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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