On 26 November 2013, STOU administrators led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chailerd Pichitpornchai, President of STOU, visited the Department of Skill Development (DSD) in Bangkok in order to discuss academic collaboration, and signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mr. Nakorn Silpa-archa, Director-General of DSD. This collaboration will focus on online courses in foreign languages, especially English and the ASEAN languages, and hospitality and tourism, in order to develop labour skills in preparation for the ASEAN economic community.