Dr. Andrew Shedlock, US Fulbright Scholar to Japan, visited Bangkok in April to be one of the speakers at the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Frontiers of Science Education Symposium. The visit was supported by Fulbright East Asia Pacific Regional Travel Program.
LMI is a multinational partnership among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States to create integrated sub-regional cooperation among the five Lower Mekong countries. The initiative, founded in 2009, serves as a platform to address complex, transnational development and policy challenges in the Lower Mekong sub-region.
This year, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United States’ Embassy in Bangkok co-organized the symposium where scientists and scholars from the Lower Mekong countries and the US could exchange ideas about recent issues in science education. More than 60 scientists attended the symposium, according to the website of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Shedlock said at the symposium, he was encouraged to offer technology transfer and project based student training support for the local institutions and peers across the LMI region who are interested in applying DNA diagnostics and new advances in genome science to address complex environmental problems related to biodiversity inventory, water and food security, climate change, habitat protection, and sustainable use of natural resources throughout Southeast Asia.
“The colleagues I met at this symposium and networking event were truly inspirational to me as both a principal investigator and science educator,” said the scholar.
He also said he was optimistic that his visit to the symposium might lead to new research and development collaborative and educational partnerships in LMI region for progressive international relations, innovative science leadership, and global environmental health solutions.
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