Mahidol Wittayanusorn School (MWIT) proudly hosted the 20thInternational Students Science Fair (ISSF 2025) from January 26 to 31, 2025, marking a significant milestone in international academic collaboration. This prestigious event was also dedicated to honoring Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the auspicious occasion of her 70th birthday. To commemorate these two momentous occasions, MWIT has organized a special exhibition celebrating her profound contributions and the school’s dedication to academic excellence.
Exhibition in Honor of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
On the Auspicious Occasion of Her 70th Birthday Anniversary
“We will nurture good individuals, not only for our country but also for mankind, not only good scientists but also good citizens.”
ROYAL STATEMENT, 11TH JUNE 2009
The Royal Grace Towards Mahidol Wittayanusorn School
As the first model science school in Thailand, it carries the mission of providing education for students with exceptional abilities in mathematics and science. The goal is to develop their potential to the fullest, enabling them to become key contributors to the nation’s future development.
- 1991 Bestowed Naming
The school was named “Mahidol Wittayanusorn,” symbolizing a memorial of academic advancement. - 1994 Foundation stone-laying ceremony
Her Royal Highness presided over the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the school building. - 1997 School Visit
Her Royal Highness visited the school, inspecting the library, exhibitions, and student projects. - 2002 School Building Inauguration
Inaugurated Mahidol Wittayanusorn Building 3 and laid the foundation stone for the student dormitory. - 2005 Her Royal Highness inaugurated the Science Services Center, the Sports Complex, and the Astronomy 3D Simulation Theater.
- 2005 International Science Exhibition
The 1st Thailand International Science Fair. - 2005 – 2008 Royal Scholarship
Her Royal Highness graciously provided scholarships to 11 students of Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, enabling them to pursue higher education abroad. Additionally, she extended her royal patronage to two scholarship recipients, who are now serving as teachers at the school. - 2009 Hall Inauguration
Inaugurated the auditorium and participated in activities exploring the nature of science and scientific inquiry. - 2011 The 7th International Student Science Fair-ISSF 2011
- 2017 Thailand International Science Fair 2017
- 2019 Thailand International Science Fair 2019
- 2020 30th Anniversary of Mahidol Wittayanusorn school
- 2021 Thailand International Science Fair 2021
- 2023 Thailand International Science Fair 2023
- 2025 The International Student Science Fair (ISSF 2025)
“The Path of Wisdom from Visionary Insights” in Science and Technology Education
- Foundation for the Promotion of Academic Olympiad and Development of Science Education (POSN)
Her Royal Highness serves as the President of the POSN Foundation, which focuses on nurturing high school students across the nation with exceptional abilities in science and mathematics.
The foundation provides opportunities for students to develop their potential in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. It equips them to analyze and synthesize complex problems effectively, preparing them to compete in international academic Olympiads.
- The Science Society of Thailand under the Patronage of His Majesty the King
Her Royal Highness supports the Science Society of Thailand, which was established with the objective of advancing scientific activities and fostering knowledge exchange among its members, promoting unity and collaboration among the scientific community while giving scientific knowledge to the general public.
- Thai-CERN Collaboration
Her Royal Highness initiated and envisioned the collaboration between Thailand and CERN, the leading global organization in high-energy particle physics research. She remarked that:
“If Thai scientists have the opportunity to work with CERN, it will significantly benefit the advancement of science and technology in Thailand.”
This collaboration was established to enable Thai physicists to participate in particle physics research. Furthermore, students and physics teachers were selected to attend summer camps at CERN, located in Switzerland.
In the first year of this collaboration, teachers and students from Mahidol Wittayanusorn School were graciously granted the opportunity to participate under Her Royal Highness’s patronage.
- Nobel Laureate Meetings
Her Royal Highness initiated efforts to enable Thai university students, researchers, and scientists to participate in the prestigious Nobel Laureate Meetings in Lindau.
This initiative provides Thai participants with an invaluable opportunity to broaden their academic horizons, learn about cutting-edge scientific advancements, and gain insights from the experiences of Nobel laureates.
- Royal-Initiated Collaborative Projects
Furthermore, Her Royal Highness has fostered collaborations with leading global scientific organizations and research institutes. These partnerships aim to provide Thai students, researchers, and scientists with opportunities to engage in knowledge exchange and collaborative research, thereby advancing the nation’s human resource development in science and technology. Through these initiatives, young scientists have participated in royal-sponsored programs such as DESY, GSI, IceCube and ITER
- Honoring Teachers
Her Royal Highness has instituted awards and accolades to recognize teachers who have made significant contributions to education in Thailand and the Southeast Asian region. Through the Princess Maha Chakri Award Foundation, outstanding teachers are celebrated for their dedication and impact. Moreover, the teachers were provided with opportunities to share their practices, perspectives, and knowledge, fostering professional growth and promoting the exchange of ideas, enriching the teaching profession.
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE SCHOOLS NETWORK
The International Students Science Fair (ISSF) is an annual event co-ordinated by a global collective of specialist science secondary schools who have agreed to collaborate for the benefit of their own students, as well as promoting the importance of science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in their own countries and internationally. The schools recognise that high quality education and innovation in STEM hold an important key to the successful and sustainable future of our countries and our planet, and that international collaboration will provide a platform which will enable all of our students to work towards this goal.
