Synergy Analysis of Industrial, Research and University Training Centers Collaboration: A Case Study in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor

The Royal Thai Government has outlined a 20-year strategy to achieve high-income status by 2036. “Thailand 4.0” is guided by the concept of “Industry 4.0”, which aims to transform the country into an innovative, value-driven industry, with a focus on 12 areas such as Automation & Robotics, Aviation & Logistics, Biofuel & Biochemicals, and Digital. The development of Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) lies at the heart of Thailand 4.0 scheme. The EEC is an area-based development initiative aimed at revitalizing the prestigious East Coast, where numerous business developers have experienced a rewarding investment journey and exceptional success over the past 30 years.This paper introduces a synergy analysis of the 3-phase collaboration approach between the EEC Automation Park located on the campus of Burapha University as the main university in the EEC and the Sustainable Manufacturing Center (SMC) at Automation Robotics and Intelligent System (ARIPOLIS) in Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation (EECi) with strong partners from industry e.g. Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation (Thailand) Limited. This 3-phase approach:}{1. Build an island demonstrator, 2. Link production demonstration lines and 3. Transfer to 100 factories in the EEC helps managers realize possible difficulties and systematically prepare solutions in advance.