Pre-Departure Briefing: preparing for studying in the UK with confidence

Amy Wheeler, UKVI’s Regional Communications Manager for South and South East Asia, works for UKVI helping to communicate visa information to the public. Having worked for the Civil Service for 4 years, Amy has prior experience as a frontline Border Force officer and brings to the role her first-hand knowledge of the Immigration system from supporting passengers with their arrivals into the UK.  

Teepakorn is a public prosecutor and law alumnus from the University of Leicester and Queen Mary, University of London.

Nontawit (Nae) is Data Scientist at the Government Big Data Institute (GBDi), providing consultancy to government agencies and companies on data analytics and modelling in tourism, healthcare, and finance sectors, and more recently monitoring and visualisation of Covid-19 data. He is a UK alumnus since A-levels, and later of the University of Cambridge, with a Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Physics working on soft solid simulation, funded under the Royal Thai Government Scholarship. 

Tawalan received a GREAT Scholarship for pursuing an MA in Special Educational Needs and Disability at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln in the East Midlands in 2021/2022. He is the first Thai student to study at this university.

Gategunya received the GREAT Scholarship for the academic year 2021. She is pursuing an MSc in Advanced Computer Networks at Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The study here focuses on enabling students to think, analyse and solve problems independently, making them more confident in themselves. In addition to gaining knowledge from selected courses, she has the experience of living and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Prapaporn is the Director Agency Services Savills Thailand, Representative from Berkley Group. She joined Savills in 2005 and is responsible for overseeing the company's agency activities throughout Thailand. She has over 17 years real estate experience covering luxury residential marketing and sales. She has successfully organized multiple property exhibitions both locally in Bangkok for overseas properties.

Thannicha is an Assistant Manager, International Sales and Marketing, Agency Services Savills Thailand, Representative from Berkley Group. She joined Savills in 2019 and is responsible for providing full-scale strategic marketing solutions for overseas developers and investors along with advising and assisting clients on purchasing processes and property management options.

June Kuvinichkul is a Founding Partner of YouTrip Thailand, overseeing market and partnership development. She is a pioneer in building successful digital businesses in the country and an active technology investor. June has spent over 15 years leading her family business group and companies in various industries from manufacturing to asset management cultivating strategic and operational skillsets in building and growing companies at different stages.

Gordon Vanstone is the Client Relations Manager for the PTE Academic tests in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. In his role at Pearson he works with university representatives, counsellors, education agents, students, language instructors and other stakeholders to help students to realize their study abroad dreams with the PTE Academic tests. Prior to joining Pearson three years ago, Gordon was an elementary school teacher working at IB international schools in Japan and Singapore. 

Uraiwan has worked for the British Council for more than 20 years in UK education promotion, providing advice and support to agents, counsellors, and UK institutions. She is currently responsible for the entire education portfolio in Thailand, including education partnerships, scholarships, studying in the UK, and UK alumni engagement.

Bank was the Science Manager at the British Council Thailand,  managing research grants between the UK and eight partner countries, overseeing FameLab Thailand’s science communication competition, and building connections between Thai and UK researchers. Bank is a UK alumnus, having earnt his Master’s Degree in Nutrition from King’s College London, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Sciences from University College London.