The “Aunjai Cyber” program, initiated by Thailand’s largest mobile network operator Advanced Info Service Plc (AIS) six years ago, has grown to become the Aunjai Cyber course, bringing evident improvements to more than 320,000 teachers and students across the country.
AIS has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to expand the project to cover the general public, particularly senior citizens.
Somchai Lertsutiwong, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, said that as a leader in digital technology serving more than 45 million subscribers in Thailand, AIS is committed to developing the quality of Thai citizens and building a favorable digital society that benefits the Thais. AIS started this project in 2019 to build a network to help improve Thai people’s digital skills and literacy so that they can be protected from online threats such as call center or SMS scams.
This mission involves two parts – employing technology to help ensure safe internet surfing through such services as Cyber Secure Net and improving digital skills for Thai people through the Aunjai Cyber course. AIS works with the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Mental Health and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) to create the course based on the global standards of digital skill development., The Aunjai Cyber course has been previously taken by students, teachers, and personnel in educational institutions all over the country.
It is now time to expand this course to cover other groups of people, including officials of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, to educate them about privacy protection, cyber-security, proper online interaction, and the Personal Data Protection Act of 2019.
Saichon Submakudom, AIS’s Head of Public Relations and Business Relations, said that the company’s work with the Department of Mental Health and KMUTT involves accessing different clusters of the target group. AIS’s MoU with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security helps expand the target group from teachers and students to other groups, especially senior citizens who are vulnerable to cyber threats. There is also a plan to cover all age groups in the latter stages.
From the original 31-module course meant for teachers and students, an intensive course with 4 modules has been developed to cover the core principle of “4Ps”. The 31-module course requires 6-8 hours of learning, compared to only one hour for the intensive course.
The principle of “4Ps” comprises Practice (learning the correct and proper use of digital technology), Personality (protecting online privacy), Protection (learning how to prevent cyber threats), and Participation (learning how to interact with appropriate online communication skills and behavior).
The plan calls for AIS to help the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security “train the trainers” – about 11,500 of them – for a nationwide network. The training is carried out through the AIS Academy’s LearnDi digital platform. Those trainers then pass on their knowledge to an estimated 175,000 members of the ministry’s centers for senior citizens throughout the country. The next stage is to expand the project to cover the country’s elderly population of 13 million.
The Aunjai Cyber course has been adjusted to help improve the necessary skills of digital citizenship for different groups of learners, including knowledge about the Personal Data Protection Act for practitioners.
6 years of Aunjai Cyber
Saichon said that AIS started the Aunjai Cyber project because it realized that more and more people surf the internet, which brings enormous benefits and many challenges alike. Several netizens are prone to information that they believe without any inkling.
AIS works on two fronts regarding the Aunjai Cyber program. First, it involves the installation of Google Link software, a tool that allows users to monitor their children’s internet surfing. Also, AIS has developed an application called Secure Net to help customers protect their SIM.
At AIS, technology alone is not enough, and it must be strengthened with know-how. In 2018, Singapore’s digital intelligence quotient (DQ) curriculum was adopted in many Thai schools. However, as some details of the course and the teaching method were inconsistent with the context of Thai society, AIS came up with the idea of creating a course with content that is more compatible with the Thai context.
Looking for academic expertise, AIS turned to KMUTT and the Department of Mental Health to help develop the Aunjai Cyber curriculum. Based on an international academic framework and tested by scholars from various fields, the course is internationally accepted and certified by the Ministry of Education.
To cause a widespread impact on the course, AIS works with the Ministry of Education’s Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), which has over 20,000 schools nationwide under its jurisdiction.
To make Aunjai Cyber widely accessible, AIS relies on digital technology, bringing the course on the LearnDi online platform, which allows anyone with an internet connection to access the content at any time and from anywhere. More than 320,000 students have taken this course online. There is also a collaboration with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to bring this course to 437 BMA-run schools, which have approximately 250,000 teachers and students combined.
Expanding to 13 million senior citizens
Statistics show that the number of elderly victims of social media scams rose by 22.4% in 2023 from a year earlier. Of those victims, 70.53% were deceived into buying low-quality products while 14.06% were deceived into disclosing their personal information.
Social Development and Human Security Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said that his ministry conducted pilot training based on the Aunjai Cyber course for senior citizens in Phen district of Udon Thani province. There is also a plan to expand the project to cover other groups of people to help them use the internet safely and prevent them from falling victim to online scammers.
“Criminals have adapted themselves to the changing technology. A project like this will help teach and provide good knowledge to the public. Criminals are everywhere these days, and they have new techniques to take money out of our pockets. This project will help create a protective shield for people, helping them fight against scammers,” Varawut said.
The minister reckoned that this project has the potential to reach grassroots people, in addition to his ministry’s officials and over 350,000 of its volunteers across the country.
The Aunjai Cyber course can be accessed online at www.learndiaunjaicyber.ais.co.th, www.m-society.go.th, and www.dop.go.th, via the Aunjai Cyber application, and the Gold by DOP application.
