Currently Thailand clearly lacks in capacities to supply the beverage industry with adequately trained students and qualified non-academic staff. There are either technical engineers with technical knowledge & skills, but lacking of deeper knowledge on food quality, hygiene, production processes, etc., or food scientists, less skilled in engineering and without deeper knowledge in beverage technology. Now the Thai beverage industry trains their employees in house or in a limited number by Universities or overseas. The last option is only possible for few selected employees. A proper structured and sustainable collaborative concept for high quality continuing professional development (CPD) training for beverage technology is not established.To overcome these gaps a consortium of Thai and EU universities and companies of the beverage industry will establish systematically an independent joint Academy, with hubs in Thailand and EU, to enable a new sustainable collaboration between the partners for a continuing needs analysis, for developing new demand driven educational products using innovative pedagogical approaches and teaching tools to be used in CPD and higher Education (HE). Special emphasis will be given also to hygiene and environmental aspects and skills like teamwork, critical thinking and English language. The developed educational products will be qualified according international standards and implemented in a postgraduate master, in existing curricula to have an optional focus in beverage technology with the option for double/joint degrees with EU universities. Further the Academy will establish a high quality and certified LLL program using existing facilities and a certification scheme for different profiles like quality and safety manager, brewing technologist, wine technologist, etc.With the postgraduate education and the CPD training an impact will be achieved both in short time as well long term with the tuned curricula.

The East Economic Corridor (EEC) project, supported by the government in Thailand, aims to expand the entire region southeast of Bangkok into a modern industrial region over the next years (Thailand 4.0). The technologies used are intended to implement the principles of Industry 4.0 in order to develop a flagship Special Economic Zone in Thailand. The close connection of ICT with classic automation technologies in the sense of a digital transformation of Industry 4.0 (Automation 4.0) is therefore of particular importance for the efficient development in the EEC.An essential basis for the implementation of the EEC project is the availability of highly qualified professionals who can develop, operate and maintain the relevant production, manufacturing and logistics technologies. The ETAT project aims to create exemplary Education & Training Centers in the field of engineering education at selected EEC universities that are able to support as education hubs in the region industry-related education and training for engineers and young specialists. The following objectives are to be achieved with it:• Modernization of higher education in Thailand based on the experience of EU countries;• Increase the employment rate of university graduates and implement the concept of LLL with the help of training in Automation 4.0;• Development of partnerships with enterprises;• Improve the quality and relevance of higher education inThailand in Automation 4.0;• Establishment of 6 certified ETAT Training Centers at Thai universities, which will be equipped with 24 special training places (4 ETAT Smart Labs per university)• Establishmen of a platform for distance learning & cooperation for providing e-learing and for exchange of didactical documents and information.ETAT Training Centers will be provided with teaching materials and certificated courses for different target groups (students, employees, post-graduates) as well as with the Thai trainers trained by EU partners