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CMU SMART BEE SDGs Earns ‘High Commended’ Honor at THE Awards Asia 2026 for Improving Beekeepers’ Quality of Life in Mekong Subregion

29 April 2026
Corporate Communication and Alumni Relations Center (CCARC)
CMU SMART BEE SDGs Earns ‘Highly Commended’ Honor at THE Awards Asia 2026 for Improving Quality of Life for Beekeepers in the Mekong Subregion.
SMART BEE SDGs is an initiative by Chiang Mai University aimed at improving food security and the quality of life of beekeepers across six countries in the Mekong subregion. By leveraging AI and big data to monitor bee health and honey quality, the project enables producers to reduce costs and improve accuracy through scalable and practical applications.
SMART BEE SDGs by Chiang Mai University has brought immense pride to the country as the only Thai university to receive the ‘Highly Commended’ recognition at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2026 in the Outstanding Contribution to Regional Development category.
The results were announced on April 22, 2026, in Hong Kong, China, with over 500 entries submitted from across Asia. This achievement highlights the strong potential of Thailand’s research community to deliver meaningful impact at both regional and international levels.
The project is led by Associate Professor Dr. Terd Disayathanoowat and his team from the SMART BEE SDGs Research Centre, Faculty of Science. This long-term interdisciplinary initiative focuses on improving pollinator health, food security and the quality of life of beekeepers across six Mekong subregion countries, including Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.
SMART BEE SDGs integrates science, technology and innovation by utilizing AI and big data to monitor bee health and honey quality, alongside providing training for beekeepers and establishing over 20 collaborative networks, as well as MOUs with public, private and international organizations.
The project has delivered several tangible outcomes, including increased income for beekeepers, the development of value-added honey products, the creation of local employment opportunities and improved beekeeping standards across the region. It has also promoted successful business models, such as scalable honey brand development for industrialization in Myanmar and Cambodia, underscoring the project’s commercial and social impact potential.
In addition, the project has generated positive environmental and cultural impacts by promoting pollinator and biodiversity conservation, encouraging cultural exchange through regional academic conferences and raising community awareness of the vital role bees play in the food system. The importance of local plant diversity has also become more widely recognized as beekeepers gain a deeper understanding of the connection between bee health and food security.
In terms of policy, the initiative also plays a key role in regional policy development by proposing centralized beekeeping standards and policy recommendations to the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) to promote standardization and cross-border collaboration.
A key strength of SMART BEE SDGs lies in its innovative approach, particularly the integration of AI-powered image processing and big data analytics to monitor bee health and assess honey quality, helping reduce costs and improve accuracy for local producers. The application of scientific knowledge has enabled the development of reliable, scalable solutions that can be adapted to the specific contexts of different countries.
This initiative has received continuous support from Chiang Mai University, the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The project is also expanding into research on edible insects to create additional income opportunities for agricultural communities.
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