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)