The ISSF has run successfully since 2005, and is the major event of its type in the world. It brings together students, teachers, schools and university leaders to share and develop their ideas about science in the modern world. Students and teachers from around 35 specialist science schools attend, by invitation, a five-day learning programme organised by an elected host school.
The schools who have collaborated since 2005 to provide this outstanding opportunity for their schools and students have joined in support of excellence in science education on a global scale.
The schools previously involved in the ISSF intend to establish an identity as a collaborative and influential body of schools that speaks clearly to a wide range of audiences about the nature, purpose and significance of the network and its capacity to be a forum in promoting leading edge Science education on a global scale. We define ‘Science’ broadly to include STEM.
The name of this network is proposed to be the International Science Schools Network (ISSN), whose logo appears at the top of this document.
The ISSN decided that it needed to operate under a set of clearly articulated and agreed procedures, and this document was constructed in response to that requirement. It has undergone several revisions since the first draft appeared at the conclusion of the 2013 ISSF event, hosted by Camborne Science and International Academy in Cornwall, UK It is regularly updated by the Executive Steering Group at its annual meeting.
Vision
Young people are empowered to embark on a lifelong commitment to science to tackle globally significant challenges together.
Mission
To provide an international network for students, educators and leaders of specialist science secondary schools to learn and conduct research together, and share effective and innovative practice to inspire advances in science education across the world.
Statements of Intent
Community Building: Build an inclusive and equitable global community of students, educators and leaders to facilitate learning, research and collaboration.
Empowerment for Action: Empower students to respond to globally significant challenges through ethical and empathetic scientific collaboration and action.
Preparation for Leadership: Build the skills and dispositions in students to become future science leaders.
Values
The Values of the ISSN are:
- RESPECT: for the diversity, values, traditions, beliefs and expertise brought to the ISSN by each member school;
- COLLABORATION: in good faith, with all partner schools, we share our expertise, ideas and, where appropriate, resources, for the benefit of all our students and the promotion of excellence in science awareness and education more globally;
- SUPPORT AND INCLUSION: for and of each member school and their staff and students, to allow opportunities which might otherwise be inaccessible, independent of politics, culture, religion, gender or disability;
- SENSE OF COMMUNITY: built to allow us to have a reasoned and credible voice for the purpose of the continued advancement of science and science education across the world.
The ISSN holds the strongest expectation that all member schools will demonstrate and uphold these values in all dealings with each other and in all interactions involving staff and students from ISSN member schools.
Goals
- To ensure the sustainability of the ISSN and the running of the ISSF.
- To build the visibility of the ISSN as a network to institutions, corporations and schools around the world.
- To grow the capacity of the ISSN community by developing programmes for principals, educators and students.
- To ensure the sustainability of the ISSN and the running of the ISSF through reviewing and streamlining operations on a three years basis.
- To build the visibility of the ISSN as a network around the world to institutions, corporations and schools through ISSN membership renewal and strengthening.
- To build the capacity of the ISSN community by:
- Developing PRISM@ISSN (CPD/PL Online) (Principals Roundtable In Support of Science & Mathematics)
- Developing LENS@ISSN (Linking Educators in Network Schools) both online and face to face
- First initiative from Ritsumeikan – ISSN Online Teacher Sessions
- Developing SPECTRA@ISSN (Students Promoting Education, Collaboration, and Technological Research in Academia) through an online research journal.
ISSN Executive Steering Committee
The governance of the ISSN will be undertaken by an ISSN Executive Steering Committee comprising of the following schools:
- Mahidol Wittayanusorn School, Thailand
- Korea Science Academy of KAIST, South Korea
- NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, Singapore
- Australian Science & Mathematics School, Australia
- Camborne Science & International Academy, United Kingdom
- National Junior College, Singapore
- Ritsumeikan Senior High School, Japan
- John Monash Science School, Australia
- Fort Richmond Collegiate, Canada
- Moscow Chemical Lyceum, Russia
The International Students Science Fair
The International Students Science Fair (ISSF) is the major annual event promoted by the ISSN. The ISSF provides a unique forum for budding scientists to display their enquiry skills and defend their findings in a non-competitive environment. The event provides senior (Years 10-12) students from around the world valuable opportunities to work in collaborative settings to exchange ideas, hone their research techniques and engage their inquisitive minds in the fields of, science, technologies, engineering and mathematics (STEM), with like-minded peers.
Opportunities are provided that extend student thinking, allowing them to use their knowledge in interesting ways and encourage all participants to explore their ethics and assumptions in the STEM fields. In particular, the team-work in problem solving and sharing sessions gives students and educators the opportunity to work with peers from different nations, thus promoting the inter-cultural understandings needed in the 21st Century. A significant component of ISSF is the cultural and social interactions which help develop friendships and collaborative opportunities amongst our students and educational leaders which may be the basis for future cooperation and study.
Important Features of the ISSF
The major focus of the ISSF is sharing and collaboration. The event itself is not competitive, but a chance for students to share knowledge and ideas, and to gain constructive feedback on their work from academic experts and teachers. Schools may acknowledge excellent posters or presentations in any suitable way, other than by making awards in order of merit.
Each ISSF will generally have the following features:
- High quality keynote speakers and presentations
- Student-led and conducted research project presentations
- Student poster sharing
- Cultural sharing and presentations
- Collaborative student problem or challenge-based workshops based on emerging contemporary and interdisciplinary science themes decided by the host school
- Industrial and cultural tours
- Teacher professional workshops
- Principal meetings and workshops
- Social activities
