Rayong, Thailand
My career to date has been a series of transitions, from full-time chemistry researcher at several universities across the globe, to managing commercial research projects, back to academia achieving Associate Professor status, and then as a chemistry teacher providing guidance to gifted students at one of Asia's elite STEM high schools, Kamnoetvidya Science Academy (KVIS) in Thailand. Teaching at KVIS requires drawing on research experience, integrating 'lab stories', reflections, and describing in detail outcomes from experiments to inspire curiosity in students. At KVIS, I have been fortunate enough alongside teaching to utilise my experience in the higher education sector as a career counselor assisting students with scholarships and admission processes, and, most recently, in the International Affairs section as the focal point for student academic events and assisting with facilitating institutional research collaborations. I am passionate about chemistry, science education, student engagement and guidance, and, most notably, using my skills and experience to provide my students with the best possible opportinities to fulfil their study and career goals.
My duties in this role broadly fit the following themes: School contact point for all international student competitions and academic events. I am responsible for planning and proposing the school budget for all these events (>20 events/yr) and ensuring these activities are executed within budget. My duties include all official announcements, formulating guidelines, and derivation of processes for selection of student projects for international events, setting up of selection committees. all liaison with international schools/event agencies regarding event guidelines, organising teacher/student expenditure for such events from handling visa applications to procuring airfares. I also work closely with the school counseling staff to recommend events and competitions which can be beneficial to student portfolio building. School contact person for visiting foreign experts. In the last year I have revived and expanded the school's Visiting Foreign Experts scheme, which allows visiting Professors from universities abroad to visit and inspire the students by giving advanced classes, special lectures, and information about study options, and to foster potential collaborations at a research level such as the establishment of joint interschool student research projects. Other tasks. I work closely with other members in our International Affairs team to assist with planning of events, such as hosting of external visitors (eg university staff/schools) to our school, assisting with selection of students for cultural exchange visits, and existing interschool projects. I am active in looking for new events for students to attend such as academic conferences. I assist students in developing their presentations and enhancing their scientific writing skills, through in-demand sessions with the students, and through editing and providing feedback on manuscript drafts.
Key duties: Chemistry teacher for gifted students in grades 10-12. Units ranged from Basic Chemistry (grade 10), Organic Chemistry (grade 11) and Inorganic Chemistry (grade 12). I was also involved in courses relating to enhancing research skills and fostering a culture of scientific exploration (Scientific Inquiry and Nature of Science, Seminar courses) and as an advisor for several teams in their senior research projects. A feature of teaching at this school is the integration of research into the curriculum and class content. A key feature of my teaching, and others in this school, is the opportunity to incorporate examples from individual research experience into the classroom Guidance/career counseling. I am part of the team assisting students with preparation for university admssions and portfolio building, through conducting one-on-one interviews. I assist with helping students find scholarships, outline admissions processes for universities abroad through information sessions (UK institutions, standardized tests). I am responsible for school nominations for scholarships in Canada (University of Toronto, University of British Columbia), and coordinate and manage exams related to UK admissions (mock A-level exams and predicted grades). A major achievement was my setting up of an MAT (Mathematics Admissions Test) center at my school in 2023 to cater for students applying to the University of Oxford. I am also involved with coordinating visits from international university admissions staff, who provide information regarding study abroad opportunities, scholarships, and also institutional research collaborations
My role was primarily teaching chemistry and materials science units in the Faculty of Science International Programs (SIM). I was also involved with the admissions process, interviewing students for entry to the Materials Science undergraduate program, and conducting admissions roadshows at schools throughout the country (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Rayong, Phuket). I was also involved in teaching graduate courses in Chemistry (Scientific Communication), and providing guest lectures in the Forensic Science program
Duties as mentioned in the previous lecturer position at Chulalongkorn University
My role was to analyse opportunities for the company to expand into the bioplastics sector. This involved analysing the current product portfolio, identifying prospects for new product development, and in the case of bioplastics, analysing technology trends through patent mapping
Lecturer in Chemistry. This role primarily involved teaching in the Bachelor of Science in Applied Chemistry (International) program (BSAC). In addition to teaching Organic Chemistry, Green Chemistry, and Seminar courses in the BSAC program I was also an advisor to several teams in the Interactive Science and Social Project, which involved me mentoring teams of 4-5 students on a community or NGO-based problem. I also taught Advanced Practical Organic Chemistry at the senior level of the regular Chemistry program, and special topics at the postgraduate level (Agrochemicals, Green Chemistry, Supramolecular Chemistry) and Seminar courses