Students Perspectives from relocated AIT campus

Dear AIT Students

Many things have happened to us over the past few months - both good and difficult. It is easy to focus on negative aspects or on things that do not get resolved right away, but also, many positive milestones were reached and credit has to be given to those that made them become real to us.

By the way, we can always use more volunteers to help out with matters. Have you helped your fellow students? We thank all those students that did help during the dike building, evacuation and relocation.

1. With regard to the update, we can close the books on the relocation of students, the salvage operation, resumption of classes, revised visa protocols, availability of Halal food. All have been accomplished - albeit not without some degree of discomfort - but yes, accomplished nonetheless. Of the remainder, all of the followingissues are being activiely and agressively pursued - housing issues, internet availability, study space and transportation schedules. These last issues now serve as the foundation for most student concerns.

2. Housing? If anyone is sleeping on the floor, PLEASE you the student should let us know and we will find a mattress or other accommodations ASAP. In order for assistance, it is YOU the STUDENT that needs to let us know.

As we mentioned in an earlier message, there will be other independent housing opening up in several locations in January. Meanwhile, please keep in close communication with the proper office. For example, students that currently live in independent housing took matters into their OWN hands and, from our observations, are quite happy with their accommodations (bigger bedrooms, kitchens, multiple baths, and AC/TV/internet).

3. Laundry issues, just like at AIT, are yours and yours alone to resolve.

4. Three maids were hired for the Stamford dormitories. We do not know if more will be hired for other houses. Stay tuned.

5. A security guard was also hired for SIU dorms.

6. 80 tables (with chairs) were provided for Suchaya House to help with the study process. 5 more for Hua Hin Apartments. More will be provided as needs arise (or are already arisen).

7. Common areas can be used without charge for electricity

8. Mr. Rajan may expand his services to include food delivery if 8 or more students wish to eat the South Asian cuisine. It is up to you the students to get 8 or more students to ask him (or via us). This may work for Suchaya House since its restaurant has recently closed.

9. Bandwidth has been increased in 4 houses (Such, Prem, Nap and Baan). Tweeking of the service will also increase speed etc.

10. Reading materials for course work? Please work this out with your faculty.

11. Trips to Hua Hin city for dinner trips and/or shopping are now available with the addition of two vans - Leave at 6:30 and last van back at 9:00.  Please check with Ben for exact schedule.

12. A special prayer space is being sought after in the SIU auditorium. We will keep you posted on its progress.

13. Printing services are now available near the GRU office on the second floor at SIU. Students still pay per copy - just like at AIT.

14. A student blog will be available soon .. this will help to communicate issues and opinions in real time.

The results of the SU survey a few weeks ago were realistic and the voice of the GA stated strongly that more needs to be accomplished. There is still dissatisfaction, but we believe that level is decreasing with each and every day. Time for another survey perhaps?

OK students.... let's cooperate and help each other. Our job is to help you NOW. You can help us to help you by being patient and understanding.  The staff are working hard - very hard to make this a better experience.

The information above was presented and discussed in a meeting with Dean Afsulpurkar, Mr. Ashish and CLIQ.

Sincerely

Louis H.
CLIQ

The opinions of CLIQ are independent and are not governed by policies unrelated to its mission- internal or external.

Updates from AIT President to International Alumni body

Dear Alumni,

At the very outset I must thank all of you for the outpouring of support, condolence and messages sent to your alma mater after the campus in Pathumthani was flooded on 21 October 2011. That day will be remembered as the darkest day in the history of AIT.

A little over six weeks have passed, and though we are working hard and have resumed operations, it is still a long way to go for all of us. At this juncture, I am using this opportunity to reach out to all of you to apprise you of the developments that have taken place since the flood.

The 2-3 metres of water at AIT has been drained out, and I take this opportunity to acknowledge the help and support of the Government of Japan and the draining pumps provided by Ch. Karnchang. AIT now has temporary offices working at various places ? at two places in Bangkok, namely AIS (courtesy AIT alumni) and Chulalongkorn University. Shortly we will move to a new work location in Bangkok.

Academic classes have resumed at three places in Hua Hin, namely Stamford International University (SIU), Silpakorn University and Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. This move has been widely welcomed with other universities being simply overawed at the pace at which we resumed classes. This will ensure that students who are scheduled to graduate are not delayed further. Further, students scheduled to go to Europe on exchange programs will be able to proceed after completing their coursework at AIT. Meanwhile AIT is working very hard to ensure that its campus becomes hospitable and safe so that we can return.

Apart from informing you of the latest round of events, I also seek your support in ensuring AIT?s long term sustainability. We need our alumni to be ambassadors of AIT and for them to act as positive facilitators. We need alumni to spread the word about the good work and achievements of AIT. Alumni can act as bridges between AIT and the outer world, so that the world views us in positive light.  That is what we wish alumni would do. The role of the alumni is to help, guide and facilitate, particularly in fund raising. At AIT, all of us are positively inclined towards its alumni, and we continue to engage with them both formally and informally. You need not wait for an annual event to engage with your mother Institute, and you do not have to go via any other mechanism to reach us. The AIT management, administration, faculty, staff and even students are always eager to hear from you. We would prefer that you reach out directly to AIT, and we would be more than eager to engage with you.

To end on very positive news ? by the end of January 2012, AIT will be re-established as an International Intergovernmental Institute. The present Governing structure will be replaced by a new Council comprising exclusively of representatives of Governments and International Organizations who have signed the Charter. As alumni, you would be very proud to hear that the Institute where you once studies will soon become a full-fledged International Institute.

From this month onwards I shall be writing exclusively to all of you every three months. I shall inform you about the developments in your mother Institute, and help you to connect and reconnect, engage and reengage with AIT.

I have provided as attachment a brief of some of the activities and initiatives taken by the current administration under the guidance and direction of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, which elaborates in more detail some of the above points.

I look forward to closely interacting with our alumni from all over the world.

Thanks and best wishes.


Said Irandoust
President, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

Updates from AIT President to International Alumni body

Dear Alumni,

At the very outset I must thank all of you for the outpouring of support, condolence and messages sent to your alma mater after the campus in Pathumthani was flooded on 21 October 2011. That day will be remembered as the darkest day in the history of AIT.

A little over six weeks have passed, and though we are working hard and have resumed operations, it is still a long way to go for all of us. At this juncture, I am using this opportunity to reach out to all of you to apprise you of the developments that have taken place since the flood.

The 2-3 metres of water at AIT has been drained out, and I take this opportunity to acknowledge the help and support of the Government of Japan and the draining pumps provided by Ch. Karnchang. AIT now has temporary offices working at various places ? at two places in Bangkok, namely AIS (courtesy AIT alumni) and Chulalongkorn University. Shortly we will move to a new work location in Bangkok.

Academic classes have resumed at three places in Hua Hin, namely Stamford International University (SIU), Silpakorn University and Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. This move has been widely welcomed with other universities being simply overawed at the pace at which we resumed classes. This will ensure that students who are scheduled to graduate are not delayed further. Further, students scheduled to go to Europe on exchange programs will be able to proceed after completing their coursework at AIT. Meanwhile AIT is working very hard to ensure that its campus becomes hospitable and safe so that we can return.

Apart from informing you of the latest round of events, I also seek your support in ensuring AIT?s long term sustainability. We need our alumni to be ambassadors of AIT and for them to act as positive facilitators. We need alumni to spread the word about the good work and achievements of AIT. Alumni can act as bridges between AIT and the outer world, so that the world views us in positive light.  That is what we wish alumni would do. The role of the alumni is to help, guide and facilitate, particularly in fund raising. At AIT, all of us are positively inclined towards its alumni, and we continue to engage with them both formally and informally. You need not wait for an annual event to engage with your mother Institute, and you do not have to go via any other mechanism to reach us. The AIT management, administration, faculty, staff and even students are always eager to hear from you. We would prefer that you reach out directly to AIT, and we would be more than eager to engage with you.

To end on very positive news ? by the end of January 2012, AIT will be re-established as an International Intergovernmental Institute. The present Governing structure will be replaced by a new Council comprising exclusively of representatives of Governments and International Organizations who have signed the Charter. As alumni, you would be very proud to hear that the Institute where you once studies will soon become a full-fledged International Institute.

From this month onwards I shall be writing exclusively to all of you every three months. I shall inform you about the developments in your mother Institute, and help you to connect and reconnect, engage and reengage with AIT.

I have provided as attachment a brief of some of the activities and initiatives taken by the current administration under the guidance and direction of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, which elaborates in more detail some of the above points.

I look forward to closely interacting with our alumni from all over the world.

Thanks and best wishes.


