Warm
Welcome for Thai Princess
by
Amanda Hainsworth
(Source: "Uniken" Issue 7 of 2000
/ Sep. 2000)
The
respect of the Thai people for their Royal Family
was reflected in the enthusiastic welcome to
HRH the Thai Crown Princess when she visited
UNSW recently (July 20, 2000). Many of the 380
Thai students at the University, plus Thai members
of staff, turned out to greet Crown Princess
Maha Chakri Sirinthorn.
Sitthichoke
Chaiwan, President of the UNSW Thai Students
Association, said many Australia might be surprised
by how much the Thai people respect King Bhumibhol
Adulyadej and his family. "Crown Princess
Sirinthorn" has the reputation of increasing
the standard of living of her people. She also
supports all Thai cultural exhibitions around
the world, especially Thai classical music,
with which she has been involved for many years,"
Sitthichoke, known as Pom, said.
He
went on to explain that the Thai monarchy has
a very special relationship with the Thai people,
with on the the roles of the Crown Princess
being to present university degrees to Thai
graduates in Thailand. "This definitely
shows how she gets involved with students and
the Thai education system," Pom said. "I
know she is not there just to give the degree
to one person after the other. It is a strong
symbolic message from the King of Thailand,
saying that one each degree is given 'through'
the hand of the Royal Family, the graduates
will help to develop the country with a similar
commitment given from the monarchy. "
UNSW-developed
solar energy technology was a must-see for the
Crown Princess on her visit to the campus, as
she is interested in applications for the technology
in her homeland.
At
the center of Photovotaic Engineering, a world
leader in the development of solar cell technology,
she inspected the world's highest-efficiency
silicon solar cells and the labs where they
are made and tested. She also saw a demonstration
of the UNSW solar-powered car, Sunswift II,
and a solar-powered water pump.
Center
Director, Professor Martin Green, said photovotaics
technology could be used in rural area of Thailand
for water pumping and for providing power to
remote villages. "In relation to metropolitan
area, we've had some involvement with a Thai
company interested in providing photovotaics
on housing in the mid-price bracket as a prestigious
add-on. Photovotaics in urban area also support
the traditional electricity distribution system,"
he said.
Executive
director of UNSW International, Ms Jennie Lang,
said UNSW was delighted that the Crown Princess
was able to visit the campus during her brief
two-day visit to Australia. "The visit
reflects both strong links we have with Thailand,
which stem from our outstanding education and
research reputation, and also the importance
of having the largest cohort of Thai students
studying in Australia," she said.
"UNSW
has many important relationships with government
ministries and instrumentalities, universities,
and industry and commerce in Thailand, and we
have a permanent presence in Bangkok with our
UNSW Office, ensuring that we enjoy a high profile
as well as maintaining close ties with over
1,000 alumni"
