CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — For three weeks this summer, Maung Min, director of business programs and associate teaching professor, business, at Penn State Lehigh Valley (PSU-LV) lived, worked, and taught in southeast Asia. Min was selected as a Fulbright Specialist and spent part of the summer in Thailand, giving guest lectures at Pridi Banomyong International College (PBIC), Thammasat University, Bangkok.

Sustainability was the overarching focus of Min’s lectures and supplemental presentations. He was asked to do three things, he said: serve as a guest lecturer; provide some insight on the university’s sustainability goals, and give a talk outside of the classroom. That talk, “Sustainability — Is It a Fad or Is It Real? In Thailand?”  became an hourlong conversation on Facebook Live. It also focused on a case study of Central Pattana, a company that manages many of Thailand’s major shopping malls.

“These malls are very upscale — they would rival the fanciest of malls here in the U.S. I studied a recent analysis of their sustainability practices and they’re pretty good,” Min said. 

He was the guest lecturer for the course Land and Sustainability at PBIC, in which he delivered lectures to undergraduate students focusing on sustainability and the pertinent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His lectures also focused on corporate strategies associated with developing sustainability initiatives for a global company.

“I typically run my classes in a very interactive fashion. The students participated in group exercises and stayed very engaged,” Min said.

Additionally, Min was part of a strategic management session at the university.

“PBIC is beginning in the journey of developing college sustainability goals. I was engaged in one formal discussion with PBIC’s leadership team discussing the need to align their sustainability goals to their vision/mission,” Min said. “I shared some practices of US universities — including NYU, University of Michigan, and Penn State — which PBIC could use towards setting theirs. In addition, I had multiple informal discussions on this subject. As PBIC begins to develop their program I plan to partner with them in the future.”

Min said Thammasat University “is one of the better universities in the country. The students there are considered to be elite — the caliber of students was quite high. They are fluent in English and write well, as well.”

Despite being from different countries with different cultural backgrounds, the students in Thailand and Min’s students at PSU-LV have more in common than it might first appear, including a shared love of Taylor Swift and rap music, he said. He sees his experiences teaching in Thailand influencing his teaching at PSU-LV, building on his methods of collaborative learning.

“Collaborative learning is very important. I employ it here at LV regularly with frequent group exercises. Typically, I discuss concepts, provide examples, then have students work on a related problem. I employed the same in Thailand,” he said. “I see providing more Thai and international examples to my students here at Lehigh Valley. Since our students here may not have exposure to Asia I will provide content. They need to know the region is developing for the better.”

It wasn’t all work and no relaxation — Min had some time for sightseeing. He traveled to the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and visited Doi Inthanon National Park, home to the highest mountain in the country, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a famous Buddhist shrine. He also did some sightseeing in Bangkok, including the Grand Palace and temple of Wat Arun. He enjoyed native Thai food and overall, Min said, the hospitality of the Thai people was exceptional.

Min’s experience will also help to broaden educational opportunities for PSU-LV students.

“This is another way of staying connected [with colleagues abroad] — they’re very interested in partnering with us, maybe in the form of developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). I’ve had discussions with our chancellor and she’s very supportive. That’s something I would be pursuing — working on making that possible in the near-term.”

Another possibility would be expanding study prospects through Penn State’s Experiential Digital Global Engagement (EDGE) program, in which Penn State students collaborate virtually with students at a foreign university on a common project, Min said.

“There’s no travel involved and we could partner with a foreign university for a course. We could have that opportunity as well,” Min said. “Given the fact that PBIC was so supportive, I feel confident we will be able to collaborate in the future.”