Said Irandoust
President, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

AIT has a non-binding MoU with Specialized Private Education Group, will return to mother campus during next semester

ASIAN Institute of Technology (AIT) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Laureate International Universities to explore a possible partnership. It was signed on 30 September 2011, and it is an exploratory MoU with no commitments, but merely an expression of interest to explore a partnership. Further, AIT plans to return to its mother campus sometime during the next semester, though the exact date is not finalized.

This was stated by the AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust during the faculty forum organized at AIT's temporary location at the Silpakorn University in Cha-am on 15 December 2011. The President was responding to queries of AIT faculty members during the forum.

The President added that the reconstruction, renovation and upgrading of AIT's facilities would be conducted in phases. The first phase would involve creating a showcase eco-friendly building with nearly two dozen classrooms at the AIT Extension building. This would allow students to return to classrooms, but who would continue to live outside the campus.

The second phase would involve academic buildings and the administrative building. The third and final phase would target the residential buildings which would be done by the private sector that would operate it on a Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

During the forum, Dr. Peter Theisen, AIT's external consultant for strategic planning, outlined AIT Online, undergraduate, satellite campus and professional programs as four potential income streams for AIT. He suggested strengthening marketing and sales, program and capacity optimization and campus upgrade to improve AIT's bottom-line. Since AIT has already taken recourse to significant cost-cutting, it is not advisable to proceed on this path again, he suggested. He stated that within two months, the draft "roadmaps" for AIT, will be presented.

On the queries to the links with Laureate International Universities, the President explained that they are among the several education groups AIT has been in discussions with in an effort to take AIT to its next level of growth. Among the areas AIT is seeking expertise on includes faculty and student exchange programmes, as well as access to graduate and post-graduate programmes in new and emerging fields of study. He mentioned that AIT has signed a non-binding MoU on 30 September 2011 with Laureate which outlines the intention of both sides to explore to which extent and in which areas a partnership might create mutual benefits. The President invited interested members of the AIT community to contact or visit his office if they would like to learn more, and also clarified that since both sides are still in the exploration state, neither AIT nor Laureate have made any commitment regarding a potential partnership. He added that Laureate has seconded a person to AIT to explore different options. The President stated that the work is led by an Executive Committee Working Group of the AIT Board of Trustees.

Elaborating on AIT's exploratory MoU with Laureate Inc., Dr. Theisen stated that Laureate would help in benchmarking and cost information. They will undertake brand and student research and conduct a detailed market research analysis. "In February-March we will come back to the AIT community with the suggested proposal for further consideration," he said.

Reservations were voiced by some faculty members that the private partnership option is being positioned as the "best and only option" rather than being "one of the available options." The President invited AIT community members to suggest other concrete proposals.

In an impassioned plea, faculty members called for an "early return" and "time-frame" of returning to AIT's mother campus, particularly in light of the report by internal experts stating that AIT is structurally safe to return. The President stated that AIT would move into its own campus "sometime during the next semester." He added that he could not give a definite date, because there are health issues, and opinion by external experts who possess considerable expertise in rehabilitation work. "If we rush, it will be more costly for us and if we return too early, we may have to evacuate again, he added.

AIT alumnus Dr. Waheed Uddin, Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Mississipi, who also attended the forum, described the sentiment expressed by the AIT faculty to return to the campus early as "inspiring", stating that this shows the commitment of the AIT faculty.

The issue of accident of two AIT students at Hua Hin was raised, where the President stated that AIT is seized of the matter. Later in the day, the AIT President held personal meetings with the two injured students and assured them of all legal help from AIT to pursue their case.

The AIT President dismissed comments originating from different non-AIT platforms stating that he would never react to anonymous e-mails which was also the position of the Board on this matter. He reiterated that Government support to AIT has been declining and it is within AIT's right to explore all possible options.

Later in the day, the AIT President also held a meeting with representatives of the AIT Student Union (AITSU) including its President Mr. Avishek Kumar Karky and AITSU spokesperson Angel Huang.

AIT has a non-binding MoU with Specialized Private Education Group, will return to mother campus during next semester

Today we, the AIT Alumni Affairs Office, want to share with you that ASIAN Institute of Technology (AIT) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Laureate International Universities to explore a possible partnership. It was signed on 30 September 2011, and it is an exploratory MoU with no commitments, but merely an expression of interest to explore a partnership. Further, AIT plans to return to its mother campus sometime during the next semester, though the exact date is not finalized. You can read more at: http://203.159.12.32:8082/AIT/news-and-events/2011/news/ait-has-a-non-binding-mou-with-specialized-private-education-group-will-return-to-mother-campus-during-next-semester/view.

With best regards.
Tien and the AAO's team

AIT President's Weekly Letter: Monday, 19th December 2011

Monday, 19th December 2011

 

Dear Members of the AIT Community,

 

§  Interactions with Faculty, Alumni and Student Union Representatives: Last week I had interactions with a group of alumni, faculty and student union representatives on 14 and 15 December respectively in Bangkok and Hua Hin. Among the topics covered were the new AIT Charter, the recent flooding of the AIT campus, and the new funding model. The purpose of the meetings were to share the current and prospective developments of AIT, and I would like to thank everyone who participated, and for providing their views and feedback.

 

I highlighted that six weeks from now AIT will become an international intergovernmental organization and by the end of January 2012, AIT will have a new governing council. The initiative to change the Charter and turn AIT into a full-fledged international intergovernmental organization was an initiative conducted under the auspices of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, with AIT's partner governments. The new Charter is a recognition of AIT's more than 50 years of dedicated and committed service to the region and beyond, and so far, 18 countries and 1 international organization have signed or confirmed to sign the new Charter (Thailand, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, East and Southeast Asia (UNIFEM)- now part of UN Women).

 

All members of the AIT community, especially alumni, should feel proud that their alma mater will soon be attaining international intergovernmental status.

 

I also provided details of the AIT flood crisis, the temporary and partial relocations in Hua Hin and Cha-am and theses students' placements, and the ongoing rehabilitation, rebuilding and upgrading plans for the main campus.

 

In responding to the query as to when the return to the mother campus would take place, I stressed that while internal experts have said the building is structurally safe, reports by external experts specializing in rehabilitation work have indicated that health and safety issues have to be addressed before the move can take place. A newly-constituted AIT Main Campus Rebuilding and Upgrading Committee has been mandated to oversee the formulation of a professional design brief that will guide medium-term campus renovation work. I mentioned that we would be able to move back to the AIT campus within the next semester, and that the exact dates will be available once the recovery and rebuilding plan is finalized, and expected to have clarity on this within the next 2 weeks. The Committee has recommended that the AIT Extension Building be converted into a hub for all classrooms. The rebuilding will be done in phases, starting with classrooms and prioritizing academic buildings. Once classes are up and running at this central campus location, renovation and reconstruction work could happen in parallel at the other academic buildings.

 

On the exploration of a new funding model, I explained that over the past 2 years, the AIT Board of Trustees, Executive Committee and AIT management team, have spent substantial efforts to discuss options to adopt a business model to address challenges from the rapidly changing environment, e.g. governments are significantly reducing their funding for scholarships, other universities are advancing fast, more and more universities start online programs and compete on a global scale. Hence AIT needs strategies to a achieve a sustainable long-term future, e.g. become less donor dependent and still obtaining sufficient resources to maintain quality of education and research. The core idea is to continue to optimize AITs current operations and also increase AITs service scope to new initiatives such as additional fields of study, spin-offs, satellite campuses, or online education, etc.

 

On the queries to the links with Laureate International Universities, I explained that they are among the several education groups AIT has been in discussions with in an effort to take AIT to its next level of growth. Among the areas AIT is seeking expertise on includes faculty and student exchange programmes, as well as access to graduate and post-graduate programmes in new and emerging fields of study. I mentioned that AIT has signed a non-binding MoU on 30th September 2011 with Laureate which outlines the intention of both sides to explore to which extent and in which areas a partnership might create mutual benefits. I have extended an invitation to interested members of the AIT community to contact or visit my office if they would like to learn more. I also clarified that since both sides are still in the exploration state, neither AIT nor Laureate have made any commitment regarding a potential partnership. I also reported that the work is being led by an Executive Committee Working Group of the AIT Board of Trustees

 

I intend to have similar interactions with members of the AIT community, on a regular basis, during which I will be providing updates on the progress of our work, and also using the forums to received feedback and inputs.

