PRINCE OF SONGKLA UNIVERSITY

Their core work

Prince of Songkla University (PSU) is a major Thai research university based in Hat Yai, southern Thailand, with demonstrated research capacity in bioprocess engineering and environmental biotechnology. Their H2020 involvement is exclusively through MSCA-RISE staff exchange schemes, meaning they serve as a host institution that sends and receives research staff with European partners rather than leading EU projects directly. Their most substantive documented work is in biological treatment systems — bioreactors, immobilized biocatalysts, and integrated processes for recovering carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur from contaminated waste streams. They also have prior research exposure to microfluidic technologies for pharmaceutical applications, suggesting cross-disciplinary capability across engineering and life sciences.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

PSU's first H2020 engagement (MEDLEM, 2016-2019) placed them in the medical devices space — microfluidics for drug administration — with no recorded keywords suggesting bioprocesses or environmental work. Their second project (RECYCLES, 2020-2025) represents a sharp departure into environmental biotechnology: bioreactors, wastewater and waste gas treatment, and circular resource recovery. Whether this reflects different research groups within the university or a deliberate strategic shift is unclear from available data, but the two projects have essentially no technical overlap. The trajectory, if RECYCLES represents their current strategic direction, points firmly toward applied environmental bioengineering.

PSU appears to be moving toward environmental bioprocess engineering — waste treatment, bioreactor design, and circular economy applications — which aligns with growth areas in Asian industrial policy and EU Green Deal collaboration priorities.

How they like to work

PSU has participated exclusively as a third party in MSCA-RISE projects, which means they enter consortia as a staff exchange destination rather than as a project-driving partner. They have never served as coordinator in H2020. With 12 unique partners across 8 countries from only 2 projects, they appear to connect into moderately large, internationally diverse consortia — consistent with the MSCA-RISE model where exchanges span multiple institutions. Working with PSU likely means a staff mobility arrangement rather than a traditional subcontractor or co-investigator relationship.

PSU has built connections with 12 consortium partners spanning 8 countries — a broad geographic spread for just two projects, reflecting the multi-node structure of MSCA-RISE networks. Their partners are predominantly European, positioning PSU as a Southeast Asian anchor in EU-Asia research exchange corridors.

What sets them apart

PSU is one of very few Thai universities with direct H2020 MSCA-RISE participation, making them a rare gateway for European researchers seeking an established Southeast Asian host institution. For consortium builders pursuing global reach or needing an Asia-Pacific partner with EU project experience, PSU offers institutional legitimacy and a documented track record of hosting staff exchanges. Their combination of bioprocess engineering capacity and prior EU network connections is uncommon among Thai universities.

Highlights from their portfolio

• RECYCLES
  A 2020-2025 project tackling carbon recovery from contaminated waste streams via integrated nitrogen and sulphur bioprocesses — technically ambitious and directly relevant to circular economy and industrial wastewater challenges.
• MEDLEM
  PSU's first H2020 engagement, placing them in the microfluidics and precision medicine space and establishing their European MSCA-RISE network before pivoting to environmental bioengineering.