Questions and Answers about Laureate and AIT - Matichon Newspaper and AIT President

1.      Would you clarify what the new strategic for AIT-Laureate partnership?

Before providing clarification on the exploration of a potential AIT-Laureate partnership, which was initiated and is guided by the AIT Board of Trustees, it is important to put in perspective, the reasons behind why AIT is exploring a new funding model (NFM).

Asia's success has profoundly altered the issues of the day, and the challenges that AIT must tackle. The entire landscape of higher education and research within Asia and in the globe has changed. When AIT was established in 1959, the region was completely different. AIT was one of the very few, if not the only institute of higher learning in the region which focused on a developmental and capacity building mission at advanced level for the region. It more or less enjoyed a monopoly.

Today, the political environment and context in which AIT was shaped and existed has radically changed. Change is not just a challenge, but also a source of inspiration and opportunity. Compared to a situation where AIT was the only one enjoying a monopoly in this sector, it is now confronted with a scenario in which many nations in the immediate neighborhood are actively inviting top international universities to establish campuses in the country.

AIT's new Charter will further accord the Institute full-fledged international organization status, thus enabling the Institute to take on a much stronger and proactive regional as well as global role into the future, together with its partners. The Charter is recognition of AIT as a regional international platform for collaboration in areas of higher education, research, capacity building and outreach. It is rather a legal model, but not a financial model. It invites countries and international organizations to collaborate using AIT as a platform. The Charter defines the vision and role of AIT and provides a legal framework for it. Combined with a financing / funding model, it will be very powerful.

Economically developed countries are reducing aid as the countries in Asia cross the GDP threshold. Into the future it is likely that they will entirely leave, shifting their development focus to regions such as Africa and other parts of the world, or significantly reduce their level of support to the region which AIT currently serves. Developmental aid into the future will be increasingly provided by emerging economic powers of Asia such as: China, India, and some of the Middle-eastern countries etc.  However, these countries are likely to utilize their own national universities and institutions for such developmental related activities and projects.

Since Asia is changing, AIT which is an Asian Institute of Technology must also change. AIT's financing / funding model must reflect the changing times, and it has to be able to move from the donorship model to a partnership one. The previous model worked well earlier, but not anymore. We have to respond quickly to the needs of the market. If we do not, others will take our role and place. Those organizations which can respond faster to needs emerge as winners. The ability to respond to market needs will be very important. I refer to AIT as a flexible institute. AIT must therefore be much better equipped than other universities and institutions in responding to changes in a timely manner, since unlike other national universities / institutions, AIT lacks core funding.

Professor Milton E. Bender Jr. first President of AIT back in 1964 already knew that "year-to-year direct grants by the various member countries could not continue indefinitely," and suggested that the future of the Institute could be assured "by an endowment that would cover all costs except scholarships, which would be sought on an annual basis from governments, foundations, industry etc.". Given the change in the donor and higher learning landscape, it is apparent that AIT cannot sustain itself under the current funding model from 1959, and therefore it is imperative that the Institute develops a new financing / funding model that can sustain it into the long term.

Work on the new funding model was initiated by the Board, as a means to complement the new AIT Charter, which unlike other international organizations, did not include a clause on core or obligatory funding. All contributions are on a totally voluntary basis.

With the above in mind the Board over the past 3 years has been looking at different options. As a first option, request for core funding was made to all of AIT's partner governments, with a special note if Thailand, as AIT's host country could take the lead. The alumni were also invited to submit a proposal along with a financing scheme, and in addition the Board also endorsed the exploration of the engagement of strategic private investor(s) for possible implementation of the "satellite campus model" which was recommended by an external independent assessment.

Similar to the "Satellite Campus Model" which AIT has been discussing over the past few years, the University of Central Lancashire (UClan) has announced the setting up of a full-fledged private university in Thailand by 2014, in partnership with a local private entrepreneur. Students at the University of Central Lancashire have the possibility to register to the university's undergraduate and postgraduate programmers in almost twenty countries on the globe, in Europe, Africa, Asia, the middle-East and the USA. In some of the partnerships, students have the possibility to study an entire programmer of studies, for instance a Bachelor from Year 1 to Year 3 included, and thus graduate from the university, without being physically at the UK campus. The new campus will initially be home to 800 students with a planned capacity of 5000 in ten years.

The prime reason behind the "exploration of a new funding model" is to ensure the sustainability of AIT so that it could continue to impart, along with its partners, its development mandate in an effective manner. The ideal condition would be for AIT to secure core funding from its partner governments. However, under the current donor landscape and internationalization of higher education efforts by countries themselves, it is unlikely that AIT will be able to secure the needed funding. Partner governments will continue their engagement and have assured AIT that they would move more into a project mode and support specific initiatives but not in the form of a "core grant". During my travels accompanying H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman of the Board, to several of our partner countries and meetings with high-ranking officials, the message has been clear that AIT has to get ready and prepare itself for significant reductions in donor money.

However, it is important to add that we have been successful and are actively exploring all possible avenues, such as engagement in post-conflict countries and those in transition, namely Afghanistan, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, North Korea etc. 50 Afghan students under World Bank and other funding is expected to join AIT this year which could increase to 100 by next year, and we are likewise discussing the enrolment of 120 students from Myanmar over the next 3 years.

However, such initiative will not provide for needed funds for the maintenance and upgrade of the AIT main campus, investment in new knowledge areas, building a sufficiently large endowment that could provide scholarships to academically excellent but financially needy students, and in the fulfillment of AIT's ambitions to have a greater presence in the region through the "satellite campus model".

Any strategic option in terms of a new funding model which is eventually chosen must ensure that AIT will be financially attractive and sustainable. The aim must be to develop a new funding model that can achieve among others the following:

# Generate funds for the upgrade of the academic and non-academic facilities of the AIT main campus,
# Scaling up of AIT's operations in a number of targeted countries through the establishment of "satellite campuses", # Investment in new knowledge areas, # Scholarships for needy students, and
# Building up of a strong AIT endowment

With the above in mind, the AIT Board of Trustees, considered the different options and strategies to ensure the future long-term financial sustainability of AIT, and the need for a capital injection and authorized and instructed the Executive Committee to proceed in exploring three options:

1.      Continue at the current level of operations or status quo since all the possibilities under it may not yet have been exhausted;
2.      Pursue with the relevant Governments and explore the extent to which they can provide funding (in appropriate proportions), and the terms of that funding and the times at which it could be made available; and
3.      To enter concurrently into strategic discussions with potential specialized investor(s) as to the terms and conditions on which they would be prepared to operate AIT, and to enter into appropriate non- binding letters of agreement.

