VERSO International School Appoints Innovation Advisor
VERSO International School is excited to announce Khun Amarit “Aim” Charoenphan as the school’s Innovation Advisor.
Khun Aim is best known as the Co-founder and Former CEO of HUBBA, Thailand’s first coworking space. He’s also the Co-founder of Techsauce, one of Southeast Asia’s leading technology media and events companies, an Obama Foundation Asia Pacific Leader, and was named as one of Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 in 2016.
As Thailand and Southeast Asia’s most influential and recognized tech and startup professional, Khun Aim will work closely with Cameron Fox, VERSO Founding Head of School, and Jarret Voytilla, the Upper Loop Leader (G9-12) in developing VERSO’s early-stage technology startup and entrepreneurship programs, and to provide opportunities for learners to network and interact with the startup community in Thailand. Khun Aim is also lending his support to the school’s mentorship programs by helping learners secure high-quality internship opportunities.
VERSO is situated on Bangna-trad Road and first welcomed students to its impressive campus in August 2020. In a pioneering partnership with the global design and innovation company IDEO, VERSO is considered a model for the future design of schools. Using an American curriculum aligned to New York State’s Education Department (NYSED) standards, the school offers students a creative and collaborative learning environment with a strong focus on project-based learning and design thinking. On a campus reminiscent of Silicon Valley, students develop future-ready skills in advocacy, networking, mentoring, and enterprise.
“The pandemic has changed the world of work and jobs are changing faster than ever. At VERSO, we recognize that entrepreneurship and innovation are important drivers to the growth and development of every organization,” said Cameron.
“We are excited to have Khun Aim on board at VERSO. With his extensive experience and networks, he will coach and develop our learners to become future entrepreneurs. He will play a key role in developing VERSO’s innovation and entrepreneurship programs so that VERSO students are prepared with a unique set of skills and mindsets that will allow them to flourish as young business people. These skills include creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, resilience, and empathy, among others, and are highly valued by the top colleges and most businesses in the world,” added Cameron.
Aim’s passion for the startup community and helping young entrepreneurs has led him to angel invest in many of the top Thai startups. He has actively coached over 1,000 founders over the past decade and continues to spend his time building the local tech ecosystem to support new founders both in Thailand and abroad.
“I believe in the power of collectively supporting entrepreneurs at an early stage. I believe that entrepreneurship is the mindset that will change the world – to actively observe and identify problems and opportunities in Thailand and the world today, and to apply new ideas and fresh perspectives to creatively solving a problem,” said Aim.
“I am excited to bring my decades’ worth of experience, connections, insights, and resources to ensure VERSO students can feel the beating pulse of the Thai and SE Asian startup ecosystem. Together, we’ll be designing some very exciting programs and activities that will embed entrepreneurship throughout this school, as well as developing a simple playbook that we hope will inspire other schools to follow,” pointed out Aim.
Khun Aim has already arranged access for high school students at VERSO to work at selected coworking spaces in Bangkok during their off-campus days. Here they will experience real-life work, network with entrepreneurs, connect with mentors, and build contacts. They will participate in events that will allow them to design and develop early versions of their ideas, create prototypes, and, if their ideas are strong enough, they will eventually get the chance to pitch these to a panel of startup founders, investors, and experts.
VERSO has already taken a major step in building its reputation for young entrepreneurs. In March this year, with support from Reactor School in Singapore and Thailand’s Disrupt Technology Venture, VERSO organized its inaugural VERSO HACK 2021, a hugely successful hackathon that brought high school students from all over Thailand to the campus, helping to turn some of the young learners’ startup dreams into reality. Khun Aim was part of the panel of selected judges from Thailand’s start-up community who listened to the students pitch their ideas.
Source: VERSO International School
