The Faculty of Medicine at Khon Kaen University (KKU) officially received the ASPIRE Award 2026 in Social Accountability during the International Association for Health Professions Education (AMEE) 2026 conference on 24 August 2026, in Vienna, Republic of Austria. Associate Professor Pattarapong Makarawate, MD, MSc, FHRS, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Praew Kotruchin, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Student Development, accepted the accolade on behalf of the faculty before an international gathering of medical educators, researchers, physicians, and educational leaders.
The Faculty of Medicine, KKU, became one of only three institutions worldwide to receive the ASPIRE Award 2026 in Social Accountability, following a rigorous evaluation by international experts. The award, open to medical institutions globally, assesses a medical school’s comprehensive societal role. This spans its core mission and organisational governance, student selection, medical graduate production, community-focused health research, and healthcare services that enhance the public’s quality of life.
The Faculty of Medicine, KKU, remains committed to producing medical graduates who embody both academic and professional excellence alongside a deep sense of social responsibility. Students engage in active learning across university facilities, hospitals, and community settings, while faculty members and researchers draw on regional health issues as key research questions to advance healthcare delivery and generate tangible benefits for the public.
The Faculty of Medicine, KKU, remains committed to producing medical graduates who embody both academic and professional excellence alongside a deep sense of social responsibility. Students engage in active learning across university facilities, hospitals, and community settings, while faculty members and researchers utilize regional health issues as key research questions to advance healthcare delivery and generate tangible benefits for the public.
A prominent achievement of the Faculty of Medicine, KKU, is its long-standing initiative to address and reduce liver fluke disease and cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer), a critical public health issue in Northeastern Thailand. This effort operates through three key mechanisms: the implementation of the “Lawa Model,” a community-participatory prototype for liver fluke prevention and control; the Cholangiocarcinoma Screening and Care Program (CASCAP), established for systematic screening, diagnosis, and patient management; and the Cholangiocarcinoma Research Institute (CARI), which focuses on research and innovative developments for disease treatment and control. Together, these strategic initiatives have driven national policy towards “Thailand Free from Liver Fluke Disease and Deaths from Cholangiocarcinoma.”