It is in the context of item 3 that AIT has been in contact with Laureate International Universities over two years and currently exploring a strategic collaboration, under the guidance of the Board.

2.      Does Laureate International Universities plan to invest 41 million USD in upgrading AIT's main campus?

This is not true.

Neither AIT nor Laureate, have made any commitment regarding a potential partnership, which will need to be decided by the new AIT Council. The ongoing discussions with Laureate International Universities, is mainly to define the broad parameters of a potential partnership, and that there is no commitment made whatsoever. In parallel, we are also exploring other funding options including possible support from governments, and through them availing of soft-loans from multilateral funding agencies. The Board has also invited the alumni to present an alternate proposal. In the end, it will be up to the new AIT Council, to make a decision and choose the best option for AIT.

AIT has been working with independent external consultants and legal advisors to represent and protect AIT's interests. All decisions will be carefully vetted and there are certain things on which we will not compromise, namely:

•         Mission and intergovernmental status
•         Commitment to research and outreach activities
•         Academic quality control
•         New initiatives will carry the AIT name and convey AIT mission and DNA

3.      What the strategic options in terms of forming strong alliances?

Please refer to above answers and Q&A and H.E. Dr. Tej's response.
Any strategic option in terms of a new funding model which is eventually chosen must ensure that AIT will be financially attractive and sustainable. The aim must be to develop a new funding model that can achieve among others the following:

# Generate funds for the upgrade of the academic and non-academic facilities of the AIT main campus,
# Scaling up of AIT's operations in a number of targeted countries through the establishment of "satellite campuses", # Investment in new knowledge areas, # Scholarships for needy students, and
# Building up of a strong AIT endowment

A strengthened AIT, under its new legal standing and position as an International Intergovernmental Organization, can further help promote host country Thailand's ambitions of becoming a regional educational hub.

4.      What about the status of AIT's staffs and employee after AIT board approved the new partnership, does Laureate int'l control them?

Under any new funding model, AIT will remain an independent, not-for-profit, autonomous organization under its intergovernmental status, and the status of AIT employees will be within such a framework. Any possible partnership must be a strategic one that is based on a mutually win-win principle. Discussions are not on taking over but potential strategic partnership and alliance.

5.      How would you address about the tuition fees for the new plan?

This question is premature since we have yet to define the broad parameters of a potential partnership, and there is no commitment made whatsoever.

Please refer to above answers and Q&A and H.E. Dr. Tej's response.

In addition, the tuition fees depends on many factors, the type of programs, mode of delivery, target students i.e. whether from developing countries or private and public sectors among other factors. One of the key aims of any new funding model has to be to provide full scholarships to academically bright but financially needed students from the region and beyond, which was one of the main and noble reasons for AIT being created.

6.      Do you have new plan for bachelor degree?

The AIT Board of Trustees as part of its "AIT Strategy 2013" for the first time in its history decided and embarked on a limited number of programs at the undergraduate level, at its main campus, and innovative forms of integrated bachelors and masters degrees, as well as two-stage bachelors programs, with its institutional partners in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to start with.

Undergraduate programs serve as a feeder mechanism for graduate programs, and will also help in subsidizing the much more costly graduate programs.

The target is foreign students, which is highly beneficial for AIT's host country Thailand, since some of those students would also chose Thai universities, to further pursue their masters and later doctoral studies.

7.      AIT alumni association (Thailand) concern after the new charter AIT will change to an international organization, what do you have comments?

At the outset, I wish to state that the majority of the AIT alumni from Thailand and all other parts of the world support and have actively been pursuing with their respective governments, in enlisting their countries as signatories to the new Charter, and in the ratification process.

The processing of the new AIT Charter was initially done by the Executive Committee and after several iterations submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand through the AIT Board. However, the whole process of drafting the new AIT Charter had to literally be restarted from scratch under an intergovernmental process led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand, with the engagement of AIT's partner governments. The final version of the new AIT Charter was considered by all the governments, and a number of governments including Thailand, adopted and signed it on 25 August 2010.  In accordance with the law of "International Law" the category under which the new AIT Charter falls into, and as stipulated in new Charter, it will enter in force on 30th January 2012, since the 5th country had already deposited its instrument of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand.

The new AIT Charter will greatly help AIT in terms of its ability and capacity to serve as a neutral platform for its host country Thailand and other partners, and enable it to take on stronger and proactive regional as well as global role into the future.

AIT attaining international and intergovernmental status will also add to the prestige and influence of host country Thailand, especially in the context of the regional integration in the ASEAN.

Letter from AIT President, Tue, 24 Jan 2012

§ AIT celebrates 116th Graduation Ceremony

: Three months to the day its campus was completely flooded, forcing the large-scale evacuation of all students, faculty, staff and residents, AIT celebrated its 116th Graduation Ceremony on 21 January 2012. On behalf of all members of AIT, I would like congratulate all our graduands and wish them the very best in their future careers.

A total of 243 students from 25 countries representing Asia, Africa, Europe and South America were conferred with graduate degrees at the ceremony held at the National Science and Technology Development Agency's (NSTDA) Convention Center at Thailand Science Park, adjacent to the AIT campus in Pathumthani province.

The ceremony was graced by Ms. Margareta Wahlstrom, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Disaster Risk Reduction, as the graduation speaker. Members of the AIT Board of Trustees, AIT Alumni Association, high-ranking officials, and special dignitaries joined the proceedings.

Prior to the official program, attendees observed one minute of silence to honor the memory of Mr. Sandeep Kalita, our student from AIT's School of Management who tragically passed away on January 5. During the ceremony we also announced that a  posthumous degree will be conferred on Mr. Sandeep Kalita and that an academic award will also be instituted in his name. The AIT Alumni Association (AITAA) President Mr. Chawalit Chantararat, Executive Director, Team Group, and Mr. Somen Choudhury, who graduated with top honors from the Executive MBA Program of the School of Management, also delivered remarks during the ceremony.

Professor Ricardo P. Pama, former AIT Vice President also attended the ceremony along with his wife, and their daughter was also one of the graduands. Professor Pama, who is currently serving as the President of the University of the Cordilleras, also had discussions with colleagues at AIT, on the implementation of the partnership between AIT and his university.

