Khon Kaen University

Khon Kaen University (Thai: มหาวิทยาลัยขอนแก่น, abbreviated KKU) is a public research university in the city of Khon Kaen and the first institution of higher education in northeastern Thailand, where it remains the oldest and most competitive university.孔敬大学（泰语：มหาวิทยาลัยขอนแก่น，简称 KKU）是位于孔敬府的公立研究型大学，也是泰国东北部第一所高等教育机构，至今仍是该地区历史最久、竞争最强的大学。

It was given legal existence by the Khon Kaen University Act of 1966, after teaching had already begun in 1964 with 107 students, and it is organised today around 19 faculties and 4 colleges grouped into three disciplinary fields.它依 1966 年《孔敬大学法》取得法人地位，而教学早在 1964 年就以 107 名学生先行开学，如今设有 19 个学院与 4 个学部，分属三大学科领域。

The university is recognised across Asia for strength in medicine, engineering, science, agriculture and social science, serves as the educational hub of northeast Thailand, and stands in the 901-950 band of the 2027 QS World University Rankings.该校以医学、工程、理科、农学与社会科学的实力著称于亚洲，是泰国东北部的高等教育中枢，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位于 901-950 位区间。

History

• In 1941, during the reign of King Ananda Mahidol and the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram as prime minister, Thai policy turned to carrying higher education out of Bangkok and into the provinces.1941 年，在国王阿南塔·玛希敦在位、銮披汶·颂格拉姆元帅任总理之时，泰国的政策转向把高等教育从曼谷推向各省。

• For the northeastern region a university was planned at Ubon Ratchathani Province in that same 1941 wave of provincial expansion, which is the earliest documented attempt to give Isan its own university.在同一波 1941 年的省域扩展计划中，东北部曾拟在乌汶府设立大学，这是有记载的为伊森地区办大学的最早尝试。

• The scheme collapsed under the war in East Asia, in which the Thai government found itself drawn in on the Japanese side against the Allies, and university-building in the northeast came to a halt.这一计划因东亚战争而瓦解——泰国政府当时被卷到日本一方对盟国作战——东北部的建学工程因此停顿。

• The attempt to establish a northeastern university is recorded as having ended in 1960, nearly two decades after the first 1941 plan had been overtaken by the war.史料记载，东北部设立大学的努力到 1960 年宣告结束，距 1941 年最初的计划被战争吞没已近二十年。

• The project was taken up again for review under the administration of Prime Minister Sarit Thanarat, whose government reopened the question of higher education for the northeast around 1960.在沙立·他那叻总理的主政时期，这一工程重启评估，其政府在 1960 年前后重新提出东北部高等教育的问题。

• In 1962 it was formally resolved to establish a higher education institution, with engineering and agriculture as the founding disciplines and Khon Kaen as its site.1962 年，政府正式决议设立一所高等教育机构，以工程与农学为奠基学科，校址定于孔敬。

• The new body was first nominated as the Khon Kaen Institute of Technology, abbreviated K.I.T., a name that fixes its original technical and agricultural vocation.新建机构最初被定名为「孔敬理工学院」，缩写 K.I.T.，这一名称标定了它起初的技术与农学取向。

• Before it settled on its final identity the institution was renamed Northeastern University, abbreviated N.E.U., reflecting the regional mission set out in the 1962 resolution.在确定最终名称之前，该校曾改称「东北大学」，缩写 N.E.U.，呼应的正是 1962 年决议所赋予的区域使命。

• No government agency was then directly responsible for running university education, so the National Education Council took on finding a site, drafting the courses and approaching foreign sources of aid.当时政府并无直接负责大学教育的机构，因此国家教育委员会接手了选址、拟定课程以及向外求援的事务。

• By 1963 the council's subcommittee had agreed to place the university at Baan Si Than, the roughly 5,500 rai (2,173 acres) holding some 4 kilometres from the city of Khon Kaen having been set aside earlier.到 1963 年，该委员会的小委员会已决定把校址设在巴恩西丹，此前那里约 5,500 莱（2,173 英亩）、距孔敬城约 4 公里的地块已被预留。

