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Sussex delegates at the International Partnerships Week, Mahidol University

Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global & Civic Engagement, Prof Robin Banerjee, speaking at Mahidol University

Sussex Global Engagement is pleased to announce that grants have been awarded to three research teams through the Mahidol Sussex Seed Fund. The scheme was first established in 2024 and is now in its fourth iteration, with Round 4 attracting 15 strong proposals, leading to a highly competitive selection process.

The awarded projects stood out to the panel for their high-quality proposals and their potential to deepen strategic collaboration between Mahidol and Sussex. All three projects demonstrated a clear focus on addressing identified research gaps and supporting long-term partnership development.

The three awarded projects are:

Assessing geothermal power generation potential in Northern Thailand: Coupling the geothermal subsurface with the surface-level power plant
Sussex: Dr Martin T White (School of Engineering and Informatics)
Mahidol: Dr Puwis Amatyakul (Department of Physics)

Fruitful Connections: Pollinators, Light Pollution and Urban Food Security in a Tropical Megacity
Sussex: Dr Beth Nicholls (School of Life Sciences) & Dr James Night (School of Engineering and Informatics)
Mahidol: Dr Phakhawat Thaweepworadej (Department of Biology) & Dr Alyssa Stewart ( Department of Plant Science)

Developing participatory and cross-cultural approaches to exploring children and young people (CYP)’s experiences of mental health difficulties
Sussex: Dr David Orr (School of Education and Social Work)
Mahidol: Dr Supapak Phetrasuwan (Faculty of Nursing)

The Mahidol and Sussex teams will receive funding to conduct research throughout the coming year, with anticipated outcomes including joint publication and presentations, the development of new interdisciplinary research programmes and the preparation of collaborative bids.

About the Mahidol Sussex Seed Fund

The Mahidol Sussex Seed Fund is a collaborative initiative between the University of Sussex and Mahidol University, Thailand. Designed to enhance the strategic partnership between the two institutions, the program provides financial support for collaborative projects that address global challenges and contribute to international development.

Mahidol University is Sussex’s strategic partner and one of Thailand’s top institutions. Sussex and Mahidol have worked together since 2013 – the relationship between the universities has grown into a broad and deep partnership that encompasses student mobility, research, recruitment, and teaching connections.

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