Bangkok, Thailand

Supinya Piampongsant

Student’s background
“I was born in Bangkok, Thailand and I studied at the International School of Brussels, where I followed the international baccalaureate Program, with biology and physics as a major. And before that I lived in the United States for four years, in Washington DC, to be precise.”

• Why did you choose GROUP T ?
  “After my high school studies, I tried to find an opportunity to study in Europe. Although I lived in Elsene for three years, I didn’t explore the European mentality enough. And Belgium seemed to me the perfect country to do just that. Looking for a Belgian engineering school, I heard about GROUP T through Kantima from the International Office. Apart form the location, GROUP T had some other assets, like the personal approach and the English program. If I were to go to a big university, I would feel lost and alienated.”


• How do you like it?
  “I’m impressed by several professors, who really go a long way to help and listen to your problems. They are even willing to change schedules in order to meet your personal demands. And to make your integration even easier, they appoint a Belgian student as your ‘coach’. Secondly, there’s this international atmosphere, especially in the group I’m part of.”


• Personal experiences
  “Although I have been living in Belgium for the past four years, I was never directly exposed to the European mentality. The first months, this mentality came almost like a culture shock, especially since I was used to the openness in the US and in the International School. Belgians are very reserved. They share the same polite distance with e.g. the Chinese, so it isn’t a surprise for me that both cultures get along so well.”