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Chulalongkorn University debuts GenAI platform
Thai university teams up with Google Cloud to empower its community with responsible and customisable AI tools for research, learning and administration
Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University and Google Cloud have launched ChulaGenie, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) platform designed to transform higher education in Thailand.
Short for “Chula’s Generative AI Environment for Nurturing Intelligence and Education,” ChulaGenie will provide free access to advanced AI capabilities for over 50,000 staff, faculty and students, beginning with staff and faculty in January 2025, and expanding to all students by March 2025.
Built on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform, ChulaGenie offers a curated selection of AI foundation models, including Google’s Gemini 1.5 Flash and Pro, with forthcoming access to Anthropic’s Claude and Meta’s Llama models.
The multilingual and multimodal platform allows users to process complex documents, including those with tables, charts and images, in various languages, facilitating efficient research, content generation and insightful analysis.
Wilert Puriwat, president of Chulalongkorn University, noted that the platform will help the university realise its vision of becoming Thailand’s leading AI university, and the importance of responsible and sovereign AI development while doing so.
Puriwat highlighted the choice and flexibility of models, as well as the security and safety features in Vertex AI that have enabled ChulaGenie to be developed in less than three months. He added that the university will work with Google Cloud to enhance the platform and foster AI innovations in education.
For example, with ChulaGenie, users will soon be able create custom AI agents for specific tasks. These include research assistants specialised in niche areas, academic advisors offering personalised guidance and administrative assistants that can respond to queries in areas such as admissions, enrolment or IT support.
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Prioritising responsible AI usage, the university has implemented Vertex AI’s safety filters and its own governance framework to prevent the generation of harmful or inappropriate content. Grounding with Google Search will further enhance the accuracy of responses, while enterprise-grade data encryption and access controls ensure privacy and protect intellectual property.
Chulalongkorn University and Google Cloud are also collaborating on an open-source Thai large language model specifically for higher education. The model will enable the university to deliver personalised learning experiences and analyse existing curricula for gaps or areas for improvement.
To equip its community with essential AI skills, the university is also offering the Google AI Essentials course for free under Google’s Samart Skills programme. Over 800 individuals have already completed the course, and a simplified version is being developed for non-native English speakers.
Annop Siritikul, Google Cloud’s country director for Thailand, said the rapid roll-out of ChulaGenie underscores the value of a platform-first approach for strategic AI initiatives, enabling development, deployment and management at scale.
“This, along with a new Thai large language model for higher education and Google’s AI skilling programmes, will unlock new possibilities in research and academia, ultimately benefiting all of Thai society,” he added.
