Higher education system in Thailand is both large and complex with a plethora of potential opportunities. It has undergone a transformation with the conversion of many traditional public universities into autonomous universities while retaining their own governance structures. In this special issue, we have put the spotlight on this thriving higher education landscape. The cover story of this issue features Southeast Asia University, which was established in 1973 in Nong Khaem District, Thailand. It is an advanced educational university focusing on multiple areas of study. As a university, SAU offers courses in multiple disciplines, thereby catering to a larger number of students. Southeast Asia University is the first private university that offers engineering courses to its students.

The university encourages students to be global citizens with practices on par with global standards taught via an outstanding course structure including the ICDL exam, virtual lab from Labster, Inc., and real access to cloud lab from Amazon Web Service. Also featuring in the issue is International Buddhist College (IBC) which is an institute of higher learning that offers different academic programs related to Buddhist thoughts and practices. The institute operates with the mission to train its students to: a) acquire communicational knowledge and skills in promoting Dhammaduta work, b) acquire basic skills in doing academic research, c) have deep understanding and appreciation for the richness of different Buddhist traditions, and d) be competent in the use of English in teaching the Dhamma.

After scrutinizing the colleges and universities in Thailand, we have narrowed it down to the top 10 universities and colleges that have showcased exceptional academic expertise. With the intent to transform the lives of students, these colleges have exhibited the acumen to adapt to the evolution of the educational field and help students emerge victorious.

We look forward to receiving your feedback and suggestions.