UOB Launches Year-Two Program Pairing Youth With Business on Sustainability

UOB Thailand is advancing the UOB Wonder Lab programme into its second year, connecting young people with the business sector to develop communication strategies around real-world sustainability and corporate social responsibility challenges from partner organizations DHL Express, DKSH, and Hafele Thailand. Following the programme's debut in 2025 to turn youth ideas into action for communities and the environment, this year UOB Wonder Lab expands by offering young participants direct collaboration with businesses to craft communication approaches that make sustainability issues more accessible and meaningful.

The core activity is the UOB Wonder Lab Impact Academy, where 15 youth teams selected from 171 applications representing 688 people nationwide will tackle real briefs from the three partner organizations to develop communication strategies that build understanding, drive engagement, and bring responsible living closer to everyday life.

The three partner organizations bring communication challenges linked to their business goals and sustainability targets for participants to develop innovative approaches together, supported throughout by executives and specialists as mentors. This support aims to help ideas address the challenge of building understanding, driving participation, and making sustainability issues more meaningful in people's daily lives.

Tatthanan Oratharanakij, assistant managing director for corporate communications and image at UOB Thailand, said: "This collaboration is a mutual exchange of value. Young people learn from business experience, while organizations gain fresh perspectives they may not find within their own teams. It is an exchange that helps turn understanding into action."

During the programme, participants learn about the sustainability operations and communication goals of the partner organizations while developing skills in audience insight, storytelling, and creative thinking through work with executives and experts. They refine and develop communication approaches for their assigned briefs.

Although the three partner organizations operate in different industries, they share a common challenge: communicating sustainability in ways that are simple, accessible, and meaningful to diverse audiences. All three believe sustainability will have greater impact when people understand it, see its connection to their daily lives, and recognize their role in driving change.

Following the Impact Academy, all 15 teams will refine their ideas with mentors from UOB and the partner organizations before nine teams advance to the final round. These finalists will present their communication approaches to a judging panel at the UOB Wonder Lab Final Pitch on October 3, 2026, at UOB Plaza in Bangkok.