TikTok has joined hands with the National Innovation Agency (NIA) to build a greater number of "innovation communicators" to deliver science and innovation content to a mass audience.
According to the Digital 2025 report by creative digital agency We Are Social and media monitoring firm Meltwater, Thais spent 37.4 hours per month on the TikTok platform via Android. TikTik has 38 million users in Thailand.
Recently, TikTok Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based unit of the Chinese parent company, received approval from the Board of Investment for a 127-billion-baht investment in data hosting services to support the activities of its affiliated companies, with operations expected to start in 2026.
Thailand is the third country in Southeast Asia where TikTok decided to invest in its own data centre after Singapore and Malaysia.
By the second quarter, the company will present science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) content on TikTok's platform in Thailand after already commencing this in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland, said Chanida Klyphun, TikTok's newly appointed head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia.
Krithpaka Boonfueng, executive director of the NIA, said the agency signed a memorandum of understanding with TikTok for two years to promote innovation to mass users as part of its strategy to make Thailand an "innovation country".
The NIA has joined forces with TikTok to build more innovation communicators by launching the "InnovaTok Contest" at both "rookie" and professional level, without any limits in terms of gender or level of education under an "Innovation in Your Heart" theme.
The duration of the content submitted must be less than two minutes. There will be a workshop in April and submissions to the contest must be made between April 1 and June 30.
"Innovation is not only R&D, or advanced science but it can create an impact and value that is meaningful to society and the economy and reduce pain points. This can be new business models like food delivery. Innovation can be embedded in daily life -- such as food, travel and lifestyle," Ms Krithpaka said.
She added that the partnership aims to develop at least 100 creators of innovative content.
Moreover, the winners will work with the NIA to promote innovation products and become innovation influencers.
Ms Krithpaka said apart from developing simple and accurate content, creators must have their own "identity" or "character".
In the near future, NIA will use TikTok as a communication channel with potential buyers and open an "InnoMall" that will gather 80 innovation entrepreneurs to sell products on TikTok Shop.
Mrs Chanida said the good content on knowledge needs to be short, lean and get attention "with creativity and joy".
Nawapol Chuamvarasart, a science communicator who won the Best Creator Award in 2023 at @SaySci (with 1.7 million followers), said innovators can be content creators themselves or use innovation communicators to share their knowledge with their target audience.
Mr Nawapol's followers mainly consist of higher level primary students to lower level secondary school students.
He started creating science content eight years ago because he noticed a lack of science content for mass audiences, with most content focusing on laboratory science experiments.
"By selecting topics that attract users' attention, especially those close to their daily lives and answering their curiosity and assumptions, you can increase engagement."
Listening to user feedback and comments about their interests, while telling stories that are simple but accurate, complete and logically structured like the scientific method, makes the content more 'edutaining' -- fun is still key, according to Mr Nawapol.
He said that it is estimated that the number of science and innovation creators is now limited to only 25 associations or communities but the number keeps growing.