On 22 December 2023, NXPO hosted a seminar titled “Unlocking the potential of universities to drive Thai innovation businesses” at the Pullman Bangkok King Power. The seminar attracted over 200 attendees, including top executives, faculty members and researchers from universities. The lineup of speakers included Dr. Kitipong Promwong, Assist. Prof. Dr. Tanyanuparb Anantana, and Mr. Ramade Silapapom. 

In his keynote address, NXPO President Dr. Kitipong Promwong discussed NXPO’s role in removing constraints and developing an ecosystem to promote research commercialization and innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) in Thailand. The goal is to achieve 1,000 IDEs with an average revenue of THB 1 billion, equivalent to a THB 1 trillion economic value by 2027. 

NXPO, in collaboration with universities, has established procurement criteria to expedite research and development and academic services, while ensuring transparency and fair competition. The Thailand Research and Innovation Utilization Promotion (TRIUP) Act B.E. 2564 has been introduced, allowing public grant recipients to have ownership of inventions made with government funding, thereby expediting the research utilization and commercialization process. 

NXPO has also implemented a policy to encourage the establishment of holding companies in universities and public research institutes to professionally manage their investments in innovation businesses. Guidelines have been developed, and the Regulation on the Joint Investment in Research and Innovation Utilization Projects has been introduced, providing directives in setting up and managing holding companies. NXPO, in collaboration with the Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMUC), also supports the establishment of intermediaries to provide innovation business development services, unleashing the potential of IDEs.  

Assist. Prof. Dr. Tanyanuparb Anantana, Vice President of Chiang Mai University, gave a presentation titled “Science Parks and the Valley of Challenge”, describing regional science parks as the driver of the local economy. The parks represent research and innovation business communities that support the growth of IDEs and startups, enabling the advancement of research to commercialization. From 2013-2022, Regional Science and Technology Parks across Thailand have made a substantial impact, contributing THB 58.04 billion to the economy, creating 54,294 jobs, and giving rise to numerous entrepreneurs and innovators. 

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Dr. Tanyanuparb underscored his university’s focus on being an entrepreneurial university, developing necessary skills for entrepreneurs and encouraging tech spinoffs originating from university research. This contributes to high-skilled jobs and helps end generational poverty. The university also fosters the development of ponies – startups with valuation of THB 300 million. 

Mr. Ramade Silapaprom, CEO of CU Enterprise, discussed the importance of research and innovation business to the economy. CU Enterprise –  a holding company of Chulalongkorn University – aims to generate THB 50 billion in revenue from innovation businesses. Spinoff companies not only provide students with a learning platform to gain hands-on experience but also demonstrate socio-economic impacts of research and innovation. They also help increase the university’s academic and research capacity, enabling it to produce graduates with the right skills and competencies for the labor market needs.  These spinoffs are expected to attract an annual research fund of THB 5 billion, without relying on university budgets, and to boost the economy, enabling the country to escape from the middle-income trap. 

The seminar also featured a panel discussion addressing legal frameworks relating to innovation business promotion and the operations of holding companies.