The links to the news on the graduation ceremony featured on the AIT website is available below:

http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2012/news/jan/ait-celebrates-116th-graduation-three-months-after-flood-devastates-campus/view

http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2012/news/address-by-ait-president-prof-said-irandoust-at-aits-116th-graduation-ceremony-21-january-2012/view

§ Dual degree graduation ceremony with Polytech'Nice-Sophia

: Following the AIT graduation ceremony, three newly graduated students from the Water Engineering and Management Field of Study, namely Ms. Nisuchcha, Mr. Dibesh and Mr. Kunjan, received their other Master degree from the hands of Prof. Philippe Gourbesville, Director of Polytech'Nice-Sophia, the engineering school of the University of Nice. The three students are the first batch who had the opportunity to enroll in the dual Master degree program between both Institutions. The students also received a scholarship of the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, French Regional Cooperation at AIT for their mobility to France. This special ceremony was organized with the Institute's management, our Board Chairman, Dr. Tej Bunnag, and some of our VIP guests, in particular our guests speaker, Ms. Margareta Wahlström is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. AITAA President, Mr. Chawalit Chantararat also joined the event. The parents of the students were invited to attend.

We are thankful for the continuous support of Polytech'Nice-Sophia, and are looking to expand our cooperation at the PhD level and for research projects that would be particularly relevant within the context of the AWARE (Asian Water Research and Education) Center of Excellence. Through the ICT-Asia research program of the French MOFA involving already both Institutes and others in the region, Prof. Philippe Gourbesville expressed his wish to organize a conference at AIT that would deal with floods modeling and could involve our Thai partners.

§ AIT new Charter-Submission of Instrument of Ratification by Bangladesh and Nepal

: I am pleased to report that the "Instruments of Ratification" by the Government of Bangladesh and Nepal, signed by H.E. Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh and Prime Minister of Nepal H.E. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai on 24th and 19th January 2012 respectively have been received by their embassies. Bangladesh submitted its instrument of ratification to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand today, while Nepal will be making their submission tomorrow. This will make Bangladesh the 6th and Nepal 7th country to have ratified and they will join Sweden, Japan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of the new Council.

I would like to thank our alumni in Bangladesh and Nepal, who have been so instrumental throughout the entire process, and for the very dedicated and committed manner in which they have pursued this important undertaking. Our sincere thanks also to all our partners in Bangladesh and Nepal, and the Ambassadors of Bangladesh and Nepal and their Embassies, for the valuable support and assistance they have rendered. The Governments of Bangladesh and Nepal were represented by their respective Ambassadors, who also serve as AIT trustees, in the intergovernmental deliberations on the new AIT Charter.

I

§ nteraction between Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag and AIT faculty

: On Monday, 23rd January 2012, H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman of the Board, at the invitation of the Faculty Representative Dr. Manukid Parnichkun, had an informal interaction session with a group of faculty members. At the request of Dr. Tej, the Chairman of the Executive Committee Mr. Jean-Pierre Verbiest and I also joined the meeting.

Dr. Tej provided a historical perspective on affiliation and eventual engagement with AIT, starting from when he was Ambassador of Thailand to France, discussions with former US Ambassador to Thailand and AIT trustee John Gunther Dean about AIT issues, major impact on AIT due to Thailand having "graduated" according to OECD and no longer being eligible to receive direct foreign investment (FDA) since 1996, being brought into the AIT Executive Committee by H.E. Mr. Anand Panyarachun, former Prime Minister of Thailand and former Chairman of the AIT Board, and appointment as Chairman of the AIT Board by acclamation in 2005. He made reference to the financial crisis AIT was facing when he took over as Chairman, reform and austerity measures AIT had to put in place and hard work and efforts on the part of the management and community members, which helped reverse the financial situation. Given AIT's legal ambiguity and being treated more as a Thai university, Dr. Tej explained that efforts to develop a new Charter for AIT and funding model, to attract cooperation and assistance was already considered during H.E. Mr. Anand Panyarachun's chairmanship, and later on pursued by him and the current administration.

In relation to the new AIT Charter Dr. Tej explained that the initial drafting of the new AIT Charter was done by the Executive Committee for consideration and endorsement by the Board however certain ambassadorial trustees viewed it that the Board is not in the position to work on the Charter and after several iterations the Board's version of the new Charter was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand. However, he added that the whole process of drafting the new AIT Charter had to literally be restarted from scratch under an intergovernmental process led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand, with the engagement of AIT's partner governments with AIT invited only as observer in the deliberation. He explained that the final version of the new AIT Charter was considered by all the governments, and a number of governments including Thailand, adopted and signed it on 25 August 2010.  Dr. Tej stated that in accordance with the law of "International Law" the category under which the new AIT Charter falls into, and as stipulated in new Charter, it will enter in force on 30th January 2012, since the 5th country had already deposited its instrument of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand. He also confirmed that the current AIT Board of Trustees would cease to exist on 30th January 2012. On the query regarding representatives to the new Council, I informed the meeting that India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have confirmed that their representatives on the new Council would be their respective Ambassadors to Thailand, while feedback is awaited from Sweden, Japan and Nepal.

As AIT's host country, Dr. Tej explained that although the Minister of Foreign Affairs Thailand signed the Charter, Thailand has yet to ratify, and explained the processes in relation to the ratification process by Thailand, new Enabling Act and Headquarters Agreement. Dr. Tej remarked that he has done his utmost to protect and promote the interest of AIT and in the context of the new Charter, been actively pursuing this matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand, at all levels, and also referred to his and my meeting with the new Foreign Minister. Dr. Tej explained that ideally AIT should be placed under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand, and that he has always advocated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand should look after AIT, and also the budget of AIT, and that he had also raised this matter with new Foreign Minister.

Dr. Tej remarked that it was still quite problematic with Thailand not having ratified, and mentioned that he would be putting forward a recommendation to the new Council through the Board that no decision regarding the core interests of AIT be taken unless Thailand is on Board as a new Council member. He went to state that he would also recommend that the new AIT Council convene as soon as possible and take certain decisions such as adopt and amend as necessary the new bye-laws, which does not necessarily mean that it has to be done at the first meeting, because the first draft of the new bye-laws are still under preparation.

In relation to the selection and search process of a new President, Dr. Tej explained that I had already informed him of my intention not to seek an extension, more than half a year ago, and that since we already have a president in office, the new AIT Council could take this matter up further. On the role of the Academic Senate, Dr. Tej concurred that it is an important structure of the Institute, and confident that the new Council would give due consideration to its role and functions.

