Following almost 50 years of Thai-German cooperation at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS) was founded in 1996 by the bilateral collaboration between the Thai government and the German government, represented by KMUTNB and RWTH-Aachen University, respectively. The major goal of the establishment of TGGS is to develop an industry-oriented graduate educational institute in the South East Asia region based on the successful model of RWTH-Aachen University. For the initial establishment, both sides agreed to provide equal contributions. The Thai government invested in buildings and infrastructure, whereas the German government provided advanced laboratory hardware.

TGGS offers graduate study programs in different engineering disciplines. By the TGGS philosophy of industry-oriented education, TGGS closely collaborates with industry partners and links the students to practice skills in solving industry problems through different activities in the study program, such as internship and thesis. Today, TGGS has been widely recognized by the success of the industry-oriented education concept indicated by the high quality of the TGGS graduates and the achievements of TGGS in research performances.

TGGS Timeline and Milestones

  • 1997: The core network between KMUTNB, RIT, RWTH Aachen, BMBF, MWF NRW, MUA Thailand, the Embassies and the first industrial sponsors was established.
  • 1999: Signing a Memorandum of Understanding between RWTH Aachen, KMUTNB, RIT, and DIHT with support in Bangkok through GTCC.
  • 2001: Launching of the substantial project support through DAAD, RWTH-MWF target agreement, the start of first M.Sc. courses at TGGS in November 2001.
  • 2004: TGGS Contract of October 22 (25 Mio. EUR budget 2006-2011). The Foundation stone of the 11-story TGGS building was laid in November.
  • 2005: Privilege of TGGS to carry the name of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
  • 2006: Transitional TGGS offices in KMUTNB New Research Building, also recruiting of own TGGS permanent academic staff.
  • 2007: Completion of the TGGS building and move into new offices. TGGS Co., Ltd. registered on October 26. Purchasing of first basic equipment for TGGS.
  • 2008: TGGS Co., Ltd. received its BoI Certificate in February 2008. The TGGS Autonomy and TGGS Council was established officially in June 2008. The extension of labs and starting of R&D projects. Two Ph.D programs and 8 Master’s programs were started.
  • 2009: Delivery of significant R&D equipment from RWTH Aachen to TGGS.
  • 2011: The second agreement between RWTH Aachen and KMUTNB was signed (agreement contract from 2012-2015).
  • 2012: RWTH Seed Fund granted to TGGS. First RWTH Aachen University students at TGGS.
  • 2015: Renewal of the MoU between TGGS, KMUTNB and RWTH Aachen University. RWTH Seed Fund and Boost Fund granted to TGGS. CRDC-FC opening ceremony.
  • 2016: First Group of TGGS Students at RWTH Aachen University Summer School
  • 2017: CRDC-FC University Industrial Engineering Camp. TGGS-RWTH Aachen joint SEA roadshow. Equipment endowment from RWTH Aachen University to TGGS. Bridging the Grids-Symposium on Smart Mobility, in cooperation between TGGS, RWTH Aachen University and Hongil University.
  • 2018: Establishment of Dual Degree of Master program in Electrical and Software System Engineering between TGGS, KMUTNB, and RWTH Aachen University
  • 2019: TGGS’s Department of Electrical and Software Systems Engineering won the nation-wide 1st in the research achievement ranking by the Thai Research Funds (TRF). Establishment of a joint Master’s Degree in Railway Vehicles and Infrastructure engineering with Chulalongkorn University under academic cooperation with RWTH Aachen University.
  • 2020: 15th Anniversary, Implementation of research-based and Plan B master program starting with MAE and MPE. Online teaching and operations during the COVID-19 crisis.
  • 2021: MoU signing with CU for RVIE program. The first batch of RVIE students was sent to RWTH-Aachen. Implementation of research-based and Plan B master program for ECE.
  • 2022: EV-Hackathon to Celebrate the 160-year Anniversary of the German-Thai Relationship. TGGS/KMUTNB is elected chairperson of GTRA. Recovery operation during the COVID-19 crisis.
  • 2023: MoU signing with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), China. TGGS adopted EdPEx in 2023 to improve the quality assurance management of TGGS. TGGS is preparing to enter the international quality assurance AUN-QA for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Program. The assessment is planned for March 2024.

About TGGS