25/08/2026
HCU Launches 2026 Free Academic Service and International Knowledge-Exchange Series
HUACHIEW CHALERMPRAKIET UNIVERSITY (HCU) is strengthening its commitment to graduate education, international academic collaboration, and knowledge exchange through the 2026 Free Academic Service and International Knowledge-Exchange Series, an initiative of the Faculty of Social Work conducted in cooperation with academic and international partners.
Building on the success of the Writing Workshop organized last year, the new initiative will expand academic engagement through approximately six free academic sessions throughout the 2026 academic year. The programme is designed to complement graduate-level teaching and learning while providing an open platform for faculty members, graduate students, researchers, practitioners, professionals, alumni, and academic partners to exchange knowledge and perspectives on contemporary social and policy issues.
Bringing International Expertise to HCU
The inaugural session will take place on Friday, 28 August 2026, under the theme:
“Assessing the Integration of Retirees into the Temporary Employment Economy: Addressing Labor Shortages while Enhancing Workers’ Well-being in Hong Kong”
The session will feature Dr. MA Yiu Chung, an expert in Economics and Social Policy from Hong Kong, as the distinguished speaker.
The topic offers a timely opportunity to examine the changing relationship between ageing, employment, labour shortages, social policy, and workers' well-being. It will also provide participants with an international perspective on how Hong Kong is responding to emerging demographic and labour-market challenges.
For HCU graduate students and faculty members, the session will provide an opportunity to connect academic concepts with real-world policy and societal issues. For practitioners and researchers, it offers a platform to exchange perspectives and identify potential areas for future research and professional collaboration.
From Academic Learning to Societal Impact
The initiative reflects HCU's broader commitment to ensuring that academic knowledge contributes meaningfully to society. The University's academic activities increasingly emphasize the connection between research, education, international cooperation, and real-world challenges.
Through the Faculty of Social Work's new academic-service series, knowledge will be brought directly into the learning environment while opening opportunities for dialogue among academics, researchers, graduate students, practitioners, and international experts.
The project is therefore not intended merely as a lecture series. It is envisioned as a continuing academic platform where participants can:
>engage with international scholars and contemporary research;
>enrich graduate-level teaching and learning;
exchange professional and research perspectives;
>explore emerging social and economic challenges;
>develop international academic networks;
identify opportunities for collaborative research and publications; and
>build foundations for future academic partnerships.
Strengthening HCU's International Academic Network.
The involvement of international experts and partner institutions is a central feature of the initiative. By connecting HCU's academic community with scholars from different countries and academic traditions, the programme contributes to internationalization at home while creating opportunities for longer-term institutional cooperation.
Such engagement is consistent with HCU's continuing efforts to promote academic exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration, and international networking as pathways toward future research partnerships and innovations that create positive impacts for society.
The initiative also complements HCU's broader international academic activities, which bring together scholars, researchers, students, professionals, and partner institutions from Thailand and overseas to exchange knowledge and strengthen academic networks.
A Platform for HCU and Its Academic Partners.
For HCU's academic partners, the series provides an additional avenue for meaningful engagement with the University's faculty members, graduate students, researchers, and professional communities.
Beyond participation in individual sessions, the programme can serve as a starting point for joint research, scholarly publications, guest lectures, faculty development, student learning activities, professional training, conferences, and other forms of academic cooperation.
The initiative is particularly valuable because participation is offered free of charge, reflecting HCU's commitment to widening access to academic knowledge and creating opportunities for professional and scholarly communities to learn from internationally recognized expertise.
Advancing the University's Commitment to Sustainable Development
The programme also supports HCU's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
The inaugural session, for example, addresses questions concerning older workers' participation in the labour market, decent employment, economic participation, social protection, and well-being. These are issues that extend beyond a single discipline and require collaboration among academics, policymakers, practitioners, and communities.
This interdisciplinary approach reflects HCU's understanding that sustainable development encompasses not only environmental concerns but also health, economic development, social well-being, cultural dimensions, and community participation.
Building a Continuing Community of Academic Exchange.
With approximately six sessions planned for the 2026 academic year, HCU aims to develop the initiative into a sustainable platform for continuing academic dialogue.
Each session will provide opportunities to explore different contemporary issues and international perspectives while strengthening relationships among HCU and its academic partners.
In doing so, the Faculty of Social Work seeks to create an academic community in which knowledge is shared freely, international perspectives are welcomed, research connections are developed, and academic expertise is translated into meaningful contributions to society.
The initiative embodies HCU's broader philosophy that universities should go beyond the traditional boundaries of classrooms and laboratories and ensure that research, education, and academic collaboration create lasting benefits for society.
HCU warmly welcomes its academic partners, researchers, practitioners, faculty members, graduate students, and other interested members of the academic community to join this continuing journey of international knowledge exchange and collaborative learning.
