How opportunities and curiosity put Thai graduate on the management fast track

13 May 2026

Internships at top corporations, remote consulting assignments, interdisciplinary business collaborations – by the time Pathikorn Luangpaiboonsri graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in 2025, he had already built a diverse portfolio of real-world experiences.

It proved the ideal launchpad for his first career step, becoming a management trainee at Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), one of Thailand’s largest conglomerates.

“I use what I learned at XJTLU every day,” says Luangpaiboonsri, who graduated with a BA in Business Administration before returning to his native Bangkok last summer. “Marketing strategies, management concepts – it all connects to what I do now.”

Pathikorn Luangpaiboonsri

One of the chief reasons he had originally been attracted to the University was the many opportunities it provided to gain practical knowledge and apply it in real business contexts.

“I tried applying for as many internships as possible,” he recalls. “A senior student once described internships to me as being like a roadmap to a career path, and that really stayed with me.”

His first opportunity came in June 2023, when he joined CP Group’s Young Leader Training Program, helping design a sustainable business model for Super Brand Mall in the heart of Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district.

The following summer he secured an internship with Lotus’s, one of Thailand’s leading omni-channel retailers, working as a data analyst at its distribution centre in Bangkok.

He also participated in University-led summer projects, taking on remote consulting assignments for international companies including Suzhou-based brand consultants JWDK, where he worked with teammates to expand the company’s services in the Vietnamese market.

“That project allowed me to tackle real business problems while developing analytical and strategic thinking skills,” says Luangpaiboonsri.

In addition, he also took full advantage of practice-oriented learning opportunities. In 2024, he joined the XJTLU International Business School Suzhou Virtual Business Competition, collaborating with students from Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, and Türkiye to design a fundraising strategy for an education-focused NGO in Kenya.

Luangpaiboonsri says the hardest part of that project was cross-border coordination. “It was virtual, and we all worked across different time zones, so it was difficult to find time to collaborate,” he explains, adding that the challenge ultimately helped strengthen his teamwork and communication skills in a global context. “We didn’t finish in first place, but it was still an exciting and meaningful experience.”

He is now applying his skills as the trainee manager of a supermarket, leading a team of 12 employees, as part of CP Group’s Future Leadership Programme. “I’m responsible for the whole store, looking after profit and loss, sales, and how everything operates,” he says.

The role requires constant attention to detail and adaptability, as market conditions, competitor pricing, and customer behaviour can change quickly, requiring a timely response. “It’s stressful, but it’s an opportunity to grow in my career,” he adds. “If I can manage this store, I will be able to manage more in the future.”

Pathikorn Luangpaiboonsri doing a presentation in CP

National development

Luangpaiboonsri, known to his friends as “Jedi”, says his decision to study in China came from a combination of curiosity and opportunity.

“I wanted to study more about the Chinese language, but my Chinese skill was basically zero,” he says. “I heard that XJTLU had English-taught programmes that also offered exposure to Chinese language and culture, so I became interested.”

Before enrolling, he visited the campus on a school field trip and was particularly impressed with its modern facilities and global perspective, feeling that it was “the exact environment that I wanted to be in”.

He highlights XJTLU’s multicultural campus as an important part of his development, allowing him the opportunity to work with people from various ethnicities and backgrounds. “That’s something truly valuable. You learn how to communicate, collaborate, and understand different ways of thinking.”

Pathikorn Luangpaiboonsri

In addition to informing his professional mindset, his experiences also shaped his views on the importance of international educational exchanges, such as the newly launched XJTLU-CP Group Syntegrative Education Centre in Bangkok.

Luangpaiboonsri believes the initiative represents an important step in expanding access to high-quality education in Thailand and could even have a wider impact.

“It’s very exciting. Compared with China, I feel there are different strengths in Thailand’s education system, with room for further growth in some areas,” he says.

“Access to modules offered by XJTLU, especially those looking at artificial intelligence and digitalisation, is relevant in today’s world,” he adds. “If this kind of education was more widely available in Thailand, it could help strengthen the job market and support national development.”