I also took the opportunity to once again reaffirm that I had no intention to continue as president beyond my current term which comes to an end on 30th June 2013, and also that in my report to the last meeting of the AIT Board of Trustees meeting on 30th January 2012 put forward a recommendation that the search process should be initiated at the earliest. In line with Dr. Tej's recommendation, I have also put forward my personal recommendation that the new Council should make all efforts to try and ensure that Thailand as AIT's host country is on board the new Council at the earliest, following the ratification by the Parliament. In this regard, I have mentioned that work on strategic initiatives could continue, and be prepared for consideration and final decision by the new Council, when Thailand is officially a member of the new Council.

In relation to the role and engagement of the faculty in the drafting of the bye-laws and headquarters agreement, Dr. Tej clarified that this is a matter for consideration by the new AIT Council, and that he was in agreement that different stakeholders should be consulted during the process.

In relation to the exploration of a new funding model Dr. Tej explained that although AIT has been able to build up its reserves over the years, they are meager, in the context of post-flood investments that would be required, and for an organization like AIT. He explained that Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are becoming common in higher education worldwide and also increasingly in Thailand, citing examples from Chulalongkorn University and his personal experience with Khon Kaen University. In the context of AIT he mentioned that the aim has been to try and make the Institute financially viable and sustainable. Given the connotation of "private" and "privatization" he explained that it was decided to use the term new financial model (NFM) instead of PPP. He added that whole process has been a transparent one, and explained that the Executive Committee has been leading this initiative over the past few years, and considering a new funding model, and not just the Laureate International Universities. Mr. Jean-Pierre Verbiest, Chairman of the Executive Committee remarked that the different financing options are still under investigation, including support from partner governments, which would be the ideal option, and explained that the discussions with Laureate, were mainly to define the broad parameters of a potential partnership, and that there is no commitment made whatsoever.

On the issue of rumors and possible investigation into them Dr. Tej and Mr. Verbiest, both explained that all matters are pursued thoroughly by the Executive Committee which has professionals from academe, finance and legal backgrounds, and a highly professional and competent Audit Committee which vets all financial matters before they are presented to the Executive Committee and Board. They emphasized that the governance and administrative hierarchy, roles and responsibilities must be adhered to, and that there are well established processes. Mr. Verbiest added that vis-à-vis governance there must be a mechanism in place to put forward issues that are well evidenced and documented, follows a process, has a quorum, based on which decisions could be taken on them. Dr. Tej considered all matters as being open and transparent, accessible and well archived and did not view it as necessary to take any further steps. In addition, Dr. Tej viewed the administration as being open and transparent and in this context acknowledged that he personally found the "President's Weekly Letters' very useful and informative.

In concluding Dr. Tej remarked that he has always tried to do his best for AIT, and since he will be leaving AIT on 30th January 2012, took the occasion to thank all faculty members for their cooperation, contribution and loyalty to AIT. He added that AIT has a proud legacy having lasted for more than 50 years and confident and hopeful that it would last for more than 50 years into the future as well.

Since I was invited by Dr. Tej to the meeting, I have only highlighted some of the salient points of what he mentioned during the discussions. The official record of the meeting will be prepared by the Faculty Representative and disseminated in due course.

§ Last Meeting of Executive Committee

: On 16th January 2012 we had the last meeting of the Executive Committee which was chaired by Mr. Jean-Pierre Verbiest and attended by Mr. Maris Samaram, Khunying Jada Wattanasiritham, Mr. John Hancock. Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Vice President for Resource Development and Professor I. M. Pandey, Vice President for Academic Affairs attended as invitees and Professor Pandey, who has recently joined AIT, was accorded a warm welcome to his first meeting along with new members Mr. Ambassador Hideaki Kobayashi, former Ambassador of Japan to Thailand and Mr. Chawalit Chantararat, new President of the AIT Alumni Association (AITAA).

The Executive Committee viewed the Q&A which I took part in based on the concerns from the AlT Student Union, Faculty, Staff and Alumni, which was compiled by the Media and Communications Unit (MCU) as being very comprehensive, and recommended that this material, which provides the basic building blocks, be used to develop tailor made and targeted communications, to the AIT community, governments, partner institutions, alumni.  This was also viewed as important for purposes of the negotiations on AIT's headquarters agreement with the Government of Thailand, for which strong support would be needed. The Executive Committee also recommended the engagement of a professional PR firm that could assist AIT in its communication strategies.

The "Q&A" can be read at this link.

http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2012/news/Q-A.AITPresident.pdf

The Executive Committee considered the AIT main campus recovery, restoration and upgrading plans, prior to the review and endorsement of the proposed 2012 budget. The Executive Committee granted preliminary approval of the 2012 budget, which will be submitted incorporating some additional comments made at the meeting, for further consideration by the Board.

The Executive Committee also recommended for further consideration by the Board, to transmit from the current Chairman of the Board to the new Council, certain transitionary steps as recommendations the new AIT Council, which will be presented to the Board at its meeting on 30th January 2012.

Mr. Jean-Pierre Vebiest, Chairman of the Executive Committee expressed his thanks and appreciation to all members of the Executive for their valuable contributions and also the secretariat for its efficient support to the Committee. I also took the opportunity to express on behalf of AIT, his gratitude to all members of the Executive Committee, for their distinguished contributions made to AIT, adding that they will be remembered in the annals of AIT's history for many important and strategic initiatives which they have spearheaded.

§ Reflections on Role of President and Academic Senate

: Reflecting on the discussions we had during the informal interaction session between the Chairman of the Board and faculty members, I would like to share some of my views and perspectives on the role of the President and also Academic Senate. Unlike in the past when AIT was heavily supported by 10 or so key donor countries, given the changed landscape of higher education and funding pattern, in the present context, we need to maintain relations with significantly larger pool of partners. Therefore, fundraising cannot just be the sole responsibility of the President, and many universities have large fundraising offices, that are heavily staffed and funded. Fundraising in successful university  nowadays involves all members of the university, supported by the fundraising office or unit, and not dependent on the President alone. I view the major role of the President of that being to provide strategic direction within the overall framework, vision and guidance of the Board.

When it comes to the Academic Senate, I believe that the task, composition and working principles of the Academic Senate vary quite a lot between higher education institutions. The variations occur mainly due to the size and academic homogeneity of the institution: the bigger the institution and the more heterogenic the academic offering (e.g. Medicine, IT, Sciences, Management…), the more specific and strategic the role of the Senate while the size of the Senate becomes smaller. The logic behind this is that the larger the institution is, the larger its units (e.g. schools) are, whereby the units have their own "academic senates" or, in smaller units "the management team" to address unit-specific and practical matters while the institute-wide Senate addresses more strategic and policy-level issues. In such cases the institute-wide Senate is comprised of selected unit-representatives and all units do not necessarily have their own representative. In such cases, the representatives selected to the Senate have to be able to at all times address issues from an institute-wide perspective and not protect the interests of their own unit.