• The curriculum drafted under the council's brief through 1963 kept to the two disciplines named in the 1962 resolution, engineering and agriculture, which is why the 1964 intake of 107 students divided into 49 agriculturalists and 58 engineers.依委员会的职责，1963 年前后拟定的课程仍不出 1962 年决议指定的两科——工程与农学，这正是 1964 年首批 107 名学生分为 49 名农学生与 58 名工科学生的原因。

• On 9 June 1964 construction was settled for the Faculty of Science and Arts, the first building programme on the newly chosen campus.1964 年 6 月 9 日，文理学院的建设方案落定，成为新校址上的第一项建楼工程。

• On 24 June 1964 the first intake of students was accepted at the University Office in Bangkok, 15 days after the first campus building was committed.1964 年 6 月 24 日，第一批学生在曼谷的大学办事处办理录取，距首栋校舍方案落定仅 15 天。

• That 1964 opening cohort numbered 107 students, divided into 49 studying agricultural science and 58 studying engineering.1964 年的首批学生共 107 人，其中 49 人修农学、58 人修工程学。

• Because the Khon Kaen site was still unbuilt, the 1964 students enrolled instead at the University of Medical Sciences, the institution that is today Mahidol University.由于孔敬校址当时尚未建成，这批 1964 年的学生改在医用科学学院注册，那所学院即今日的玛希隆大学。

• In 1965 the cabinet resolved to rename the institution Khon Kaen University, taking the name of the city in which it stood, and the university became a legal entity from that point.1965 年内阁决议将其改名为「孔敬大学」，取自其所在城市之名，大学自此成为法人实体。

• In 1966 the parliament enacted the Khon Kaen University Act, the statute that gave the institution its own legal framework apart from the national education council.1966 年国会颁布《孔敬大学法》，使该校脱离国家教育委员会而拥有独立的法律框架。

• The establishment was announced in the Government Gazette on 25 January 1966, a date the university counts as its founding day.建校事项于 1966 年 1 月 25 日刊登于政府公报，大学把这一天视为自己的建校纪念日。

• King Bhumibol Adulyadej appointed qualified members to the university board under the 1966 Act, tying the new institution formally to the throne.国王普密蓬·阿杜德依 1966 年法案为大学董事会任命了合格成员，使新机构与王室的正式关联得以确立。

• Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn and members of the university council then met and appointed Pote Sarasin the first president of Khon Kaen University.总理他侬·吉滴卡宗与大学董事会成员随后开会，任命 Pote Sarasin 为孔敬大学首任校长。

• In 2009 the university was ranked 21st in Southeast Asia by Times Higher Education and 4th in Thailand by the Office of the Higher Education Commission, and in 2010 it received a National Research University rating.2009 年，该校被《泰晤士高等教育》列为东南亚第 21 位、被泰国高等教育事务办公室列为全国第 4 位，2010 年又获评为国家研究型大学。

Academics

• The academic structure of the university comprises 19 faculties and 4 colleges, arranged into three disciplinary fields: healthcare science, science and technology, and liberal arts and social sciences.全校学术架构由 19 个学院与 4 个学部构成，分属三大领域：健康科学、科学与技术、文科与社会科学。

• Seven faculties sit in the healthcare group: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Public Health and Associated Medical Sciences.健康科学群下有 7 个学院：医学院、牙医学院、药学院、护理学院、兽医学院、公共卫生学院与相关医学科学院。

• The presence of both a Faculty of Public Health and a Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences marks the university as a trainer of laboratory and population-health personnel, not only of clinicians.公共卫生学院与相关医学科学院并设，说明该校培养的不仅是临床医师，还有实验室与人群健康人才。

• The science and technology field holds the Faculties of Agriculture, Technology, Architecture, Engineering and Science, a grouping that descends directly from the 1962 decision to start with engineering and agriculture.科学与技术领域设有农学院、技术学院、建筑学院、工程学院与理学院，这一格局直接承自 1962 年以工程与农学起步的决定。