 

http://203.159.12.32:8082/AIT/news-and-events/2011/news/alumni-gather-informally-in-bkk-to-learn-about-ait2019s-current-and-prospective-developments/view

 

§  Senior AIT alumnus visits campus, appreciates recovery efforts:  A senior alumnus of AIT, Prof. Waheed Uddin, visited the AIT temporary locations at Bangkok as well as Hua Hin and Cha-am, and commended the efforts made by the Institute to recommence operations.  "All of you have made great personal sacrifices to ensure that AIT returns back to normalcy once again," Prof. Waheed told key administrative staff at the camp office at Silapakorn University in Cha-am. He described the entire exercise of arranging for dormitories, accommodation, food and transport for AIT students at its temporary locations as a huge logistic exercise, and complimented the Institute for relaunching academic classes and administrative operations.

 

Prof. Waheed, who graduated from AIT with a Master's degree in 1975, is a Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Mississippi, apart from being a Director, Center for Advanced Infrastructure Technology (CAIT).

 

He visited the AIT office in Bangkok, besides participating in an Alumni meet on 14 December 2011. He also visited the temporary offices at Hua Hin and Cha-am, and participated in the cleaning operations at the AIT's mother campus at Pathumthani today and conducted a survey and assessment of the damage. On 21 December 2011 Prof. Waheed shall be delivering a talk on "Airborne LIDAR Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technologies for Flood Disaster Prevention and Infrastructure Planning" at a symposium titled 'Lessons Learned from Thailand Flood Disaster and Future Directions for Flood Prevention and Mitigation' being organized by AIT and ASEAN Affairs.

 

Based on his experience, Prof. Waheed has written an article in Infrastructure Global titled "Bangkok Floods: Post-Flood Recovery and Restoration of Inundated AIT Campus." The article can be read at this link.

 

http://203.159.12.32:8082/AIT/news-and-events/2011/news/ait-alumnus-visits-campus-appreciates-recovery-efforts/view

 

§  Progress on Rehabilitation and Rebuilding of AIT Main Campus: I have received updates from the AIT Main Campus Rehabilitation Committee chaired by Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Vice President for Resource Development, and the respective Task Forces which are provided below. From now on every Monday, updates will be provided to AIT Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni and Friends of AIT on the progress of Campus Rehabilitation. Suggestions and comments are most welcome.

 

The AIT Main Campus Rebuilding and Upgrading Committee, will be having its second meeting tomorrow, and senior AIT alumnus Professor Waheed Uddin, will also be joining the meeting, and sharing his feedback from the site visit of the campus, following his survey and assessment.

 

Task Force on Built Environment (Chair:  Dr Noppadol Pien-wej): Dewatering. Two weeks after dewatering, the two main electric pumps at the pump house were fixed and now operate normally.  As of today, the water in the entire campus is at the normal level. AIT is officially declared fully dry.

 

Electricity Power Substations. The detailed investigation of the 13 flooded substations is now completed by Sodexo with the help of our alumni in the Italian Thai Development (ITD) Public Company. The TOR on the scope of repair/replacement as well as the cost estimation was submitted by Sodexo engineers. The estimated cost to restore all the substations is around 10 million baht, compared with the 48 million Baht for all replacement as estimated earlier by AIT Consulting. In the AIT Management Team Meeting on December 16, this budget was approved to be under the authority of the Chair of the Campus Rehabilitation Committee. We expect that this expenditure will be fully recovered by insurance as the loss adjuster already inspected all substations

 

Electricity Supply. As of today, power supply has been restored in areas supplied by Substation 1 and 13. This involves the Main gate house and New Zealand house village (Substation 1) and the Pump House and golf course (Substation 13).

 

Urgency has been stressed to repair all other Substations:

 

-          Administration building including SCB Bank and Hom Krun Coffee (Substation 2). The SCB Bank is scheduled to test its operation on 23 December.

-          AIT Center including the lobby, dining room and selected second floor areas (temporary extension from Substation 2)

-          Central Cafeteria for both ground and second floors (Substation 2)

-          Substations 14 and 12 to supply power to the AIT International School and nearby student/staff dormitories (along boundary road to NSTDA).

-          If needed, temporary power supply can be extended to SERD and SET buildings from Substation 2.

 

Central Air-Conditioning System. An investigation has been made and Sodexo will soon submit a quotation on the restoration of the main chiller within this week.

 

Telephone System. On the telephone system including PABX, both Sodexo and an external expert from ITD have checked the damage condition and both reported that the damage was beyond repair.  The proposal on the replacement will be soon made by Sodexo.  Our TC experts, Dr. Poompat and Dr. Teerapat agree to further inspect the system in order to come up with an optimum restoration solution.

 

Task Force on Natural Environment (Chairman: Dr Thammarat Koottathep): On debris and rubbish clearing. The following units have reported completed, either by their own staff, volunteers and/or Sodexo staff:

 

Admin Building, AIT Conference Center, ISE, PPT, WEM, OTM, House #15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, SOM, GIC building, InterLab, FE & BPT, TC/ICT, CSIM, AIT Consulting, Habitech Center, AFE Building, AARM, Energy Building, Structural Lab.

The present clearing work is at the AIT Arcade area. The remaining parts of SET and SERD buildings should be finished in a couple of days. For the library, the major work is now on trying to save the damaged books.

 

The debris-cleared buildings/houses will be partially cleaned, sprayed with disinfectants and open for full ventilation. Meanwhile, Sodexo will proceed to help clear remaining buildings in the academic zone, and then the residential areas. It may take us until the end of the month before the whole ground floor of the campus can be fully cleared. 

 

Besides volunteers from Ch. Karnchang, Department of Forestry, and Italian Thai Development, Right Tunneling Co. Ltd., ITD, and the Department of Forestry as reported earlier, more help has been received from the following organizations:

-          Betagro donated cleaning solution on 16 December 2011. A more formal handover of Power clean (100 Gallons), Clean up 201 (300 Gallons) and Sanitech (100 tanks) by their executive will take place on Friday, 23 December 2011 at 10.00 am.

-          Toyota Motor Thailand supported volunteers helping in the cleaning, tools for cleaning, trucks for loading garbage. 

-          Engineering Corp of the Army 202 supported 30-40 army volunteers to help clearing debris out of buildings.

-          Double A (1991) Public Company supported 30 volunteer staff, 10 drinking water dozen bottles, two trucks, cleaning utensils and pledged 630,000 Baht for new painting of the Pulp and Paper Building.

-          Alumni Group from KMUTT sent volunteers to help sort damaged books, trying to save as many of them as possible.

 

Rubbish and debris are now relocated to the dumping sites where these wastes are segregated by SCG and Wongpanit Group.

 

The Administration, AITCC, SERD and SET buildings have been washed by detergents and disinfectant.

 

About 80% of damaged books from the library have been removed from the building, with the great assistance from Royal Thai Army since Thursday. Hopefully, the removal of damaged carpet and bookshelves can be accomplished by this weekend, to be followed by a proper washing.

 

Disinfectant has been sprayed at all buildings at work every day to ensure health safety of the workers.

 

After the 1st clean-up operation, we will proceed to the 2nd cleansing step by using special detergent from Betagro, which includes fungicide sprays.

 

After internal cleaning, inspection and final check will take place with a preferential specialist company.

 

Task Force on Society and People (Chairman: Dr. Sandro Calvani): The task force has drafted "Plan of Action" under the theme "Act and Inspire Together". The first section of the Action focuses on AIT people.  AIT people, its community and partners are the first and the foremost victims of the flood that occurred on Oct 21st. AIT people should therefore be a top priority of the rehabilitation and re-birth of the AIT Campus. The great number of suggestions submitted by staff proves the evident fact that AIT people wish to be the main protagonists of its future. The task force has recommended to me 44 Actions that must be put to work to achieve specific goals with a time-line and resources.

 

The last section of the Action focuses on Services and business on the AIT Campus. Six actions are recommended to me to achieve the following goals:  (1) re-establish the same quality of AIT essential services and business on Campus as before flood; (2) re-build a good living environment for the whole AIT community on Campus; (3) boost cooperative efforts of high quality of life at AIT Campus; and (4) as far as possible, modernize services at AIT Campus after the flood crisis

 

I and Professor Worsak will jointly meet the Chair of the Task Force to consider all the 50 Recommended Actions in relation to the required resources.

 

Task Force on Fundraising (Chairman: Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe): The work has been divided into 6 sections as follows: A. Royal Thai Government, B. Insurance, C. Other Governments, D. Private Sector, with a focus on the Thai corporate sector, E. Alumni and other individuals, and F. Public and Private Foundations. The main objective is to look at generating contributions towards the medium to long-term renovation and rebuilding of the AIT campus.

