Assistant Professor Dr. Orawit Thinnukool, Acting Assistant Dean for International Cooperation and Fundraising at the College of Arts, Media and Technology, led the ASTRA project (Advancing Strategic Management, Leadership, and Fundraising in Higher Education in Asia). He attended the ASTRA International Conference along with Assistant Professor Dr. Pattaraporn Khuwutayakorn, Associate Professor Dr. Pradthana Jaiphong, and Assistant Professor Dr. Uraiwan Hanwong, who represented Chiang Mai University. The conference, held on June 20-21, 2024, at Lao Plaza Hotel in Vientiane, Lao PDR, focused on "Social Research and Digital Innovation for Local Development."

The conference marked a significant milestone for the ASTRA project. It reviewed the project's progress over the past three years, discussing successes, challenges, sustainability, and key lessons learned. It also included preparing a performance report for the European Union Commission, the project's funder.

The event featured a special lecture on capacity building within the Higher Education framework by experts from the EU network. Researchers from Southeast Asia presented their work, including three students from the Embedded Operating Systems and Computational Sciences Research Lab at Chiang Mai University: Ms. Jariyaporn Traingam, Ms. Manipha Puangplab, and Mr. Patcharapong Titwong. They presented their project proposals, which could lead to more funding opportunities for research and innovation, help students develop global citizenship skills, and build networks for future opportunities.

Representatives from the eight partner institutions also discussed future cooperation, potential EU funding applications, and extending academic cooperation for short-term student and staff exchanges. This is part of the Learning Mobility for Higher Education Students and Staff project, in collaboration with the University of Florence, Italy. An MOU was signed in 2023 to support these initiatives.

The ASTRA project, supported by the European Union under the Erasmus+ framework, aims to build the capacity of personnel in higher education institutions in Asia. Operating since January 15, 2021, the project has involved eight partner institutions working together to achieve ASTRA's mission. One key outcome is the establishment of the "ASTRA R&D Innovation & Consulting Hub" at the College of Arts, Media and Technology, CMU. This hub, funded initially by the Office of Research Administration at Chiang Mai University and the College of Arts, Media and Technology, focuses on strengthening the capacity of university personnel through two main operations: (1) Training and consulting on project proposal preparation for university personnel to secure funding from domestic and international sources and to find partners for project collaboration; (2) Providing consulting services to other potential target groups, including the private business sector, industrial groups, and local entrepreneurs, for research and development (R&D) cooperation, either as funders, partners in funding applications, or target groups in academic service projects.