• The three fields are markedly uneven in size, since healthcare science counts 7 faculties and liberal arts and social sciences 7, while science and technology, the discipline of the university's founding name, holds only 5.三大领域规模明显不均：健康科学有 7 个学院，文科与社会科学有 7 个学院，而科学与技术——正是该校初名所标榜的领域——只辖 5 个学院。

• Its roster of units marks a comprehensive university rather than the technical institute envisaged in 1962, because law, economics, education, fine arts and humanities now stand beside engineering, agriculture and medicine.从单位名录看，它已是一所综合性大学，而非 1962 年设想的理工学院：法学、经济学、教育学、美术与人文如今与工程、农学、医学并立。

• Alongside those faculties the College of Computing carries the university's information-technology teaching and research.与上述学院并列的是计算学院，承担该校信息技术方向的教学与研究。

• The liberal arts and social sciences field comprises the Faculties of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business Administration and Accountancy, Fine Arts, Law and Economics.文科与社会科学领域包括教育学院、人文与社会科学学院、工商管理与会计学院、美术学院、法学院与经济学院。

• Its four colleges are the College of Computing, the College of Local Administration, the College of Graduate Study in Management and the KKU International College.四个学部是计算学部、地方管理学部、管理研究生院（学部）与孔敬大学国际学部。

• The College of Local Administration is a distinctive unit, dedicated to training the officials who run Thailand's provincial and municipal administration.地方管理学部是其特色单位，专门培养管理泰国府县与市政的公务人员。

• The College of Graduate Study in Management confines itself to postgraduate management education, while the KKU International College provides an English-facing route into degrees.管理研究生院（学部）专注研究生管理教育，孔敬大学国际学部则提供以英语为媒介的学位通道。

• Teaching is distributed by discipline rather than by college town, with the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies operating from the Nongkhai campus outside Khon Kaen.教学按学科而非按卫星城镇布局，跨学科研究学院即在孔敬之外的廊开校区办学。

• The university's documented strengths are medicine, engineering, science, agriculture and social science, the five fields in which it is widely recognised in Asia.该校有据可查的优势学科是医学、工程、理科、农学与社会科学，这正是它在亚洲广受认可的五个领域。

• Its agricultural teaching goes back to the 49 agricultural-science places admitted in 1964, when the institution's first name promised engineering and agriculture.它的农学教育可追溯到 1964 年录取的 49 个农学名额，当时该校的初名便许诺了工程与农学两科。

• Engineering likewise traces to that first intake of 58 students, and the Faculty of Engineering now stands among five faculties in the science and technology field.工程学同样源于首批 58 名学生，如今工程学院是科学与技术领域五个学院之一。

• The legal autonomy conferred by the 1966 Act allowed the university to build its own curricula instead of following the national curriculum drafted for it in 1963.1966 年法案赋予的法律自治使该校得以自定课程，而不必沿用 1963 年为国家教育委员会代拟的旧课程。

• As the first university of the northeast it functions as the regional supplier of graduates in health, engineering and public administration for the surrounding provinces.作为东北部第一所大学，它为周边各府输送医疗、工程与公共管理人才，扮演区域人才供给者的角色。

• Its founding role in a region long served only from Bangkok is why the university is described as a hub of education in northeast Thailand.它在长期只能依赖曼谷办学的地区里扮演开创角色，因此被称为泰国东北部的高等教育中枢。

Campus

• The campus stands at Baan Si Than near the city of Khon Kaen, a site fixed by the subcommittee's decision of 1963.校园位于孔敬城旁的巴恩西丹，校址由 1963 年小委员会的决定所确定。

• It covers roughly 5,500 rai, or 2,173 acres, some 8.8 square kilometres, laid out 4 kilometres outside the city itself.校园面积约 5,500 莱，即 2,173 英亩（约 8.8 平方公里），布置在城外约 4 公里处。

• The first building programme on that land was the Faculty of Science and Arts, whose construction was settled on 9 June 1964.这片土地上的首项建设工程是文理学院，其方案于 1964 年 6 月 9 日落定。

