St. Bernard Award
Special Merit Award
(First, Second, and Third Class)

The St. Bernard Award was named after St. Bernard (1090-1153), an abbot and later named Doctor of the Church. He was a Cistercian monk. He wrote profusely and movingly concerning the Lord Jesus, spirituality, the Scriptures, and the Blessed Mother.

The award also recognized Brother Bernard Mary whose idea of adding a degree program to the existing Assumption Commercial College (ACC) program that eventually led to the establishment of ABAC and hence Assumption University.

This award is intended for University members who exhibited special managerial skills, and who performed their tasks and assignments beyond the normal calls of duty such as initiating, restructuring or reengineering of programs for an office or department, or providing voluntary services for improving, upgrading systems and procedures, and participating in other artistic or scientific activities for the welfare of society.

Dr. Akechai Judkrue serves as the Director of the ABLE Incubator Centre (Assumption Business Leading Entrepreneurship), the Business Incubator Center of the University.  He joined the Martin de Tours School of Management and Economics as a full time faculty in the year 2006.  He received his Bachelor and Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Assumption University and graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in Computer and Engineering Management also from Assumption University in 2012.  Dr. Akechai is extremely loyal and dedicated to his alma mater and truly strives to uphold the good name of the School and the University.

As an instructor, he teaches the capstone course of the BBA program ‘Entrepreneurship’- a course designed to kindle the innovative spirit and develop the entrepreneurial skills of the students.  He invites successful entrepreneurs from different sectors to share their success stories and experiences, which the students find very inspiring.  As a project based course, his thoughtful and detailed comments and guidance are also appreciated by the students.

In addition to his teaching duties, as the director of ABLE Center, his contributions to the School; and the University are extensive.  He has successfully initiated and implemented several activities and projects aimed at enhancing the entrepreneurial competency of students and faculty members.

His noteworthy contributions include:

• Strengthening professional engagement of students with the business community by:
  • securing funding from Government Saving Bank (GSB) to develop good-will and social responsibility projects in which both students and faculty are involved to help the local communities or startups in the proximity of the University’s Suvarnabhumi Campus
    
    
  • developing experiential learning projects with SEG (South East Group) to enhance the learning experience of students and, concurrently, to incubate students’ business ideas
    
    
  • collaborating with the industry to find placement or internship opportunities for graduates and students.
    
    
• Enhancing engagement of faculty members with the business community to strengthening the School’s industry engagement and linkage by:
  • organizing coaching/training projects to the industry to help re-skill and up-skill their employees.

• Development of academic services to strengthen the presence and impact of the University’s Incubator to help the country transform to an economy based upon knowledge and creativity by:
  • organizing arranging academic services to government agencies and business organizations.
    
    
  • securing external funding, such as government grants, and sponsorships and donations
    
    
  • securing a total of over 5 million THB government grants for the University’s Incubator and a significant amount (over 300,000 THB) of business donations and sponsorships for the University and School

AWARDED

• Awarded St. Bernard Award for Special Merit (Third Class)

PUBLICATIONS

• Judkrue, A. (2012). The influence of transformational leadership style on organizational success: a study on MNCs in Bangkok, Thailand. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 14-18.
  
  
• Judkrue, A. (2012). The transformational leadership factors influence global leaders, Thailand. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1-4.
  
  

Dr. Teeradate Kongpichitchoke is a full-time faculty member of the Department of Agro-Industry, Theophane Venard School of Biotechnology.  He joined Assumption University since August 2009.  In 2012, he received a scholarship from Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (Taiwan ICDF) for joining a Ph.D. program in Biotechnology at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan.

Dr. Teeradate contributed to many important developments and works for his department throughout his working period such as:

• Being appointed as an official Holy See delegate for participating United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2009 to 2011.
  
  
• Initiated academic collaborations with National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, and Universitas Pembangunan Nasional (UPN) “Veteran” Jawa Timur, Indonesia, resulting one signed MOU, one signed agreement letter, and one joint published research paper entitled ‘Gallic Acid Content in Taiwanese Teas at Different Fermentation Degree and Its Antioxidant Activity by Inhibiting PKC-δ Activation: In-vitro and In-silico Studies’ between Assumption University and aforementioned universities.
  
  
• Being appointed as a program responsible person for program monitoring and modification.

Moreover, he has spent the last two years to initiate a collaborated project with a business firm.  Assumption University has received a retort machine system worth more than 5 million baht, located at Martin de Tour innovation studio Hua Mak campus, from the company up to now.  This machine is an important machine to increase credibility and to elevate educational standard of curriculums offering by the school.  Lastly, it will not be used only for academic and research purposes but also for establishing a Thai FDA approved food factory serving under Assumption University.

 AWARDED

• Awarded St. Bernard Award for Special Merit (Third Class)

PUBLICATIONS

• Kongpichitchoke, T., Huang, T. C., & Hsu, J. L. (2015). Effect of drying process on he production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in citrofortunella microcarpa at two different maturity stages. J. International Cooperation, (10) 1, 55-70.
  
  
• Kongpichitchoke, T. (2017). Effect of encapsulation on Zymomonas mobilis survival rate from practical conditions and its levan polysaccharide production ability. Bangkok: Assumption University.
  
  
• Kongpichitchoke, T., Huang, T. C., & Hsu, J. L. (2015). Number of hydroxyl groups on the B-ring of flavonoids affects their antioxidant activity and interaction with phorbol ester binding site of PKCδ C1B domain: in Vitro and in silico studies. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 63, 4580-4586.
  
  
• Kongpichitchoke, T., Chiu, M. T., Huang, T. C., & Hsu, J. L. (2016). Number of hydroxyl groups on the B-ring of flavonoids affects their antioxidant activity and interaction with phorbol ester binding site of PKCδ C1B domain: in Vitro and in silico studies. Molecules, (21) 10.