 

With regards to Royal Thai Government assistance, RTG Office under the leadership of VPRD has submitted a damage report and a request for aid package from RTG. The request was partially approved by the Subcommittee that scrutinized all requests from flood-affected educational institutes. In separate follow-ups, the Task Force arranged a high-level meeting for me with the Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the head of the Flood Relief Operations Command (FROC) and Minister of Justice of Thailand.

 

On Insurance matters, VPRD and other Task Force Chairs, Dr. Noppadol, Dr. Thammarat and Mr. Noppadon, the Head of Finance have been in contact with and helped facilitate the inspection of the loss adjusters assigned by our Insurance Company. It is expected that an interim payment within the first quarter of 2012, followed by a final payment later on in the year.

 

§  Update from Hua Hin: We are happy to note that things are settling down in Hua Hin. Classes are ongoing and we have also started receiving some research and thesis students who received confirmation from their advisors to join the temporary location at Hua Hin. Many of the teething problems related to this temporary relocation have been solved. The student union is also organizing their set up at Hua Hin and they are arranging for a general assembly to be held on 22 December at SIU from 7 p.m. onwards.

 

Transportation: Transportation schedules have been finalized by studying student movement and through student feedback. Currently we have 7 buses that operate between Hua Hin residences, Stamford International University, Silpakorn University and Rajabhat University. The bus drivers have been trained on the routes to be taken and the stop points. We are aware of some issues regarding the buses not stopping at the regular stops and have instructed the drivers to follow the procedures that we have outlined. Upon request from the Muslim students association of AIT for Friday prayers, a bus was been arranged to transfer them from SIU to a nearby mosque and back to SIU. Similarly a van was arranged from Silpakorn. This arrangement will continue for the period of temporary relocation.

 

Accommodation and internet: Most of the accommodations have been finalized and students have been moved. One of the accommodations had some problems because they could not finish the construction on time and we apologize for inconveniences caused to students. Issues related to this particular location will hopefully be solved in the next couple of days. Internet services are available in all academic locations and residences now. If you are facing particular problems related to internet at any location, please let us know (aitemergency@ait.asia).

 

Safety and security issues: There was an accident involving two of our students riding a motorcycle last week. We are thankful that our students did not receive critical injury and we would like to reiterate the dangers of driving motorcycles in and around Hua Hin. The Phetchkasem Road is a major highway and traffic is very heavy and at high speed throughout the day. Please exercise extreme caution if you have chosen to drive motorcycles or please refrain from driving them. We would like to request you to use shuttle buses and public transport instead. In case you still choose to drive a motorcycle, ensure that you have a valid driving license and always wear appropriate protective gear. Please be extremely careful while making U-turns and always drive on the correct side of the road (do not drive on the wrong side - against the traffic flow). Individual safety is your personal responsibility. Extreme caution must also be exercised when crossing the road.

 

We have also received information from residence owners about students cooking in rooms that have no kitchens. On top of fire and other related risks, this can also cause damage to the rooms. As already communicated before through the orientation and guidelines, please be advised that each student is responsible for any damage to the rooms that they are occupying. The owners will enforce monetary fines on any damage that is caused to the property. Irrespective of consequences, integrity and rules of the accommodations have to be respected like at AIT, in residences that have no kitchens. We would like to request all students to adhere to this.

 

§  Dengue Epidemic Prevention, Control and Management Program (DEPCAM) organized by AIT Extension: On the 13th of December 2011, I welcomed a policy-level delegation from Pakistan, attending a one week workshop as part of the three-week Dengue Epidemic Prevention, Control and Management Program (DEPCAM) organized by AIT Extension. This delegation comprised members of parliament, heads of advanced healthcare centers and medical colleges, heads of government agencies, and senior opinion leaders from NGOs and the media.

 

I was informed that DEPCAM is a unique program that brings together a cross-sector, multi-level cohort of clinical and auxiliary medical professionals and healthcare managers to equip them with skills to manage Dengue and other communicable disease. Also, that it was designed specifically on the request of the Punjab Government.

 

I was invited to make the Inaugural address at the formal opening of the policy-maker's workshop. The embassy of Pakistan was represented Mr. Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Commercial Counsellor. The keynote address was presented by Professor Suchitra Nimnannitaya, who is credited with making the world's first breakthrough in the diagnosis of Dengue. Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Executive Director, AIT Extension and Dr. Faiz Shah, Head, Development Management, AIT Extension, who is directing the course, reminded the participants that the DEPCAM program showcases the special capability of AITE Extension to marshal resources across disciplines that go beyond AIT's departmental expertize.

 

DEPCAM is specifically designed for a varied batch comprising the technical cohort has doctors, nurses, researchers, paramedics and city-managers started their joint training in Bangkok on 5 December. They were then sent for practical training to a variety of locations including Colombo, Chiang Mai and Saraburi. This week they will complete action-planning and transfer of learning, before returning to Pakistan.

 

DEPCAM has been specially designed by AITE at the request of the Government of the Punjab. The Punjab Resource Management Program (PRMP) a strategic partner of AITE sees DEPCAM as a concrete step towards Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif's directive to prepare a cross-level, inter-disciplinary prpofessional cohort that can lead an integrated response to the impending Dengue epidemic in the Punjab.

 

DEPCAM is unique in a number of ways. First, it is among the first specialized healthcare programs offered by AIT. Second, it works closely with two national health ministries, in Thailand and Sri Lanka respectively to bring in a peer learning element for course participants grounded in the WHO regional strategy for dengue control. Third it is designed as a cross-level learning program that has participants from the widest possible range of backgrounds. Fourt, it is being managed in multiple locations across 2 countries. And fifth, this is the first time a single cohort of 117 diverse participants is attending a 3 credit-equivalent at the same time.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the Ministry of Health, Thailand - Dr. Wichai Satimai, Director of the Bureau of Vector Bourne Diseases, Ministry of Public Health Thailand and His Team - Dr. Anuttrasakdi and Khun Siriporn for supporting this initiative and working in partnership with AIT for the program

 

§  Panelist at FCCT Event: On Wednesday, 14th December, I was invited to deliver a speech and participated as a Panelist, at the Siam Industrial Wire (SIW) and the Management System Certification Institute (MASCI) Thailand organized Press Conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT). SIW participated in the press conference to announce being the first in the manufacturing industry in Thailand to receive the ISO50001 award for International Standards in implementing Energy Management System. The ISO 50001 is awarded to companies that comply with energy management systems effectively and efficiently. It is awarded to businesses that also increase competitiveness through being an environmentally conscious organization.

 

AIT was the only university to be invited, and the issues which I covered in my address included educational development in science and technology for taking care of the world and its environment- and how important this is to the present world and community.  As a Panelist the topics covered focused on how the future would look like? how the education system would fit into this picture? what the future of Thailand would look like with more and more high levels of energy management standards? Opinion about the future of Thailand's environment, and what should be done collective society among others.

 

Dr. Mr. Yeoh Choon Kwee, Managing Director SIW and the Deputy Governor of Rayong were among the dignitaries.

 

§  Interview with IS AM ARE Magazine:  On 13 December 2011, I was interviewed in Bangkok by a team of journalists from IS AM ARE magazine, which is a monthly Thai-language publication that focuses on stories of human interest, emphasizing economic self-sufficiency matters. I was told that it has a circulation of 85,000 and can be purchased throughout Thailand. I was happy to explain about AIT to the IS AM ARE readers, especially the accomplishments and initiatives of the administration during my time as president, and AIT's future plans. The interview will be available in the January 2012 issue and a full English-language transcription will be uploaded to our website in the very near future.

 

§  Indo-Pak Media Conference: Our Senior News and Media Specialist, Mr. Bajinder Pal Singh participated in the Indo-Pak media conference (3rd Panj Darya Media Conference) at Chandigarh, India from November 21-23, 2011. The conference is an attempt by the journalist community in both countries to contribute towards the peace building process. Mr. Bajinder presented a paper on the role of technology in facilitating cross border media exchange.

 

This was the third such conference and was organized by the Chandigarh Press Club. Mr. Bajinder was one of the organizers when the first such conference was organized in 2005. Among the prominent personalities who graced the conference this time included the Chief Ministers of the Indian provinces of Punjab and Haryana. The name Panj Darya means Five Rivers and the conference is targeted towards journalists from the Land of Five Rivers - Punjab (both Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab).

 

Wish you a pleasant week ahead.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Professor Said Irandoust

President

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

 

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Flood Situation in Asian Institute of Technology October 20, 2011

The AIT President's latest message goes like this:

Dear Members of the AIT Community,

 

I would like to thank all members of the community who participated in this afternoon's forum. 