In some institutions the task of the Senate has been split into two: one senate for Educational matters and one for Research. If such splits have been made on institutional level, in some cases the senate of units has been organized in the same manner. This division has its advantages and disadvantages. The main upside is that the matters addressed are very focused and deal with only the educational/research dimension of the institutions activities, hence enabling the easier selection of representatives. The disadvantage is the actual division of education and research into two different bodies, while the day-to-day activities usually form a coherent entity which cannot and should not be separated and hence should be treated as one.

In many institutions, both the chairman and members of the senate are appointed by the President. In many cases the "VPAA" is the chairman of the Senate. In the cases where there are a separate Senates for Education and one for Research, "VPA" and "VPR" act as chairmen in corresponding bodies.

The number of members in the Senate varies between 10-20 representatives, depending on the size of the institution. All representatives are appointed and also have their vice-representatives for situations wherein the appointee is unable to fulfill his duties. This constitutes the key element and requirement of accountability of the Senate, which is a prerequisite for enabling it to act as a potential decision-making body. In most cases the representatives are expected to represent the top of their academic field in order to be able to fulfill the strategic role a Senate could and should have. Normally, only Faculty have been allowed as representatives, not staff or students, again with the motivation of accountability.

Regarding the tasks of the Senate, in all institutions the Senate is at least an advisory body with regards to strategic guidelines, policies and recommendations with the decisions being made (based on the recommendations and guidelines) by either the Board or the President, depending on the issue. In some cases the Senate is also a decision-making body, e.g. in certain issues pertaining to scholarships, graduation and granting of project funding. When such financial powers have been granted to the Senate, the financial authority and framework has on a yearly basis been approved through the annual planning and budgeting process by the Board, after which the Senate is responsible for operative allocation of the funds based on given strategic guidelines. Moreover, in all cases, the Senate has a key role in matters regarding quality: policy, principles, evaluations, development, coordination etc. In many institutions this role has been seen as the most important of all roles of the institute-wide Senate in order to enhance development and distribution of best practices and avoid unit-specific sub-optimization.

§ Meeting with Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, former Korean faculty & President of AIT Alumni Association

: On 21 January 2012, I along with Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe Director Fundraising and Mr. Nabeel Bokhari Program Officer Fundraising Office had a dinner meeting with Mr. Won Sup Park Minister & Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Republic of Korea, Professor Seung Hwan Lee Professor / Director Environmental Research Center, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology; AIT former faculty  and Dr. Woo Ha Park, K-water specialist to Provincial Waterworks Authority, K water and also an AIT alumnus. Also present at the meeting was Mr. Chawalit Chantararat, AITAA Mother Chapter President and Managing Director TEAM Consulting Engineering and Management Company Ltd, along with his Assistant Mr. Natee Yanpirat. The purpose of the meeting was to update Mr. Park regarding the post flood activities; AIT's current initiatives and also receive the contribution of USD 20,118 from the 39 Korean alumni towards the AIT Flood Emergency Fund for cleansing and rehabilitation of the AIT mother campus.

I took this opportunity to update Mr. Park and colleagues on the current status of the AIT New Charter which is going to be in affect from 30 January 2012. I informed till now we have 17 countries and 1 UN organization, who have signed the new charter and as at present 7 countries have ratified and 6 countries have submitted the instruments of ratification to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Thailand. I also took this opportunity to invite the Republic of Korea to consider becoming one of the signatory and Minister Park would communicate with Korean MOFA on AIT request and get back to me with their response. I also informed Mr. Park and the other attendees that Republic of Korea could consider AIT as a neutral platform for capacity building for their own people as well as for post conflict countries through sponsored projects.

 We also discussed the idea of AIT having a bigger presence in Korea by way of a campus in the future and all of them welcomed the idea. As informed by Prof. Lee, Republic of Korea has a designated area for foreign universities to establish their own campuses and through the Embassy and alumni network Prof. Lee and has agreed to follow up on the possible AIT satellite campus in Korea.

 Prof. Lee suggested that I, together with Mr. Jayasinghe visit Korea to have a face to face discussion with the Alumni residing in Korea to update them about the current initiatives that AIT has initiated and to discuss this new initiative would be welcomed. I have requested Mr. Sanjeev to follow up on arranging a possible visit to Korea in the near future.

I would like to thank Mr. Park, Prof. Lee, Dr. Park and Mr. Chawalit, AITAA President for spearing his time to be with us and for the lively discussion. I would once again thank the AITAA Korea Chapter for their generous support during this difficult period and also thank Mr. Jayasinghe and his team for initiating this occasion.

§ European ASEAN Business Center (EABC) launch

: On 17 January, I was invited to attend to the launch of the EABC, hosted by its President Mr. Rolf-Dieter Daniel, Managing Director of Staedtler (Thailand) and presided over by H.E. Ambassador David Lipman, the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Prime Minister H.E. Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra. More than 300 European and Thai business executives, diplomats and government representatives graced the launch event at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Hotel. The European ASEAN Business Centre (EABC) is a European Trade Organization situated in Bangkok Thailand with an objective to contribute to the improvement of trade and investment for European companies in Thailand and to increase European Trade and Investment in Thailand. Mr. Olivier Drean, Interim Head-ERCO, represented me at the event.

§ Meeting on Scholarships for Candidates from Myanmar:

Discussion took place between representatives from AIT and the Embassy of Norway and Sweden on 20 January 2012 regarding additional master's scholarships from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) targeted for candidates from Myanmar to study at AIT.

The NMFA scholarship program for candidates from Myanmar is part of Norwegian Government's capacity building effort in Myanmar, aiming to create an impact on its socioeconomic development. The scholarships will provide access to master's degree level of education for qualified candidates from wide range of professional background.

The meeting discussed the expectation from NMFA in terms of the recruitment process, qualifications of the candidates, as well as a mechanism for maintaining relation with the scholarship recipients after they have graduated. NMFA expressed its wish for the recruitment process to follow that of Sida's scholarship program, which is coordinated by the Wetlands Alliance Program (WAP). Consequently, it was agreed that recruitment activities for Sida and NMFA scholarship candidates would be done jointly for the common target countries. Responsible officers from the External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO) at AIT will take part in the management of the scholarship program, in addition to the annual scholarship from NMFA. More meetings are expected to take place in the future to discuss more in detail about the scholarship program.