• That earliest commitment was to one general faculty covering both arts and science, so the university's first purpose-built teaching on the 5,500-rai site was not divided into the specialist faculties it has since grown.这项最早的建设只涵盖一所文理兼综的学院，因此校园在 5,500 莱用地上的首栋教学建筑尚未分成后来那些专门的学院。

• Because the campus was still fields when the 1964 cohort was admitted, that intake took its enrolment at the University Office in Bangkok and studied at the University of Medical Sciences.1964 年招生时校园还是一片田地，因此首批学生到曼谷的大学办事处注册，并在医用科学学院借读。

• Its location is given as 16.44671 north and 102.833 east, on the plain of central Isan, the agricultural heart of the northeastern region.校园坐标记为北纬 16.44671、东经 102.833，地处伊森中部平原，即东北部地区的农业腹地。

• Beyond the Khon Kaen site the university teaches at a campus in Nongkhai, which houses the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies.除孔敬本校外，该校还在廊开设有校区，跨学科研究学院即驻于该处。

• The campus took the name of the city in 1965, when the cabinet resolved that the institution should be called Khon Kaen University after its location.校园之名取自所在城市：1965 年内阁决议以校址所在地命名，改称孔敬大学。

• A self-contained university township 4 kilometres from the city, the site still performs the function its founders intended, drawing students from across the northeastern provinces.这是一座距城 4 公里、自成一体的大学小镇，至今仍承担创办者赋予的功能，把学生从东北各府吸引而来。

Reputation

• In the 2027 QS World University Rankings Khon Kaen University is placed in the 901-950 band, a shared interval covering institutions ranked at the same level.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，孔敬大学位列 901-950 位区间，该区间为同级院校并列共有。

• The 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings place the university in the 1201-1400 band, its better-known position in the western league tables.《泰晤士高等教育》2027 年世界大学排名把该校置于 1201-1400 位区间，是它在西方榜单上较常被引用的位置。

• The 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking lists Khon Kaen University at position 1183.2026-2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名把孔敬大学列为第 1183 位。

• The university is not included in the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the Shanghai ranking whose main table covers only the first 1000 institutions.该校未被收录进 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名，该榜主榜只收录前 1000 所机构。

• On the regional and disciplinary dimension the sources record a 21st place in Southeast Asia in the Times Higher Education table of 2009 and 4th place in Thailand in the Office of the Higher Education Commission's same-period assessment.在区域与学科维度上，可查到的名次是 2009 年《泰晤士高等教育》东南亚第 21 位，以及同一时期高等教育事务办公室的全国第 4 位，其强项记载为医学、工程、理科、农学与社会科学，但未见分学科的世界名次表。

• In 2010 the university was rated one of nine National Research Universities of Thailand, a formal national classification of its research capacity.2010 年该校被评为泰国 9 所国家研究型大学之一，这是对其研究能力的正式国家认定。

• OpenAlex attributes 40,846 scholarly works and 1,423,168 citations to the university, the quantitative record of its research output.OpenAlex 记为该校产出学术文献 40,846 篇、被引 1,423,168 次，是其科研产出的量化纪录。

• No Nobel Prize, Turing Award or Fields Medal is attributed to the university in the sources used here, the closest documented honours being its 2010 national research rating and its 2009 regional placing.本文所用资料中没有把诺贝尔奖、图灵奖或菲尔兹奖归于该校的记载，可查到的最高荣誉是 2010 年的国家研究型大学评级与 2009 年的区域名次。

Student life

• Daily student life is organised around a campus 4 kilometres from Khon Kaen city, large enough at 5,500 rai that teaching, residences and services sit within one grounds.学生的日常围绕距孔敬城 4 公里的校园展开，5,500 莱的规模使教学、住宿与生活设施同处一个园区之内。

• Its intake is dominated by the health sciences, since 7 of the 19 faculties are in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine, public health and associated medical sciences.该校学生以健康科学为主，因为 19 个学院中有 7 个属于医学、牙科、药学、护理、兽医、公共卫生与相关医学科学。

