MDES Accelerates the Development of Digital Human Capability for Sustainability, Supports depa in Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future

Mr. Prasert Jantararuangtong, Minister of Digital Economy and Society presides over the grandopening ceremony of the Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future. Additionally, an agreement was announced for collaborative efforts in developing the coding infrastructure and knowledge framework under the Coding for Better Life project. The ceremony featured Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of The Digital Economy Promotion Agency or depa, along with Mr. Chatchai Khunpitiluck, Senior Executive Vice President (Digital Ecosystem Promotion Unit) This collaborative effort engages a dynamic network of public and private sector partners, educators, students, and institutional leaders, collectively participating in this event.

Mr. Prasert revealed that currently, Thailand currently demands an annual average of 100,000 digital talents, yet the country's education sector is only capable of producing around 25,000 individuals with these skills each year. In response, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has outlined comprehensive short-term and long-term plans. The short-term strategy involves proposing the implementation of the Global Digital Talent Visa and introducing a unique stamping category for temporarily residing individuals showcasing exceptional digital abilities. This proposal is currently under consideration by the Cabinet. As for the long-term plan, MDES by depa is actively promoting the development of digital knowledge and skills for all segments of the Thai population.

"Coding for Better Life initiated by depa, is a key component of the long-term strategy, aimed to cultivate educators initiated by depa, is a key component of the long-term strategy Simultaneously,

the project focuses on improving infrastructure to enhance readiness for learning. These combined efforts aim to generate a digital-ready workforce, addressing the persistent issue of the shortage of digital talents. Aligns with the crucial objective of enhancing the digital human capital, the third engine of the ministry's Growth Engine of Thailand policy, designed to propels the nation's digital economy and society forward." stated the Minister of Digital Economy and Society.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon emphasized depa unwavering commitment to nurturing coding skills among Thai youth since 2018, utilizing various channels. All aimed at addressing the persistent shortage of Thailand's digital workforce. For the fiscal year 2023-2024, depa received urgent directives from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to intensify efforts to continuously enhance coding skills.  This directive prompted the collaboration with a network of partners to develop the Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future and the development of digital ecosystem ready to support the development of coding skills, operating across four key dimensions, include

1. Develop Coding Infrastructure given accessible opportunity for interested and prepared schools to participate in a collaborative development program (50:50) to ensure sustainability. Emphasizing the importance of public-private collaboration, depa actively encourages the integration of efforts with the private sector to enhance coding classrooms. depa will support by providing specialized courses from a network of partners, comprising a comprehensive range of 20 courses, along with learning and teaching equipment utilized in the curriculum, such as computers, laptops, tablets, and Coding & Robotics tools. The ultimate goal is to implement this plan in schools nationwide, totaling 1,500 institutions.

2. Coding Coach Incubation developing coding curriculum and enhancing teaching skills involves the development of coding curriculum at three levels (Basic, Intermediate and Advanced), encompassing an extensive array of over 20 courses. The primary objective is to elevate the teaching skills of a minimum of 3,000 educators, molding them into essential personnel capable of imparting knowledge to students across generations. Anticipating a substantial impact, this implementation is poised to significantly enhance coding skills for no fewer than 300,000 students annually.

3. Acceleration Through Coding Challenge enhancing coding skills for technology development and digital Innovation designed to foster learning beyond the confines of traditional classrooms by actively engaging teachers and students in an intensive coding skills enhancement program through two key activities include:

• Coding Bootcamp: cultivate an understanding of coding skills through a comprehensive two-day program encompassing both theoretical and practical learning. The target is to involve more than 3,200 teachers and students, generating a minimum of 80 coding projects. Activity will be conducted a total of eight times nationwide.
• Coding War: Representing the largest coding competition stage in Thailand, Coding War unites teams of teachers and students to unleash their ideas and creativity, striving to become the ultimate coding team. This inclusive event welcomes participation from all educational institutions, extending them the opportunity to join an international-level coding competition with a total prize pool surpassing 1 million Baht. With an expected participation of no fewer than 100 teams, involving over 400 individuals, and yielding a minimum of 10 exceptional coding projects.

 

4. Awareness Coding Thailand creating awareness on coding and practical application for parents and the public, aims to extend the knowledge and coding skills for practical use across diverse domains, including agriculture, business operations, and many more. Ready to provides opportunities for individuals in the rural area to gain access to coding education through three key activities include:

Coding Roadshow: engaging event fosters awareness in coding by showcasing creative digital technology and innovation. This event simulated coding learning experiences for interested individuals, accessible both online and on-ground.

Coding for Specialist: involves creating specialized courses for real-world applications across various contexts.

Coding on DLTV: enhancing and developing three courses for broadcast through the Distance Learning Television (DLTV) network, aiming to reduce inequality in coding knowledge.

"MDES - depa, along with a network of partners, is particularly hopeful that the Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future will produce a digitally skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of the industry, creating economic opportunities for the country. Furthermore, it seeks to address the persistent issue of the shortage of digital talent sustainably. This project will contribute to cultivating a digital-ready workforce, aligning with the goals of enhancing the digital human capital, the third engine of "The Growth Engine of Thailand." stated President/CEO of depa.

For those interested, more information and updates on Coding for Better Life: Building the Foundation for Thailand's Future at www.depa.or.th, www.codingthailand.org, as well as the official Facebook pages: depa Thailand and CodingThailand by depa.