Expanding Global Learning: Scripps & Pitzer Collaborate with KMUTT with faculty and researchers
Scripps and Pitzer students have geared up for an exciting international research collaboration in Bangkok, Thailand! Professors Katie Purvis-Roberts and Pete Chandrangsu led 18 student researchers as they have partnered with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) to study the water quality, microbiology, and biodiversity of Bangkok’s historic canal system.
This long-standing collaboration has been shaped in large part by Dr. Kanjanee Budthimedhee of KMUTT, whose community-centered urban design work first connected the Claremont Colleges with the Bang Mod community. Her partnership has continued to guide the project’s community-engaged approach.
Students participated in hands-on fieldwork, laboratory research, and outreach workshops with local school children—gaining invaluable experience in global teamwork, cultural humility, and community-based science. This project builds on years of cross-cultural partnership and even connects to student work previously showcased at Bangkok Design Week.
We are thrilled to see this collaboration deepen and to watch our students contribute to meaningful environmental research with real community impact!