 

I conducted another inspection of the AIT periphery after the forum. Since my last update earlier today, there has been an increase of 20 cm in the water level in the reservoir at the west side of AIT behind our dykes corresponding to  an average increase of 1.6 cm per hour (from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.), while the water level in the front side of AIT increased 35 cm during the same period corresponding to an average increase of 2.8 cm per hour.

 

As mentioned during the forum, there has been a steady increase in the water levels. While we have increased the height of the dykes and also continue to strengthen them all around the AIT periphery, making them too high could pose a potential threat of dykes collapsing due to build up of water pressure.

 

In order to prevent water from flowing over our earthen dykes or embankments which could pose a risk to soften and wash away the earth, we have adopted an approach to control the overflowing water through a weir (spill way), see picture below, in case water level rises to the level of our dykes. Once the water level reaches a certain level below the top of the dykes, it is planned to let the water flow through the weir into the canals around AIT campus. We will at the same time be continuously pumping water out of the AIT canals. We have finished one weir and will be building another one tomorrow morning.

I  would like to thank Mr. Jaideep Nair, First Secretary, Embassy of India, who called to express his concern and offer of support to the Institute which is greatly appreciated. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Chaovalit Ekabut, President of the AIT Alumni Association - Mother Chapter, for the generous offer of the Alumni Association Mother Chapter to provide 200,000 Baht to AIT to help students.

 

We are closely monitoring the developments and will update members of the AIT community on a regular basis. The AIT campus remains secure as of now.

We thank you once again for your cooperation and vigilance.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Professor Said Irandoust

President

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)

Flood Warning in AIT, Bangkok

 

Dear members of the AIT Community,

We would like to inform the community of the possibility of flood on our campus.

 

As everyone may already know, Thailand is now experiencing the most severe monsoon rains and flood in 50 years.  Two months of flooding have inundated 58 of 77 provinces with 25 still severely affected.  This has brought damaged to homes or livelihoods of millions of people.  While the country has a network of dams and canals to contain the heavy rainfall, officials from the Royal Irrigation Department warn that several major dams are near their breaking point, with more torrential rain forecast in the coming weeks. 

 

We, at AIT are vulnerable to these flood waters: by the Chao Phraya River from the backside of AIT, and from the Lopburi Province from across the Phaholyothin Highway in front of AIT.

 

The AIT Management Team has instructed our service partner to prepare and protect AIT from the possible flood.  To provide more areas to collect any unanticipated quantity of water which might pass through AIT over the weekend, the water levels in AIT's canals and backside reservoir have been reduced.  Additional 3,000 sandbags will be provided to the Physical Plant to repair any weakened points of our dikes, as well as to protect our substations.

 

In this extreme situation, the AIT Management Team would like to request the community to be vigilant in protecting yourself, family and property from the possible flood and hope we can overcome this situation.  Any suggestion from the community on how to further alleviate the situation will be highly appreciated.

Weekly Letter from AIT President, Mon, 03 Oct 2011

The President's weekly letters are archived at http://pwl.ait.asia/index.php/archives

Dear Members of the AIT Community,

§ Condolences

: On behalf of all members of the AIT community I would like to offer our condolences on the continuing loss of life and damage caused by the severe flooding throughout Thailand. Our sympathies and condolences also go out to the people of Pakistan who have been affected by the severe outbreak of Dengue and to the Philippines which has been severely affected by the back-to-back typhoons. AIT along with its partners pledges to reach out and assist in whatever way that it can.

§ Professor Joydeep Dutta, Vice President for Academic Affairs

: I would like to report that Professor Joydeep Dutta, AIT Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) has been offered a Chair position in Nanotechnology at the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman which he has accepted. This is an important and well-deserved recognition of Professor Dutta's standing in the field and on behalf of AIT I would like to thank Professor Dutta for all the valuable contributions he has made to the Institute in different capacities. Professor Dutta joined AIT in April 2003 as an Associate Professor in Microelectronics. He was appointed as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology in May 2006. Professor Dutta was promoted to full professor in December 2008 and assumed the VPAA position in June 2010.

Professor Dutta still has a number of students under his supervision and will remain officially attached to AIT until the end of 2012 and will be on an extended leave from the Institute. Since Professor Dutta also serves as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology, if possible we would like to continue seeing his active involvement in the further development of the Center, which he was instrumental in building. To this end, we will try and explore the possibility of an arrangement between AIT and the Sultan Qaboos University, which could enable Professor Dutta, to continue his engagement with the Center. AIT faculty colleague Dr. Anil Kumar Anal, who has been closely collaborating with Professor Dutta and the Center, will in the interim be in-charge of the Center, in his capacity as Deputy Director of the Center.

I am considering a number of possibilities to fill in the important position of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, and will be making an announcement on this shortly.

In concluding, I would like to thank Professor Dutta once again and we wish him the very best in his exciting new assignment.

§ Tele-conference with AIT Alumni in the US

: Dr. Nitin Afzulpurkar, Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology (SET), who is currently in the USA, and Dr. Sharif Uddin (AFE, 1999), the new President of the AIT Alumni Association (AITAA)-USA Chapter arranged a tele-conference call with me on Thursday, 29th September. Eighteen alumni from across the USA, from New York to Texas, joined the conference. From AIT, Professor Louis Hornyak, Director of the Center for Learning and Innovation Quality (CLIQ), Mr. Karma Rana, Institute Secretary and Dr. H.L. Tien, Head of the Alumni Affairs Office, also joined this conference.

Dr. Sharif Uddin moderated the discussions and provided an overview on the purpose of the gathering, which was to rejuvenate the AIT alumni base in the US and actively explore ways and means through which alumni could contribute to AIT. After Dr. Sharif's introduction all the participants took turns in introducing themselves, and it was a delight to hear the success stories of our alumni in academe, business, government and of some who have become successful entrepreneurs.

I thanked Dr. Sharif Uddin for having taken the initiative to regalvanize our alumni in the US and we look forward to participating in more of such interactions with our alumni in the USA as well as other parts of the world. I took the opportunity to update our alumni about the current status of AIT and new activities and initiatives as well as highlighted the challenges we face and opportunities that lie ahead if we are proactive and bold. The alumni put forward several ideas and suggestions on how to support their alma mater, through fundraising, jointly working with alumni in Canada, Australia and other parts of the world in creating better synergy, possibility of engaging with the AIT Consulting in projects and assignments, providing support for AIT's work in Africa, sending their children to study at AIT among others.

I really enjoyed the interactions with our alumni in the US ranging from those who had graduated in the 70s to as recent as 2007, and the very positive attitude and proactive approach of the group in trying to learn more about AIT's plans and how they could assist and support the Institute in the planned initiatives. I also highlighted that alumni can contribute in different ways and means, which could be through alumni informing AIT of opportunities, increasing the visibility of the Institute by making reference to AIT in their work, providing internship and employment opportunities for our students etc.

Subsequent to the tele-conference I have received e-mails from Dr. Sharif Uddin and some other alumni who participated in the discussions, mentioning how nostalgic and happy they felt to be connected to AIT and their alumni colleagues in the USA, appreciation on the update provided to them on AIT's future strategies, and expressing their full support and commitment to contribute in the further growth of AIT. Dr. Sharif has also extended an invitation for me to attend the annual reunion of the AIT alumni in USA planned for 2012.

§ GWP Organization Representative visits AIT as the new Host Institution of the GWP-SEA Regional Water Partnership Secretariat:

I am pleased to inform the community that AIT has been selected by the Global Water Partnership Southeast Asia (GWP-SEA) Steering Committee at its meeting on 19-20 September 2011 as the new Host Institution of the Secretariat of the Regional Water Partnership (RWP) starting January 2012. To assess AIT's compliance with GWP's hosting requirements; Dr. Mercy Dikito-Wachtmeister, Senior Network Officer of the Global Water Partnership Organization (GWPO) in Stockholm, Sweden visited AIT on 26-28 September 2011. Dr.Dikito-Wachtmeister's visit consisted of meeting relevant AIT administration officials such as the heads of AIT's finance and human resource offices to discuss in detail the Host Institution agreement and the operation of the Secretariat, as well as inspection of the office space being offered by AIT for the Secretariat.

A joint meeting with Dr. Mukand S. Babel, Executive Director-AWARE Centre, Mr. Rittipongshusit Noppadon, Head-Finance, Dr. Kojchavivong Somkiert, Head-HRO, Mr. P.V. Krishna Gopi, Manager-Research and Education Support, and Mr. Aldrin Rivas of WEM was held on 26 September 2011 to discuss the general features of the hosting agreement and related guidelines. On 27th September, Dr.Dikito-Wachtmeister met the heads of finance and HR separately to clarify GWPO and AIT's finance and other administrative guidelines. While some details of the operation of the Secretariat still need to be confirmed with the GWPO, there are no major concerns between GWPO's and AIT's practices and guidelines. On 28th September, I hosted a lunch for the GWPO representative who afterwards met with Dr. Babel of AWARE Centre.