Participants from the Royal Norwegian Embassy were Mr. Arne Jan Flølo, Counsellor and Mr. Chatri Moonstan, Senior Program Officer. Also joining was Dr. Renée Ankarfjärd, First Secretary, Research Advisor – Environment and Natural Resources from the Development Cooperation Section, Embassy of Sweden. From AIT, Dr. Theo Ebbers, Coordinator for the Wetlands Alliance Program, Mr. Olivier Drean, Interim Head-ERCO, Mr. Kyaw Soe Hlaing, Program Coordinator-ERCO, and Ms. Tiamkare Thitithamtada, Senior Program Officer-ERCO.

§ MoU Signing with ASVI-School for Management and Social Change

: AIT has always been in engaged in educating professionals who positively impact Asia and the wider world. On 19 January 2012 the institute continued this tradition by spearheading a unique program focused on the fast growing 'third sector' marketplace. Through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Bangkok with Rome, Italy-based ASVI-School for Management and Social Change, AIT will establish a joint venture for the launch of an Executive Master's pilot program on Third Sector Management and Fundraising, a program which is already offered in Europe. The agreement opens the door for an Asia-focused advanced training platform for managers of third sector organizations, particularly in relation to social change. The joint venture will give AIT access to best practices in Europe and on Executive Master's programs in Fundraising, Europrojects, International Cooperation, and Social Business. Dr. Marco Crescenzi, ASVI President and myself signed the MoU on behalf of ASVI and AIT respectively.

The AIT-ASVI program reflects how the public sector, civil society and the private sector will cooperate to achieve the progress and well-being of peoples. It will start as a short training program and later develop into a full-fledged Professional Master's program under AIT Extension, AIT's ASEAN Regional Center on Millennium Development Goals (ARCMDG), Yunus Center at AIT, and CSR Asia Center at AIT. E-learning will be one of the means for conducting the program. ASVI and AIT will share profits and technical support for the program. Further details on the partnership is available at the below link:

http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2012/news/ait-partners-with-italy2019s-asvi-for-executive-master2019s-on-management-and-social-change-in-201cthird-sector201d/view

§ Meeting with representatives from Iwane Laboratories Ltd

: On 20 January, I met with Mr Nishant Mitra, Regional Marketing Manager and Mr Kapil Katiyar Business Development Manager (International) from Iwane Laboratories Ltd who happen to be our alumni and shared their ideas of introducing LIDAR technology for disaster mitigation.

During the meeting they conveyed their strong interest to partner with AIT in the area Flood Prevention and Mitigation and demonstrated the various benefits of using LIDAR technology and the possible partnerships with AIT and other technology companies from the Private Sector. It was decided that they shall be submitting their plans as a proposal to AIT, and then with joint discussions with the AIT Faculty experts could finalize future joint research collaborations, Mr. Gopi Krishna would be the focal contact for the same. I also expressed my interest in using the advanced mobile mapping system technology for our AIT campus to help visitors see three-dimensional view of campus and its facilities from any remote location and could also be a useful resource for planning flood protection systems. I was joined in the meeting by Prof Sudip K Rakshit, Vice President Research, Mr. Gopi Krishna from the Sponsored and Contracted Projects Unit, Mr. Tomi Haryadi and Mr. Aman Sangha from the Center of Excellence on Sustainable Development in the context of Climate Change.

§ AIT Management Team Meeting

: The AITMT met last 18 January 2011 and welcomed Prof Indra M Pandey, who recently joined as Vice President for Academic Affairs, as well as Dr Jonathan L Shaw, as representative of the "Cluster" of centers addressing the outreach aspect of the Institute's mission.  The meeting was also attended by the Vice President for Resource Development, SERD and SET Deans, Institute Secretary and Head-Administration.  The AITMT clarified and reaffirmed that the assistance extended to its eligible employees is to support (up to and not beyond) the high school education of their dependent children.  However, for currently enrolled dependent children of eligible employees, the entitlement to education assistance is extended for the whole academic or school year that the dependent child turned 18 years of age.  This decision will be reflected in a revised stipulation on Education Assistance on the P&Ps on the Employment of Faculty/Staff: General Work Regulations.

For the scheduled return to campus on 15 February 2012, the AITMT confirmed the following:

ACADEMIC CALENDAR: The AITMT approved the revised academic calendar for the January 2012 semester, which will resume from 14 February 2012 until 30 May 2012 as originally scheduled. Saturdays will be utilized for classes although they will not be regular working days.

CLASSROOMS: The Schools will identify classrooms in the upper floors of their respective academic buildings and accordingly inform the Registry.  If required, the training rooms at AITCC can also be used.

ACCOMMODATION: allocation procedures of available on-campus accommodation units will soon be announced, after the call for confirmation of residents (prior to the flood) to keep their units, as well as their willingness to host students or colleagues, in their units; CMO and School staff are scouting around for off-campus accommodation units and these information will be published online for easy access and reference to those requiring them; the AIT Conference Center (AITCC) hotel rooms will also be available to be rented out; subsidies on accommodation currently extended to relocated students, and as temporary relocation allowances to relocated staff will be discontinued from 15 February 2012.  AIT housing rental fees for faculty, staff and students, will only be charged from 1 April 2012, and special assistance may be  given to those whose housing contracts in Hua Hin or Bangkok cannot be cancelled and new housing contracts need to be drawn up for off-campus accommodation; these would require presentation of both housing contracts.

ADMINISTRATION: Ground floor offices/units will all be hosted in the 2nd floor of the Administration building, and will have services on-campus prior to 15 February 2012.  It is planned to present the overall campus rehabilitation and rebuilding plans at the 14 February 2012 orientation program for the January 2012 semester intake.

STAFF BUS: These will resume from 6 February 2012, initially following its pre-flood routes.

CONCESSIONAIRES: They (hairdressers, travel agent, tailor, UFM and other eateries) will be invited back to re-occupy their spaces at the arcade.  The Institute can offer assistance in the restoration of their spaces. A temporary space for the SU Snack Bar will also be identified.

