The Graduate School of Management and Innovation (GMI) was honored to welcome Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alex Davila-Frias from The National Polytechnic School (Escuela Politécnica Nacional: EPN), Quito, Ecuador, who visited King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) during August 18–30, 2025. His visit was hosted by Dr. Phattara Khumprom with the support of the Office of Research, Innovation, and Partnerships.

Dr. Alex and Dr. Phattara were Ph.D. classmates at North Dakota State University, Fargo, USA, and have continued to collaborate on joint research and publications.

During his two-week stay at KMUTT, Dr. Alex engaged with several faculties and research centers, including the School of Bioresources and Technology, the School of Information Technology, and various research centers such as the Innovative Cognitive Computing (IC2), Postharvest Technology, Biochemical Technology (Enzyme Technology Laboratory, Carbohydrate Technology Laboratory, Lipid Technology Laboratory, and Phytobioactive and flavor laboratory) and Agricultural and Functional Food Processing (AFP). He also exchanged ideas with faculty members and research teams, including Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jonathan Hoyin Chan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Apiradee Uthairatanakij, Dr. Ratchadaporn Kaprasob and their colleagues in Biochemical Technology Laboratory.

In terms of academic contribution, Dr. Alex delivered lectures in the courses LGM 636 Big Data for Supply Chain Management (Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management – LGM) and GMI 103 Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation (Bachelor of Science in Multiple Intelligences for Design Integration – MIDI).

The highlight of his visit was a special research seminar on “Artificial Neural Networks for Reliability Engineering: From Failure Prediction to Sustainable Operations”, held on August 29, which attracted more than 70 students in attendance.