As a culmination of the GWPO mission, I met with Dr. Mercy Dikito-Wachtmeister in the afternoon of 28 September 2011. In this meeting, Dr. Mercy stressed her appreciation of the positive changes in AIT since the last time she visited almost a decade ago. She also highlighted the fact that when AIT hosted the Secretariat during 2002-2003, GWP-SEA was among the best performing RWP's in the world and that she is looking forward to a reinvigorated GWP-SEA with the Secretariat's return to its first home. I emphasized that AIT is, indeed, very much interested to be an active partner of GWP, not just as a Host Institution of the RWP Secretariat, but more especially in disseminating information and in capacity building endeavors in the region and beyond. The de-briefing meeting was also attended by Prof. Sudip Rakshit, VP-Research, Dr. Mukand S. Babel, Mr. Rittipongshusit Noppadon, Dr. Kojchavivong Somkiert, Mr. P.V. Krishna Gopi, and Mr. Aldrin Rivas. I sincerely thank Dr. Mukand S. Babel and his staff who took this initiative and ERCO for the arrangements that made the GWPO mission a successful one.

§ AIT Management Team Meeting:

The AITMT in its meeting on 28 September 2011 confirmed SET Dean's agreement to start two-stage UG programs, most probably in Mechatronics and Industrial Engineering, with Kathmandu University following the modalities similar to the one with NEF-CCN.  The AITMT also discussed, among other things, the following issues: agreements made with Netlink's senior officers to address current problems and improve the partnership; AIT rebranding process; external inputs to School restructuring, on new trends, and in new programs; external evaluation of current academic and research programs; unified or joint programs with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; RFID application in lieu of car stickers; AIT's contributions sought on universities' roles in the global climate and high-level technology Asia; improvements on wheelchair accessibility at AIT; green campus concept and possible certification; exploration of a possible private investor for construction of on-campus accommodation buildings; student research report review process; research faculty position; and AIT Day 2012 tentative plans.

§ Meeting with Sida

: On 26th of September Vice President for Research Professor Sudip K. Rakshit accompanied me to a breakfast meeting with Ms. Anna Maria Oltorp, Director, Regional Team for Asia, Sida and Ms. Renee Ankarfjard, First Secretary, Research Advisor, Environment and Natural Resources, Development Cooperation Section, who are both now located at the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok. I took the opportunity to brief them about the new initiatives at AIT including the situation of our formal international intergovernmental status, ongoing discussions with different investors for the further development of AIT, our planned satellite campuses, etc. They indicated that they were very happy with the draft report of the AIT Research Strategy and encouraged us to formally launch the same soon. They also requested us to provide them as early as possible, details of research project management of funds which may be provided by Sida. The inputs we will have to provide will include the manner in which we will call, select and go through the whole project cycles and contain monitoring and evaluation, auditing, etc. in transparent and clear manner. Depending on the priorities of Sida at this time, the areas which are reflected in our Research Strategy may then get supported by Sida. We suggested that the formal launching of the AIT Research Strategy be combined with the signing of a MoU for the research support. Professor Rakshit will be providing the requested inputs to Side in the coming weeks.

§ Recognition of Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni and Former Faculty

: On behalf of AIT, I would like to congratulate distinguished AIT alumnus Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, for having been bestowed with the 2011 Emerging Markets Central Bank Governor of the Year Award for Asia, in recognition of his strong policy track record and steadfast commitment to maintaining economic stability over the past 12 months. Dr. Prasarn obtained his M. Eng. from AIT in Industrial Engineering and Management in 1976, and is the Bank of Thailand Governor.The Emerging Markets news magazine, which is part of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, is one of the largest and most respected providers of financial information worldwide. For the full story visit:

http://www.emergingmarkets.org/Article/2905612/Search/Results/Central-Bank-Governor-of-the-Year-for-Asia-2011.html?Keywords=central+bank+governor+of+the+year

I would like to join the AIT community in congratulating Professor Hoang Tuy, former AIT visiting faculty from Vietnam, for being the first recipient of the International Society of Global Optimization's Constantin Caratheodory Prize for his pioneering work and fundamental contributions to Global Optimization. Professor Tuy was granted an honorary doctorate in 1995 from Sweden's University of Linkoping and received the Ho Chi Minh Order in 1996 and Phan Chau Trinh Award in 2010.

The Constantin Caratheodory Prize of the International Society of Global Optimization is awarded bi-annually to an individual (or a group) for fundamental contributions to theory, algorithms, and applications of global optimization. The Prize named after mathematician Constantin Caratheodory is awarded for outstanding work that reflects contributions that have stood the test of time. The criteria include scientific excellence, innovation, significance, depth, and impact. Professor Tuy is considered a leader in the field of global optimization with his masterpiece 'Global Optimization - Deterministic Approaches' published in 1990-1996. For official information on the International Society of Global Optimization please visit:

http://isogop.org/?q=node/45.

§ Discussion with Private Company to build Student Dormitories

: On 28th September, I and Dr. Sun Sayamipuk, Head of the Contract Management Office (CMO), met with Mr. Suchart Chaturapitaporn, Managing Director of D K J Construction Co Ltd. Mr. Suchart is keen on exploring the prospects of investing in new student accommodation facilities at AIT, namely 2 dormitories with 160-room fully furnished rooms, proposed in the first stage based on a Built Operate Transfer (BOT) undertaking. A detailed proposal outlining the financing and accommodation type will be developed during the first week of October 2011.

§ Meeting with Oxford Business Group

: On 26th September, I met with Ms. Anne Schlagel, Country Director; Mr. Alex Gordy, Editorial Manager and Mr. Moe Sheikha from the Oxford Business Group, who are in the process of preparing country reports on the future of higher education in Thailand and other countries of Asia.

§ Meeting with Netlink

: On 29th September, I along with Dr. Sun Sayamipuk, Head of the Contract Management Office (CMO), met with Mr. Anurag Shrivastava, CEO of Netlink, and Mr. Puneet Sharma, Vice President of Netlink, regarding the enhancement of Netlink's services and competency, especially in light of the recent IT related problems encountered by members of the AIT community. Netlink has assigned Mr. Anant Dhar, who is the local contact person and will send Mr. Anoop Girdoniya to resolve and upgrade the ERP system this month. On the enhancement and competency issues, Netlink assured us that they would look into it with urgency and upgrade their technical back-up accordingly. Netlink has also offered assistantship and industry interface by offering to engage AIT students in various technical projects. Netlink and AIT will work out the arrangements discussed and finalize the details within this month.

§ Visit of Delegation from the International Academy of Physical Science:

On 26-27 September 2011, we welcomed a delegation from the International Academy of Physical Science led by Prof. P. N. Pandey from Department of Mathematics, University of Allahabad, India. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the organizing of their '15th International Conference of International Academy of Physical Science (CONIAPS XV)' at AIT. Prof. Pandey was accompanied by 3 faculty members from Department of Applied Mathematics and Humanity at the Sadar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) namely Dr. A.K. Shukla, Dr. Dhanajay Gopal Deand Dr. Sushi Kumar.

Prof. Pandey shared with the meeting the expectations from the conference and that this will be the first international conference organized by the Academy outside India. The objective of the conference is to promote interdisciplinary research among basic sciences namely mathematics, physics, chemistry, and earth science. The conference is tentatively planned for 4-7 June 2012. The expected participants of the conference include scientists, academia, private sectors, school teachers and students. I expressed to the delegation AIT's willingness to be involved in organizing the event, and offered to present on a topic related to improving the quality of mathematics education.

The Academy expected to find partner universities located in Thailand to co-organize this event, one being AIT. I urged the delegation to quickly identify the co-organizer as well as to locate source of funding so the preparation of the event may take place. A concept note needs to also be prepared by the Academy to outline the activities and budget. I suggested for the delegation to meet with Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Vice President for Resource Development to seek his help in connecting to the Thai local universities. In this regard, Prof. Worsak kindly offered his full support to the delegation in organizing this event.

On 27 September 2011, the delegation met with Dr. Numyoot Songthanapitak, President of Rajamangala University or Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) and received positive response. There will be further communication among the three institutes in order to identify the role and responsibilities in organizing this event.