The AITMT also discussed the resolutions made at the 7 January 2012 Faculty meeting, as well the first meeting of the Council according to the new AIT Charter.  To back up the recent appointment of a Senior Legal Adviser, the AITMT will develop a sound institutional policy to solicit and welcome individual/collective inputs/suggestions through open discussions with faculty, staff, students, and alumni, as well as to investigate issues/concerns involving any member of the AIT community (management, faculty, staff, students) when there is admissible (acceptable, valid, not attained illegally) prima facie documentary evidence to support the reported issue/concern, even when provided anonymously.

§ AIT Rehabilitation and Rebuilding Committee Meeting

.  The rehabilitation and rebuilding committee met last 19 January 2012, mainly to be presented with the detailed renovation plan of the AIT Extension building into a teaching.  I was joined in the meeting by the Vice President for Resource Development, SERD and SET Deans, AIT Extension Executive Director, ARCMDG Director, AIT Consulting CEO and a couple of AIT Consulting staff, Fund Raising Director, Mr Olivier Nicole, Head-Administration, Sodexo's Operations Director for AIT, and Dr Ludo Lacrosse.

The planned teaching complex will have a total of 27 classrooms in various sizes, including the Milton E Bender Jr Auditorium.  The Data Center will be housed at the upper floor of the complex.  The teaching complex is designed to comply with LEED (Leadership on Energy and Environmental Design) at the platinum level (achieving more than 80 of 110 points).  No university in Thailand has registered for LEED certification yet.  The Institute will strive in accumulating more LEED points through its staff bus arrangements for its employees and students, installation of bicycle racks on-campus, declaring the campus a non-smoking area, energy usage and in other designs and operations.

The team will also do the restoration of the Cafeteria, AIT Library, AIT Clinic, and the AIT International School -- after being provided with the requirements and functions of these units.  They were also requested to propose by 27 January 2012 a modern (more attractive, new look) facelift for whole campus, including cost estimation and timetable.  This will include the restoration/renovation of the main entrance to the campus, as well as other non-residential academic/administrative areas.

Stable immediate solutions for the AIT Library include access to Library materials in the upper floor through controlled access at the main entrance of the Library or at its staircases, and Internet access.  Access to neighboring libraries by AIT students will also be facilitated.  To have the least impact on students, major restoration / renovation work on the AIT Library will be carried out from May to August.  Most improved architectural designs will be requested / obtained from other Library designers, such as the Global Association of University Libraries, under the auspices of UNESCO.  It is planned to move the collection of materials to the upper floor, while the ground floor will be utilized for individual and group study, and as sitting, reading, discussion areas (open and / or enclosed), and possibly to include an exhibition/reception/museum area.  Some use of the courtyard space will also be explored.

It was reemphasized the restoration of flood-affected ground floor areas will only be carried out for laboratories, when extremely necessary while planning for renovation. 

I have scheduled a meeting Dr Naveed Anwar, Dr Jonathan L Shaw, and Dr Sun Sayamipuk to coordinate timelines of the several planned rehabilitation and rebuilding activities.

§ Interview by ASEAN TV

: On 17th January I was interviewed by Mr. Thanong Khanthong, News Editor of ASEAN TV, for the program "Inside Asia" which will be broadcast on ASEAN TV (True Vision 99) and The Nation TV (cable). During the interview, I was asked about how AIT managed to cope with the floods, the impact on AIT, and how AIT's Water  Engineering and Management program can contribute in assisting and solving future flood disasters in Thailand. I also shared my views on the role AIT can play to prevent or lessen the impact of potential floods in the future not only in Thailand but also the entire ASEAN region and the steps needed to be taken to rebuild educational institutions in Thailand post the great flood of 2011.

Questions and Answers about AIT from President Said Irandoust

Q & A

With AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust

 

AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust answers questions and addresses concerns from AIT Student Union, Faculty and AIT Alumni.

 

 

 

A - MOTHER CAMPUS

(Questions from AIT Student Union)

 

1.    When will AIT partially and fully relocate to its mother campus? Can you provide any timelines? When can academic classes begin at AIT campus in Pathumthani?

 

2.    Can the classes during the next semester begin at the AIT campus? On what basis is the decision arrived at? Justification?

 

 

Academic buildings (except ground floor) will be declared open for the AIT community from 15 January 2012. Similarly residential buildings (except ground floor) will be declared open from 15 February 2012 for accommodation. Academic classes will resume at the AIT mother campus in Pathumthani from 15-31 March 2012.

 

These decisions were taken by the AIT Rehabilitation and Upgradation Committee, after considering the interests of the AIT community (particularly the students), examining the current state of repairs and cleaning, and in light of the proposed upgrading of the AIT campus.The full announcement on the timelines which was circulated to members of the AIT community is available at the below link:

 

http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2011/news/ait-academic-buildings-to-reopen-on-

15-january-onwards/view

 

 

 

B - TEMPORARY LOCATION

(Questions from AIT Student Union)

 

1.    What steps are being taken to resolve issues concerning facilities (infrastructure, internet, transportation, living etc.) at temporary locations - Hua Hin, Cha-am and Bangkok?

 

 

Regarding accommodation issues, most issues have been resolved. Some students who were very uncomfortable with the AIT-organized accommodation have found their own accommodation, which was facilitated by AIT. Some accommodations that did not have adequate study desks are being equipped.

 

Regarding internet, most of the issues were related to certain students hogging the bandwidth through use of torrents and other such software, thus rendering the internet facility unable to use for others. Such problems have been amicably solved by the students themselves. We have also topped up the bandwidth in some of the accommodations to ensure that the internet speed is acceptable to facilitate academic pursuits.

 

 

 

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AIT is currently running 10 shuttle buses operating between accommodations (also covering privately hired accommodation of AIT students), Stamford International University, Silpakorn University and Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. Based on student movement, class schedules, and feedback from students, the transportation timings have been modified to ensure that there are shuttle services available every hour in the morning and also every hour in the afternoon and evenings. We have also arranged evening market transportation for students residing in accommodations that are far from the city center

and the markets.

 

 

We will also be considering the suggestion to circulate buses every 15 min. from 6am to midnight.

 

We have to be realistic and realize that AIT cannot provide the same kind of facilities that our students were receiving at AIT in the Pathumthani. While significant investments can be made to heighten the levels of comfort for our students in Hua Hin, what is more important is that students are not deprived a chance to pursue academics without opportunity costs that could arise due to prolonged closure of campus.

 

The current situation and facilities at Hua Hin are livable and better in comparison to many other universities around the world. There are very few international post-graduate institutions around the world that provide accommodation services to its students. AIT not only provides such facilities at its campus in Pathumthani, but has gone to great lengths to ensure that such facilities are also available in the temporary locations. I think this is very appreciable.