• Students of the local-administration and law faculties form the human stream of the university, trained for provincial government, the civil service and legal practice in the northeast.地方管理学部与法学院的学生构成该校的人文一脉，为东北部的府治、文官体系与法律实务培养人才。

• Its faculties of Fine Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences are the documented route into Thai performance and screen culture, from which film-makers, actors and singers have emerged.美术学院与人文及社会科学学院是通往泰国表演与影视文化的有据通道，导演、演员与歌手皆由此而出。

• Some undergraduates spend their studies outside the home campus, since the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies is based at the Nongkhai campus in a neighbouring province.部分本科生的学业不在本校区度过，因为跨学科研究学院设在邻府的廊开校区。

• The KKU International College gives students an English-facing programme alongside the Thai-language faculties, the institutional sign of a university described as widely recognised in Asia.孔敬大学国际学部在泰语学院之外提供以英语为媒介的项目，这所学校「广为人知于亚洲」的定位在制度上由此体现。

• As the first university its region ever had, the campus draws students from the surrounding provinces and still functions as the educational hub of northeast Thailand.作为本地区的第一所大学，这里的生源来自周边各府，校园至今仍是泰国东北部的高等教育中枢。

Notable people

• Pote Sarasin, the first president of the university appointed by Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn and the council in 1966, set the administrative pattern of the institution.1966 年由总理他侬·吉滴卡宗与董事会任命的首任校长 Pote Sarasin，为这所大学确立了行政运作的范式。

• Somsak Kiatsuranont, an alumnus, served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand.校友 Somsak Kiatsuranont 曾任泰国人民院议长。

• Surapong Tovichakchaikul served as Thailand's minister of foreign affairs and as deputy prime minister, one of the most senior politicians produced by the university.Surapong Tovichakchaikul 曾任泰国外交部长与副总理，是该校资历最重的政界人物之一。

• Tanwarin Sukkhapisit works both as a film director and as a politician, combining the screen and the assembly in a single career.Tanwarin Sukkhapisit 兼为电影导演与政治人物，在同一份生涯里连接了银幕与议会。

• Apichatpong Weerasethakul, a graduate of the university, works as a film director, screenwriter and producer and is among its best-known alumni internationally.阿彼察邦·韦拉斯哈古（Apichatpong Weerasethakul）毕业于该校，从事电影导演、编剧与制片，是该校国际上最知名的校友之一。

• Entertainment alumni include the actor Wanarat Ratsameerat, the actor Sirilak Kwong, the actor and singer-songwriter Thanaboon Kiatniran and the actor Sukollawat Kanaros.演艺界校友包括演员 Wanarat Ratsameerat、演员 Sirilak Kwong、演员兼创作歌手 Thanaboon Kiatniran，以及演员 Sukollawat Kanaros。

• Harin Suthamjarus is the singer of the Thai rock band Tattoo Colour, another figure whose public career began in the university's music world.Harin Suthamjarus 是泰国摇滚乐队 Tattoo Colour 的主唱，其公众生涯同样始于该校的音乐环境。

• In the sciences, Niane Sivongxay became a herpetologist, while Apisamai Srirangsan works as a psychiatrist and news anchor and Taweesin Visanuyothin as a psychiatrist.科学界方面，Niane Sivongxay 成为爬行动物学家，Apisamai Srirangsan 既是精神科医师也是新闻主播，Taweesin Visanuyothin 则是精神科医师。

• Two alumni have led Thai universities: Watcharin Kasalak as president of Burapha University and Chanchai Panthongwiriyakul as president of Khon Kaen University.两位校友曾主政泰国高校：Watcharin Kasalak 任布拉帕大学校长，Chanchai Panthongwiriyakul 任孔敬大学校长。

• In business the university counts Witoon Suriyawanakul, a billionaire and the founder of Siam Global House, and in civic life the social activist Jatupat Boonpattararaksa.商界方面该校有身家亿万的暹罗全球家居（Siam Global House）创始人 Witoon Suriyawanakul，公民社会方面则有社会活动家 Jatupat Boonpattararaksa。