Many thanks go to Dr. Nitin K. Tripathi, Associate Dean from SET who helped or arrange this meeting. During the visit, the delegation also met with Dr. Pritam K. Shrestha, Head of External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO), Dr. Zakir Hossain, Senior Program Specialist at AIT Extension and Mr. Bajinder Pal Singh, Senior News and Media Specialist at the Media and Communications Unit (MCU).

Further details on the visit is available at the below link:

http://www.ait.asia/news-and-events/2011/news/international-conference-on-physical-sciences-planned-at-ait/view

§ Workshop on Information and Communications Management for Agricultural Innovation in Southeast Asia

: On 27th September, I delivered a keynote address at the Workshop on Information and Communications Management for Agricultural Innovation in Southeast Asia, which was held at AIT, and organized by AIT in partnership with the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Global Forum on agricultural Research (GFAR).The workshop was specially designed for ICT manager from the National Agricultural and Innovation Systems and Organizations in Southeast Asia, with participants from 22 countries.During my keynote address I highlighted the importance of innovation in the context of changes impacting the agricultural sector and its development, and ways in which AIT and its partners could work jointly in addressing emerging issues and challenges. On behalf of AIT, I would like to thank all our partners for inviting AIT to host this important event, and commend the AIT Extension for the able manner in which they organized the workshop.

§ Academic Senate Meeting

: On 28th September, I attended the Academic Senate (AS), during which I took the opportunity of presenting the proposal on the AS restructuring whereby it would be transformed from a consultative role in all academic matters to a decision-making body in selected academic matters. It will constitute of 5 appointed members per school with the right to vote, with rest of the faculty members having the right to participate. The Chairperson of the AS shall be appointed by the President from amongst the 15 appointed AS members. At the School level, the Academic Council (AC) would be constituted to deal with all academic matters of the school (including academic offering and quality), headed by the Associate Dean responsible to implement the guidelines set by the AS. The decision on approved curriculum of a program would be regularly reported by the AC to the AS, and any deviations from policies would be sent for approval of the AS. The School would decide on the amount of members with a minimum of 5 required (as these represent the School in AS). The AS will discuss my proposal in more detail during a separate meeting and submit its recommendation for my consideration.

§ MoU Signing with the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia:

On 27th September, AIT signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia. From UiTM, Dato' Prof. Ir. Dr. Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, Vice Chancellor/President of UiTM was a signatory. He was accompanied by Prof. Dr. Sohaimi Zakaria, Special Officer to the Vice Chancellor/President.

The purpose of the MoU is to promote international academic cooperation between the two institutes. UiTM considers AIT as a highly suitable place to send their staff and faculty members for human resource development. Apart from AIT, UiTM has educational collaborations with University of Stuttgart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Oxford, Harvard University and the University of Cambridge.

The meeting discussed possible areas for collaboration which include: 1) staff/faculty exchange; 2) master's leading to Ph.D. program; 3) professional master's program; 4) co-training with Thai Islamic Bank. UiTM has had successful training programs on Islamic Banking in Iran and England.

Dato' Prof. Abu Bakar expressed his interest to take part in the activities by the Asian Water Research and Education (AWARE) led by Dr. Mukand S. Babel from Water Engineering and Management field of study. He shared with the meeting that his background is in Water Engineering and, in fact, he was a former student of Prof. Ashim Das Gupta, Emeritus Professor at AIT, over 20 years ago.

I informed the delegation about AIT becoming an intergovernmental institution under the new AIT Charter. Dato' Prof. Abu Bakar offered his full support to AIT and that he would help to communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia to invite its endorsement for the new AIT Charter.

Also joining the meeting were Dr. Bonaventura H.W. Hadikusumo, Associate Dean-SET, Dr. Pritam K. Shrestha, Head of External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO), Mr. Vickrant Gurung, Program Officer at SOM, and Mr. Bajinder Pal Singh, Senior News and Media Specialist from the Media and Communications Unit.

Further details available at the below link:

http://www.ait.asia/news-and-events/2011/news/universiti-teknologi-mara-signs-mou-with-ait/view

§ MoU signing with the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan:

On 30th September, AIT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore Pakistan in the presence of AIT trustee H.E. Mr. Sohail Mahmood, Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand and Prof. Dr. Muhammad Nawaz, Vice Chancellor of UVAS. During the MoU signing, Ambassador Mahmood remarked that the partnership with AIT is very important for Pakistan and that his Government would continue its support to AIT. Ambassador Mahmood expressed his pleasure in having been invited for the MoU signing and thanked AIT for visiting UVAS during our last visit to Pakistan in June 2010, as per his recommendation. Ambassador Mahmood stated that this collaboration will open more avenues to work together and that the Pakistani graduates of AIT will surely contribute in the sustainable development of the country after they return to Pakistan. The Ambassador also added that AIT has always been sensitive to the needs of Pakistan which he greatly appreciated. Ambassador Mahmood was accompanied by Mr. Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Pakistan in Thailand.

The Vice-chancellor of UVAS was accompanied by his wife Prof. Dr. Rakhshanda Nawaz, Head of Chemistry Department, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore and Mr. Syed Sadir Zaidi, Director, MBA Department of UVAS, who also witnessed the MoU signing from UVAS side. The Vice Chancellor expressed his happiness on signing the collaborative agreement with AIT and confident that this would open many more opportunities for partnership especially in the field of life sciences and business administration. Prof. Nawaz added that his meetings at AIT have been very fruitful and he also extended his gratitude for the hospitality received from the faculty members whom he had interacted with and colleagues from the External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO) who organized the program.

Apart from myself, the MoU signing was attended by Dr. Amararatne Yakupitiyage, Acting Dean of School of Environment Resources and Development (SERD); Prof. Athapol Noomhorn, Coordinator of Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FEBT), SERD; Dr. Anil K. Anal, Associate Dean for Research and Outreach and an assistant Professor of FEBT, SERD; who is also a contact person of this MoU from AIT side, Mr. Fazle Karim, Representing AIT Extension; Dr. Pritam K. Shrestha, Head-ERCO who also witnessed the MoU signing; and Ms. Sumana Shrestha, Program Officer, ERCO.

Prior to the MoU signing, the delegation met with Prof. Ganesh P. Shivakoti, Acting Coordinator of Natural Resource Management (NRM), SERD and discussed about the possibilities of collaboration in the fields of NRM and Agribusiness Management.

The delegation also met Dr. Amararatne Yakupitiyage, Acting Dean SERD and Associate Professor of Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AARM), Prof. Athapol Noomhorm, Coordinator of FEBT, SERD, Dr. Wenresti Glino Gallardo, Coordinator of AARM, SERD, Dr. Anil K. Anal of FEBT, SERD and Dr. Lionel Dabbaide, seconded faculty from CIRAD, AARM and discussed about the possible collaboration in the fields of AARM and FEBT. They also met with Dr. Barbara Igel, Dean of School of Management (SOM) and faculty members including Prof. Nazrul Islam, Dr. Rian Beise-Zee, Dr. Winai Wongsurawat, Dr. Varcharapol Sukhotu, Dr. Supasith Chonglerttham, Dr. David Ferguson, and discussed about the possible collaboration in the field of business management including students exchange programs.

Further details on the event is available at the below links:

http://www.ait.asia/news-and-events/2011/news/ait-president-is-a-transformational-leader-pakistan-ambassador/view

http://www.ait.asia/news-and-events/2011/news/pakistan-university-signs-agreement-with-ait/view

§ MoU Signing Ceremony with Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria:

On 30th September, we signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Universitaet Klagenfurt, Austria for the purpose of developing joint academic, research and professional development program. Prof. Hubert Lengauer, Vice Rector for International Relations was the signatory from Klagenfurt. He was accompanied by Dr. Ralph Grossmann, Professor of Organizational Development. Dr. Amrit Bart, Director of AIT Vietnam who has been instrumental in the development of this MoU also participated at the signing ceremony and at meetings with the schools.

During their visit Prof. Lengauer and Dr. Grossmann had discussions with the representative from SOM and SET including Dr. Barbara Igel – Dean of SOM, Dr. Luong Trung Huynh - Associate Professor from ISE, and Ms. Tripti Rajbhandari - Program Officer. Based on the scope of activities under the MoU, Klagenfurt is very interested to work with AIT in developing a 'Management Development Programs', particularly in the Educational Sector. The programs target leaders, executives and experts working in higher education sector in the region. Vietnam is one of the main targets for this program, led by AIT-Vietnam. The meeting also suggested that the program could be tailor-made to the educational/training institutions in Myanmar through AIT's strong networks.

The concept of the 'Management Development Programs' was very positively received by the AIT officials. Dr. Amrit Bart shall provide the first draft of a concept note for Vietnam and this draft will be modified to solicit interest from other likeminded institutions in China and Myanmar.

