AIT, 11-18 September 2026 — A group of students from Ochanomizu University, Japan, spent a week at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as part of the long-standing exchange program between Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University and Gender and Development Studies (GDS), Faculty of Public Policy and Sustainable Development (FPSD), AIT. The one-week academic exchange program provided the visiting students with a valuable chance to broaden their academic perspectives, experience a different learning environment, and engage with diverse cultures in Thai higher education and civil society, reflecting the continuing partnership between the two institutions in gender and development education and research.
The highlight of the week was the Joint Research Forum “Gender, Development, and Social Transformations in Asia,” held on September 15 in Room S101, Academic South Building, with the support of the AIT Academic and External Affairs Committee of the Student Union. The forum brought together the visiting students and GDS students to present their research and exchange perspectives on gender, inequality, mobility and identity across Asia. In her opening remarks, Prof. Kyoko Kusakabe, Deputy Dean of FPSD, highlighted the program’s three-decade history and emphasized its continued importance for students’ academic and personal growth across borders and cultures.
The forum featured two sessions, “Gender, Institutions and Structural Inequalities in Asia” and “Mobility, Belonging and the Making of Identity in Asia,” with research presentations from both Ochanomizu University students and GDS students at AIT.
Every presenter received valuable comments and feedback from GDS faculty members as well. To close the forum, Dr. Punam Yadav, GDS alumna, Visiting Professor at AIT and Professor at University College London, shared parting thoughts to inspire the students on the journey ahead. Assoc. Prof. Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen, Dean of FPSD, then delivered the closing remarks, reaffirming the support for the academic exchange program.
Outside the forum, the students gained first-hand insight into how government agencies, civil society and international organizations in Thailand, ranging from issues around gender, human rights and migration. They visited different organizations in Bangkok: Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand, which works on LGBTIQ+ or SOGIE sexual health; iLaw Thailand, which promotes legal reform, human rights and public participation; Asylum Access Thailand, which advances the rights of refugees and asylum seekers; the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Thailand which works closely with government agencies and other partners to address migration-related issues and promote the rights and well-being of migrants; and the Thai Transgender Alliance (Thai TGA), which advocates for the rights of transgender people.
The students also experienced Thai history and culture on a day trip to Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Through this mutual-learning program, the week gave the Ochanomizu students and GDS scholars a valuable opportunity to share their research ideas, learn from practitioners and build meaningful connections across countries between Japan and Thailand higher education and beyond.
