1560. Southeast Asia Liaison Office News: Thailand National Science and Technology Fair 2026 Opens

The Thailand National Science and Technology Fair 2026 (NST Fair 2026) officially opened on August 15 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Nonthaburi Province. As Thailand's largest science and technology fair, the event welcomes approximately 200,000 visitors annually, primarily elementary, secondary, and high school students.

The fair is a national event organized each year by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI) to promote public awareness and advancement of science and technology. The exhibition showcases the latest scientific and technological developments across a wide range of fields, including agriculture, education, and space science.

The JIRCAS Southeast Asia Liaison Office has participated in the fair every year since 2007, except during the period when participation was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, JIRCAS is once again exhibiting in the Japan Pavilion, coordinated by the Embassy of Japan in Thailand. The JIRCAS booth features two research achievements: a long-term field experiment in tropical croplands and the tropical forage grass cultivar “Isan.”

In addition, JIRCAS prepared a two-page comic-style brochure introducing two other research achievements: the Thai recommended sugarcane variety “DOA Khon Kaen 4” and a technology for preventing the liquefaction of fermented rice noodles. The brochures were distributed to visiting elementary, secondary, and high school students and were very well received.

The Japan Pavilion also features exhibits from a variety of Japanese organizations and institutions, including the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), the Kyoto University ASEAN Center for Scientific Innovation and Collaborative Research (JASTIP), Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Chulalongkorn University, and the Paper Airplane Association of Japan. Together, they showcase a broad range of Japanese scientific and technological achievements and research activities.

NST Fair 2026 will continue through August 23.

References
National Science & Technology Fair 2026
 https://thailandnstfair.com/en/
Long-Term Field Experiment Reveals Soil Carbon Sequestration Effects After More Than 45 Years
 https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/release/2024/press202426
Registration of the Tropical Forage Grass Cultivar “Isan” in Thailand
 https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/release/2024/press202415
JIRCAS-Bred Sugarcane Variety Adopted as a Recommended Variety in Thailand
 https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/release/2023/press202315
Prevention of Liquefaction in Thai Fermented Rice Noodles by Maintaining Acidity at Around pH 4
 https://www.jircas.go.jp/ja/publication/research_results/2019_c01

Contributor: KANAMORI Norihito, Southeast Asia Liaison Office