations through their increased emphasis on wealth creation. The
wealth created, however, needs to be fed back into the missions of the university

itself.

*

We have, then, research freedom, commitment to excellence and material
endowments as necessary conditions for modern universities in Asia to emulate
22
Nalanda and carry on its tradition of excellence. However, the Nalanda legacy
would never be complete if one neglects another aspect which is absolutely

I have conducted a research project, together with a number colleagues in some ASEAN countries and
21
the US, on how Asian universities are using information and communication technologies as a tool for
development, both inside their campuses and as agents of change in the outside world. A main finding of
the project is that Asian universities still have a long way to go regarding transforming its mission from
being teaching institutions into one where research plays a larger role. See, Soraj Hongladarom, “The
Role of Universities in Information Technology for Development in Asia (U-ICT4D); Final Technical Report,”
available at https://csts.arts.chula.ac.th/cest/files/UICT4D-Final-Tech-Report.pdf (retrieved August 14,
2021).
22 One might object to the argument presented here, saying that it is “speculative.” However, all argumentative
endeavors are, in one way or another, speculative in the sense that there must be a leap from the premise to

A Reflection on Nalanda Monastery as an Inspiration for Promoting Scientific and Technological Capabilities in
48 Thailand