From love and toil to bonding, from learning new technologies to the never-say-die attitude, from teamwork to grateful messages, COVID-19 is bringing out the best in people. At the newly established School of Integrated Innovation (ScII) at Chulalongkorn University, team members are experiencing a blend of all these emotions as they take a huge digital leap forward amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

Fast changing circumstances mean that everyone is now compelled to adapt to new teaching and learning methods. But not ScII. The School was already working on a hybrid teaching platform before classrooms were shuttered as a precautionary measure. The School had also embarked on a digital spree that transcends traditional teaching and learning and ensures that the transition is seamless.

“The digital leap includes admissions, administration, backend operations, as well as teaching and learning,” says Dr. Natcha Thawesaengskulthai, Vice President for Innovation and New Developmen.

While the process of admissions involves no physical contact with applicants, the entire academics and administration is working on Microsoft Teams. Similarly teaching and learning includes online quizzes, video lectures, recorded sessions, and instantaneous feedback and responses.

“You could call it baptism by fire,” says Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Executive Director of the Chulalongkorn School of Integrated Innovation. As the newest school at Chulalongkorn, ScII was still establishing its policies and procedures, recruiting fresh hires, reaching out to international audiences, and ensuring that the School acts like a speedboat rather than a cruise ship. Suddenly, it found itself confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It turned out we were most agile when it came to adopting new technologies and platforms since we were not constrained by traditional ways of working,” says Prof. Worsak. “We had no baggage, and the entire team was eager to embrace new ways of working, so we ended up becoming path-breakers in taking the digital leap,” he adds.

Almost a decade ago, Prof. Worsak spearheaded operations during the Great Thailand Flood of 2011. As Vice President at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), he witnessed the disaster first-hand as flood waters rose to over two metres, and he was on the last boat sent out by the Royal Thai Army to rescue the stranded. “Later, it became clear that the flood provided AIT with a golden opportunity to revamp and renovate its 40-year-old campus,” he reminisces.

COVID-19 is another crisis, but this too is an opportunity to turn digital.

“As of date, our entire operations are digital,” says Dr. Pakjira Leelertphan, Director of Administration Services at ScII. When the international round of admissions was announced in early March, the application process was already digital. It was to be followed by an in-person written test for those international applicants who are based in Thailand. This will now be replaced by an online combination of test and interview that will be held once the last date of applications is over.