From Policy to Practice: Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University's Journey in Sustainable Development

In an insightful discussion, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nitthita Chirdchoo, Rajabhat Nakhon Pathom University’s Vice President for Policy and Planning, shares how the university is actively translating national policy into tangible action for sustainable development. With a focus on local engagement and integrating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into every facet of its operations, Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University is carving a unique path. In this interview, Dr. Nitthita details the strategies, successes, and ongoing challenges in fostering a culture of sustainability, from educating students to empowering surrounding communities.

SDSN Thailand: What do you think is the role of Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University as a leader in sustainable development within Thailand? 

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University has received policy directives from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation that encourages Thailand’s universities to be part of driving sustainability initiatives, particularly regarding the SDGs. Our university therefore needs to address these ministerial requirements. As Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University is a local-focused university, our participation begins at the provincial level. Our president serves on the provincial sustainability committee, as Nakhon Pathom province already has sustainability policies in place due to receiving the same operational mandates.

We share case studies about the university’s initiatives to help the province analyze and determine their direction. The university, as an entity under provincial jurisdiction, then implements these provincial policies. But then our primary role involves creating awareness among students about sustainability issues, emphasizing that they will live in this world for a long time, so sustainability must be a priority beyond their classroom curriculum. Therefore, we’ve incorporated sustainability-focused courses into our general education requirements for all students.

Within the university, we’ve integrated sustainability into our vision, focusing on sustainable management practices and establishing KPIs to ensure all departments operate according to SDG principles. However, as we enter our fourth year of implementation, we haven’t yet achieved complete success. The university adjusts its operations annually, starting with top management pushing KPIs across all departments and conducting cross-departmental indicator reviews.

Beyond working with students and staff, we also engage with local communities since we are a university for the locality. We maintain learning centers connected to local areas where we apply sustainability theories to specific issues based on available funding. For instance, if we have agricultural sustainability funding, we’ll work in those areas and invite surrounding communities to learn. Sometimes we work on waste management initiatives in collaboration with the province or other agencies that provide financial support.

SDSN Thailand: What strategies do you believe are essential for integrating sustainability into the university’s core mission and operations?

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: I should explain that Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University doesn’t have a specific budget for sustainability operations. As the Vice President for Planning, I’ve been assigned to drive sustainability initiatives, particularly regarding the SDGs, within the university. We’ve been working to create awareness about why sustainability is necessary and must be incorporated into every university process.

During the first few years, we focused on building this awareness among students, faculty, staff, and university senior management about why we need to take this matter seriously, beyond just following ministry policies. Secondly, due to our limited budget, besides raising awareness, we needed to communicate that all 17 SDG goals can be integrated into our regular work without requiring separate funding. The SDGs should be naturally endorsed within existing projects. The challenge is helping people visualize this.

In our university planning department, we study examples and models from both international and Thai websites to see how others have implemented specific SDGs. We share these cases and transfer this knowledge. Fortunately, our university has developed a business intelligence database showing which individuals are leading each SDG initiative. This allows us to quickly track progress and monitor which people have achieved high SDG Index scores. We then use their successful approaches as examples for both administrators and departments, helping them see that integrating SDGs into projects isn’t something distant or unattainable.

SDSN Thailand: In your opinion, how effectively is Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and can you provide examples of specific initiatives or projects at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University that directly contribute to achieving these goals?

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: This is the fourth year that we’ve been seriously implementing SDGs. During the first two years, we struggled to find our way and didn’t have many mentors. Those initial years focused on building awareness. It wasn’t until last year that we became more serious, sending performance indicators to all departments including the Research Institute, which also oversees the university’s budget.

The university provides research funding for undergraduate students, graduate students, and new faculty researchers. One of the requirements for receiving funding is consideration of sustainability principles. However, since our funding is limited, what we believe will help drive the overall picture is encouraging all departments to recognize the importance of sustainability. We try to integrate sustainability principles into the design of their routine projects. So, it’s not just about research itself.

I will give you one example. Currently at the university, we’ve noticed that electricity costs aren’t decreasing, so we’re looking for alternative energy sources such as solar cells or other forms of energy. What’s clearly visible within the university itself is our focus on energy, as our energy costs increase every year. Therefore, one of the first sustainability policies we implemented was energy conservation and reduction. One approach isn’t just directly telling people to reduce usage, but providing them with alternative clean energy options. We’ve installed solar cells, which we monitor with the Provincial Electricity Authority, all to reduce the university’s overall electricity consumption. Another initiative is promoting increased use of electric vehicles within the university.

Since we are an educational institute, one sustainability-related effort we’ve maintained for the past ten years is expanding educational opportunities for lifelong learning. We offer free online courses, including vocational courses and academic subjects open to interested participants, as well as courses related to local knowledge. We believe our policy of promoting lifelong learning has been quite successful, as we now have more than 120 free courses available. These aren’t just on our university’s platform as we also have seven courses on national standard platforms like Thai MOOC or the Thai Cyber University Project.

