Prince of Songkla University is hosting the 8th Youth Innovation Competition on Lancang-Mekong Region’s Governance and Development (YICMG 2024).

YICMG 2024 is an international platform that facilitates learning exchange, and fosters productive relationships among students from countries along the Mekong River.

Today, 8 July 2024, YICMG 2024 officially opens at the Chao Fah Meeting Room, Phuket Campus, Prince of Songkla University, through collaboration with Fudan University, China.

The auspicious event starts with welcome speeches by PSU President Asst. Prof. Dr. Niwat Keawpradub, and Fudan University Prof. Dr. Zhou Lei, Vice President, Fudan University to greet the over 200 esteemed guests, university administrators, faculty, staff, and students from universities in the Mekong River basin.

YICMG has been designed from the ground up as a competitive event focusing on solving various dimensional problems in the Lancang-Mekong River basin.

The competition offers valuable opportunities for students from universities in six Lancang-Mekong River countries: Kingdom of Cambodia, Kingdom of Thailand, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, People’s Republic of China, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Union of Myanmar.

This ground-breaking initiative is supported by various governmental and private-sector entities in China, with Fudan University as the main organizer, along with two other Chinese universities: Qinghai University, and Guangxi University of Finance and Economics.

The competition started in 2016 in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, People’s Republic of China.

YICMG 2024 marks the 8th iteration of the event, with Prince of Songkla University honored to be the host at its Phuket Campus, from 7 to 13 July 2024.

As an international platform for knowledge exchange among students from different countries in the Mekong River basin, YICMG keeps fostering productive relationships among university staff and students in the region, enhancing international relations.

Prince of Songkla University has been actively participating in the YICMG competition from the beginning, with students showing interest and submitting entries every year.

The university has received various awards, such as the Best Multi-national Team Award in 2016, the Best Incubation Award in 2021, the Best Creative Award in 2021, and most recently, the Most Valuable Question Award and the Most Creative Team Award at the 7th competition in July 2023.

Aside from sending students to participate in the competition year after year, Prince of Songkla University also sends faculty members as experts to provide knowledge, advice, and feedback on student works from all participating teams and categories. Additionally, the university collaborates with experts from other countries in judging the competition entries.

Signifying its commitment to this important collaboration, Prince of Songkla University has signed an MoU on the establishment of the Lancang-Mekong Youth Exchange and Cooperation Center with Fudan University and other universities in the six-country Lancang-Mekong River basin region at Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, to enhance cooperation in driving the YICMG project forward.