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)
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)
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