We also have a Sufficiency Economy Learning Center at the university, which serves as a hub for learning about various sustainability aspects and extends SDG concepts to communities surrounding the university.

SDSN Thailand: How does Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University engage with surrounding communities to promote sustainable practices and what are some of the successful cases?

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University exemplifies a profound commitment to sustainable local development through its establishment of the King’s Philosophy Training Center. Rooted deeply in the royal policies of His Majesty The Present King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, this center serves as a dynamic educational hub that transforms the university’s dedication to community advancement into tangible, practical outcomes.

Occupying approximately 10 rai or about 4 acres of carefully designed land, the King’s Philosophy Training Center functions as a living laboratory where sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship come to life. The center is organized into six distinct learning stations, each embodying critical aspects of sustainable living and farming practices. These include tree cultivation, rice farming, vegetable gardening, vetiver grass planting, check dam construction, and traditional water management systems such as filtration canals and golden rice field ridges. Through these stations, students and community members alike engage hands-on with techniques that promote ecological balance, soil conservation, water resource management, and food security.

The educational philosophy underpinning the center is deeply aligned with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy which is a framework emphasizing moderation, reasonableness, and self-immunity. This approach encourages development that harmonizes with nature, values local wisdom, and fosters self-reliance while maintaining strong community ties. By integrating traditional Thai knowledge with modern scientific understanding, the center ensures that sustainable development is both culturally relevant and practically effective.

Beyond serving as an academic resource for university students, the center actively engages local school children, community members, and agricultural practitioners through workshops and training programs. This inclusive approach bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and everyday application, empowering communities to adopt sustainable practices that enhance their livelihoods and environmental resilience.

Strategically, the King’s Philosophy Training Center embodies NPRU’s broader mission to support regional growth and social well-being. Its activities align closely with multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those focused on sustainable agriculture, responsible resource management, climate action, and quality education. The center thus stands as a testament to NPRU’s role not only as an educational institution but also as a catalyst for sustainable transformation in its surrounding communities.

In essence, the King’s Philosophy Training Center at Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University is a pioneering model of how higher education can actively contribute to sustainable development. By fostering practical skills, community collaboration, and respect for local traditions, we are helping to build a more sustainable, self-reliant future for the people of Nakhon Pathom and beyond.

SDSN Thailand: What are the biggest challenges facing Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University in its pursuit of sustainability and what are the opportunities?

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: Even though we try to push through policy and enforcement with KPIs, we receive feedback that with limited budgets, some sustainability initiatives we want to implement end up increasing project costs. There’s also the issue of understanding among related personnel. Since the university has many missions, we may not have allocated enough time to help them upskill in sustainability. Currently, we can’t make everyone aware of sustainability issues because only some people join the working teams.

This year, we’ve planned a project to hold workshops for all departments and add more university team members to increase awareness. I understand that the main problem is finding feasible best practices that can be implemented, helping people see that sustainability isn’t something distant and can be integrated into everything we do. The solution isn’t about adding more work, but about investing in our own future. I think that’s the difficult part.

We’ve tried multiple approaches from talking, encouraging but for real change to happen, for people to truly see the importance, it takes time and requires people with inner drive to move things forward. The university this year will invite experts in clean energy, such as from the Department of Energy Affairs, to come speak and participate in forums. We hope this will create serious awareness among people at all working levels and help drive the university’s SDG initiatives.

I understand that administrators themselves need a clear understanding of sustainability because pushing all 17 SDG areas simultaneously is difficult. At our university, we select specific areas like in the first year when we had to submit reports on 4 areas, we chose to focus on those 4 areas first. In later years, we expanded to 8 areas simultaneously, gradually increasing our scope. If we tried to drive all 16 areas at once, we would receive negative feedback from our personnel because they would feel it adds to their regular workload. I think encouraging people to participate genuinely and sincerely, without feeling forced, is extremely challenging.

SDSN Thailand: What motivates your personal commitment to sustainable development, and how does this influence your leadership style?

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nitthita: The initial inspiration was the policy directives we received, so we’ve been trying to implement this concept. We’ve attempted to motivate people through KPIs and university policies. However, I think our driving goal is to make them understand that sustainability principles are something we follow for ourselves. We do it not just for ourselves but for our descendants, and not just for the university or to meet ministry requirements. We do it to ensure that the world we live in can be sustainable.

Therefore, when we truly understand sustainability, it becomes a plus that makes each project genuinely effective. As Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University, we are a local university, and for many of our projects, if we don’t integrate sustainability, their direction might not be truly correct. When we incorporate sustainability considerations into project design, I understand that the budget invested will address long-term needs more effectively.