Further details on the event is available at the below link:

http://www.ait.asia/news-and-events/2011/news/austria2019s-universitaet-klagenfurt-signs-mou/view

§ Meeting with Professor Olof Linden, World Maritime University (WMU), International Maritime Organization (IMO), Malmö, Sweden

: On 27th September I met with Professor Linden and discussed possible collaboration between AIT and WMU, especially in the Coastal Zone Management field similar to AIT's partnership with the World Conservation Union (IUCN). I would like to thank Professor Linden for his offer to kindly link AIT with WMU, and also organize a visit of the Rector of WMU to AIT.

§ President's Open Office

: On 27th September, I had an Open Office, during which I met with several members of the AIT community, and received their views and opinions as well as concerns, and will try and find ways in which we can address them.

§ US Embassy reception

: On 27th September, I participated in the reception hosted by the American Embassy, to welcome Mr. Michael McGee, the new Commercial Counselor at the Embassy. I also briefly interacted with the US Ambassador H.E. Ms. Kristie A Kenney. I took the opportunity to update Mr. McGee on some of AIT's new activities and initiatives and he has expressed keen interest in visiting AIT to discuss possible areas in which we could collaborate.

§ International Conference & Utility Exhibition 2011 on Power and Energy Systems: Issues and Prospects for Asia (ICUE 2011):

On 29th September I joined Mr. Narongsak Kamales, Governor of the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA) in formally opening the International Conference and Utility Exhibition 2011 on Power and Energy Systems: Issues and Prospects for Asia (ICUE 2011) which took place at the Amari Orchid Hotel in Pattaya City. ICUE 2011 is the 2nd international conference collaboration between AIT and PEA. The event also received the endorsement from the Royal Thai Government to be part of the "Celebrations for the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on 5 December 2011".

The opening session was graced by, Dr. Sumet Tantivejakul, Secretary-General of the Chaipattana Foundation, who gave a plenary speech on His Majesty's energy-related projects geared for the sustainable development of Thailand. I and Mr. Narongsak awarded the plaque of appreciation and conference souvenir to Dr. Sumet after his plenary speech. The opening session also welcomed distinguished guests and keynote speakers: Prof. Saifur Rahman (Virginia Tech., USA), Mr. Chen Fangzeng (Executive Vice-President of Shanghai Municipal Electricity Power Company, SMEPC – China), and Prof. Sri Niwas Singh (Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur – India).

I also handed out plaques of appreciations to conference sponsors: a.) Consortium of Italian-Thai Development Project, PSI AG, Dataradio, and Dawei Development Co. Ltd; b.) Mie Prefecture, Japan; c.) Thai Precise; d.) Cellenium Thailand; e.) Schneider Thailand; and f.) WADE Thai.

ICUE 2011, a 3-day event, was attended by more than 280 delegates from the academe, energy research organizations, power utilities and private energy businesses in the region. Company exhibitions and booth displays were also provided by conference sponsors. The conference was highlighted by 4 keynote speakers from the academe and power utilities, and 75 paper presentations from 20 different countries across the globe. The conference was co-organized by AIT through the Regional Energy Resources Information Center (RERIC) of the Energy Field of Study.

I delivered the welcome remarks during which I touched upon some of the critical issues in Asia vis-à-vis the unsustainable levels of consumption, especially given that closeto 1 billion people in Asia lack access to modern form of energy which is essential in meeting the MDGs, and its impact of energy security related issues, and urgent need to meet the demand of energy is a timely and sustainable way, with the aim of building resilient societies, whose demands can be met through different energy forms.

Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, Dean SERD and Conference Director also delivered remarks at the event, and several AIT colleagues are part of the organizing committee, namely Professor Worsak, Professor S. Kumar, Dr. P. Abdul Salam, Dr. Charles O. P. Marpaung and Dr. Jai Govind Singh. Mr. Narongsak Kamales, Governor PEA Thailand delivered the commencing remarks while Dr. Sumet Tantivejakul, Secretary General, Chairpersons of the Chaipattana Foundation was the plenary speaker. During the event I had opportunity to talk in length with Dr. Sumet and briefed on developments at AIT and also sought his advice and inputs on some our planned initiatives.

I would like to congratulate and commend Dr. Weerakorn and colleagues from AIT on the organization of this important and timely event which is of great relevance and importance for Thailand and the region.

§ Interaction with Board of Investment (BOI) Thailand

: At the invitation of Mr. Peter Bjork, Executive Director, Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce, I participated in the luncheon with Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit, Deputy Secretary General of the Board of Investment (BOI) Thailand, which was hosted by the Scandinavian, Benelux and Swiss chambers of commerce in Thailand at the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel. Ms. Duangjai give us an update from the BOI and present an outlook and priorities for foreign investment in Thailand. I took the opportunity to raise the issue of work visas for non-Thai graduates, who could help meet the skilled manpower needs of the country, internship opportunities that could be provided by the BOI for AIT students, as well as suggestion to look at the total carbon footprint vis-à-vis the tax incentives being provided by BOI to companies operating in certain sectors, so as to engage the different sectors in efforts to reduce the carbon footprint and foster cross-sector collaboration.

§ News from the Sponsored & Contracted Projects Unit

: Dr C Visvanathan Professor in Environmental Engineering and Management field of study/SERD successfully received a Research grant of THB 2,117,969 from Asian Development Bank (ADB). The project involves the implementation of the second phase of the 3R Knowledge Hub, extend and augment the functions of 3RKH, compile and enrich 3R Knowledge packages, review of recycling technologies, networking with partners, regional institutes and organizations. The project duration is for 1 year from 1 October 2011.

Prof. Sivanappan Kumar Professor Energy field of Study/SERD successfully received a Research grant of THB 725,000 from Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), Japan. The project is titled "Indicators for Low Carbon Green growth". The duration of the Project is for 10 months from 1 September 2011 and aims to examine i) the key issues and challenges in reducing GHG emissions without adversely affecting economic growth, ii) assesses the scope and merits of current pledges, programs, strategies and institutions and provide recommendations for a new, low carbon growth paradigm and iii) develop an effective policy framework based on the principles of equity, market orientation and regional cooperation to speed up transition towards a low carbon Asia.

Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, Associate Professor Energy Field of Study and Dean SERD successfully received a Research grant of THB 280,000 from the World Alliance for THAI Decentralized Energy Association (WADE THAI). The project titled "Conduct, development reporting and Training activities: Smart Grid Simulation Modeling in Thailand". The project duration is for 15 months from 22 September 2011 and aims to i) design and develop a smart grid simulation model in Thailand, ii) gather and verify current extensive data using as inputs to the simulation model, iii) conduct quantitative analyses of Electricity generation, transmission & distribution network in a pilot project in Thailand and iv) conduct of the training-workshops.

The AIT Extension will conduct the following training program:

-"Data Collection analysis and dissemination of Health information" sponsored by WHO.  The project will be from 03 October 2011 to 19 January 2012, and has a budget of THB 410,001.

-"Capacity enhancement program on: Civic education MOE Sri Lanka "sponsored by MOE, Sri Lanka.  The project will be from 10 October2011 to 30 December 2011 December, and has a budget of THB 487,200.

-"Public Financial Management "sponsored by Ministry of Local Development Nepal. The project will be from 12 October2011 to 19 January 2012, and has a budget of THB 702,012.

I congratulate and wish them all success in their respective projects.

§ AIT Student Union Organized Mini-Olympics

: I would like to commend Mr. Avishek K. Karky, President of the AIT Student Union and his team members, on the excellent manner in which the Mini-Sport Event was organized on 30th September 2011, with the active participation of students, staff and faculty members. I would like to congratulate all the winners of the different events and also thank all those who participated. I took part in the football match between the AIT President's team and the students, and I am delighted that we were able to finally win over the students for a change!

§ Mission to Japan

: I am currently in Kyoto, Japan, attending the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum 2011, and will also be meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Japan. I shall report on the outcomes of my Japan visit through next week's letter.

§ Quote of the Week

: This week's quote is from Steve Wozniak, who said the following "The only way to come up with something new – something world-changing – is to think outside of the constraints everyone else has. You have to think outside of the artificial limits everyone else has already set." Stephen Larry "Woz" Wozniak (born August 11, 1950) is an American computer engineer and programmer who founded Apple Computer, Co. (now Apple Inc.) with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne. Wozniak created the Apple I and Apple II computers in the mid-1970s, which contributed significantly to the microcomputer revolution of that era.

Wish you a pleasant week ahead.

Sincerely,

Said Irandoust (from Kyoto)

President

Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)