Chula Launches NEXUS AI Cohort 2 to Transform Thailand's AI Leadership

Chulalongkorn University officially launched the second cohort of its NEXUS AI executive program on May 5, 2026, at Sala Phra Kiao. The initiative brings together 68 senior executives from Thailand's public and private sectors with a stated goal of transforming the nation from an AI user into an AI developer.

The opening ceremony featured a keynote from Prof. Dr. Yodchanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. His address outlined government policy direction to accelerate AI development across agriculture, healthcare, biotechnology, robotics, and Digital Twins. The core message was straightforward: Thailand must build its own AI capabilities rather than simply consuming foreign technology.

According to the university's official announcement, Prof. Dr. Wilert Puriwat, President of Chulalongkorn University, emphasized the institution's commitment to becoming "The University of AI." This means developing both AI users and creators simultaneously through collaboration among academia, government, and the private sector.

The program structure reflects practical demands rather than theoretical abstraction. Participants engage in AI Labs for Executives, where they physically interact with real AI tools to understand capabilities and limitations. They also complete "Bring Your Team" workshops, co-designing implementation strategies for Sales, Marketing, HR, and automation functions. There's even a China Tech Immersion Trip built into the curriculum (because apparently, seeing how another nation scaled AI adoption firsthand matters).

Eight major technology partners back the initiative: Alibaba Cloud Thailand, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Thailand, Huawei Technologies, Microsoft, Tencent Cloud, Electronic Transactions Development Agency, and National Electronics and Computer Technology Center. This consortium represents a rare convergence of global cloud providers, domestic agencies, and academic institutions under one executive education umbrella.

Independent reporting from Newswise confirms the program builds on the first cohort's success, which attracted over 50 executives and sparked measurable AI adoption at the organizational level. The second batch expands that impact toward national-level collaboration.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Manoj Lohatepanont, Program Chair, explained that Batch 2 has been designed to be more intensive based on feedback from the inaugural group. The curriculum includes foundational sessions like "Unlocking the AI Universe: From Basics to Breakthroughs," taught by Assoc. Prof. Atiwong Suchato. Participants don't just listen to lectures—they walk through AI innovation exhibition booths and observe live demonstrations of language processing, healthcare applications, and automation systems.

The physical reality of executive AI education involves sitting through keynote addresses, touring exhibition halls, and navigating complex cloud interfaces during hands-on labs. It's not abstract theory; it's about whether a C-suite leader can actually configure a model or evaluate a vendor's claims without being sold a bill of goods.

Thailand's AI sovereignty push arrives as global competition intensifies. Countries that strategically develop and apply AI will create added value and enhance competitiveness. The difference no longer lies in who has AI access, but in who possesses the wisdom to create and shape AI independently.

Whether this executive cohort translates into measurable national AI development remains to be seen. Training 68 leaders is a start, but building genuine AI sovereignty requires infrastructure, data governance, and sustained investment beyond a single program. The real test comes when these executives return to their organizations and actually implement what they've learned.

For now, the program offers a roadmap. Whether Thai organizations follow it—or just collect certificates while continuing to import AI solutions—is the question that matters.

Artūras Malašauskas is an AI Systems Integrator with 20+ years of production-grade web engineering experience. He has designed, shipped, and scaled enterprise Python/PHP systems for logistics, SaaS, and public-sector clients. For the past year, he has focused exclusively on AI integrations: deploying open-source LLMs, building generative media pipelines (image, audio, video), and engineering multi-agent workflows for real production environments. His standard: reproducibility, security, cost-efficient inference—no vaporware. He documents and evaluates emerging AI tooling, separating verified capabilities from marketing noise. Technical editor at: muza-ai.eu, ai-verslas.lt, ai-naujinos.lt Connect on LinkedIn