 

2.    Students are complaining of very poor Internet facility. Is anything being done at all to increase the bandwidth?

 

 

As mentioned earlier, internet issues at accommodations have largely been resolved. We have high speed internet at all academic locations, and I do not think any internet related issues exist any longer. Most of the problems related to internet at the accommodations were linked to hogging of bandwidth by some students using download software and creating a situation where others were unable to use the same facility. We have received reports from the accommodation owners about such students and their identities as well. However, these are issues that students have solved themselves. If such problems persist, we will work with the accommodation owners to block the usage of certain software that can be used to channelize bandwidth.

 

 

3.    Utility costs in Hua Hin for most accommodation is more than that compared to the

AIT campus. What are AIT's subsidy mechanisms to tackle this issue?

 

 

All students at Hua Hin pay the same accommodation rates that they were paying at AIT. We understand that some of the accommodations are more expensive than the AIT campus accommodations, and in those cases AIT will pay the remaining amount above those paid by the students. We also understand that some students of different categories at AIT are living in same accommodations at Hua Hin, and are yet paying different amounts. AIT cannot create such categorical accommodations at Hua Hin, and we cannot establish a system that is completely fair to each and every of our student. However, we have ensured that each student is not paying more than what he or she was paying at AIT.

 

 

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So Hua Hin is cost-neutral to students. Also, it is worthwhile to note that we have our own vendors from AIT serving at Hua Hin, who are providing services at the same or lower rates than those prevalent at AIT campus in Pathumthani.

 

 

 

C - AIT's LONG TERM FUTURE

(Questions based on concerns expressed by AITAA and questions from faculty)

 

1.    There are basic differences in basic principles between AIT, which is a not for profit organization, compared to Laureate which is a private for profit organization. How do you reconcile these differences?

 

 

On the issue regarding Laureate International Universities, I wish to first put in perspective why we undertook the exercise of exploring a new funding model. The new AIT Intergovernmental Charter which will come into effect on 30 January 2012 is a successful initiative which provides the needed legal framework and political recognition for AIT. However it alone does not guarantee any funding support, since contributions

are on a totally voluntary basis.

 

Governments are significantly reducing their funding for scholarships, and hence AIT needs strategies to make it sustainable in the long-term future, and not remain donor dependent.  This necessitated looking at the Institute's sustainability into the coming 50 or more years. From this perspective, AIT had to consider a model that would be a financially attractive and sustainable. The aim was to develop a new funding model that would be able to generate funds for the upgrade of the academic and non-academic facilities, scaling up of AIT's operations in a number of targeted countries, investment in

new knowledge areas, scholarships for needy students, building a strong AIT endowment among others. All these changes, which AIT envisaged, necessitated a revolutionary changed financial model, and not just a reformed version of the current model.

 

AIT then undertook a comprehensive study of the higher learning landscape in the region and beyond that was conducted by an external consulting team, which proposed a new funding model for AIT, namely the "AIT Satellite Campus Model". The "Satellite Model" entails replicating AIT's model of holistic international learning with an Asian perspective, wherein full-fledged AIT universities would be established in several Asian countries that would allow the Institute to have a much bigger impact in Asia and would include also undergraduate programs.

 

The AIT Board of Trustees, considered the different options and strategies to ensure the future long-term financial sustainability of AIT, and the need for a capital injection of some $50 million dollars, and authorized and instructed the Executive Committee to proceed in exploring three options:

 

1.  Continue at the current level of operations or status quo since all the possibilities under it may not yet have been exhausted;

2.  Pursue with the relevant Governments and explore the extent to which they can provide funding (in appropriate proportions) in the aggregate amount of approximately $50 million, and the terms of that funding and the times at which it could be made available; and

 

 

 

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3.  To enter concurrently into strategic discussions with potential specialized investor(s) as to the terms and conditions on which they would be prepared to operate AIT, and to enter into appropriate non- binding letters of agreement.

 

It is in the context of item 3 that AIT has been in contact with Laureate International Universities since over two years, and is currently exploring a strategic collaboration, led by an AIT Executive Committee Working Group of the Board of Trustees.

 

A non-binding agreement was signed with Laureate, following review by the AIT Management Team, and finalized by an Executive Committee Working Group of the AIT Board of Trustees after legal scrutiny. The MoU outlines the intention of both sides

to explore to which extent and in which areas a partnership might create mutual benefits.

 

We are still in the exploration state, and neither AIT nor Laureate, have made any commitment regarding a potential partnership, which will need to be decided by the current Board or future Council. In parallel, we are also exploring other funding options including possible support from governments, and through them availing of soft-loans from multilateral funding agencies. The Board has also invited the alumni to present an alternate proposal. In the end, it will be up to the current Board or new AIT Council, to make a decision and choose the best option for AIT.

 

If AIT chooses to work with Laureate, it would be to increase AIT's financial independence, improve our ability to successfully execute our plans, reach more students in more parts of the world, and have more resources to invest in our existing

operations. If we decide to work with a partner such as Laureate, AIT would remain an independent International Intergovernmental Organization as outlined in the new AIT Charter. We are currently working with independent external consultants and legal advisors to represent and protect AIT's interests. All decisions will be carefully vetted and there are certain things on which we will not compromise, namely:

 

§   Mission and intergovernmental status

§   Commitment to research and outreach activities

§   Academic quality control

§   New initiatives will carry the AIT name and convey AIT mission and DNA

 

Laureate is actually a network of 58 accredited universities, of which many are not for profit.  Every institution in its network operates as a unique brand guided by local leadership in accordance to the specifics of the institution and its position in its market. Further, AIT already partners with a range of private and for-profit companies and service providers and this is not a new concept philosophically.

 

2.    Laureate may possess a large base in hospitality management, but it has does not possess enough experience in the fields of science and technology, where AIT has core competence.

 

 

Of the 675,000 students attending Laureate Network Universities, only 30,000 (<5%) are enrolled in hospitality-related programs.  Nearly 85,000 students are enrolled in engineering programs today at Laureate and 180,000 students are enrolled in business programs.  More engineering graduates from Laureate institutions will enter the

 

 

 

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workforce in emerging markets in 2012 than have ever graduated from AIT.  AIT could be both a contributor to and a beneficiary from this network.

 

Laureate also has a large number of students enrolled in information technology, health sciences, architecture, design, education and law programs.

 

Furthermore, the emphasis of Laureate support will not be so much in content. AIT will still be fully in charge of research and education. Where Laureate may help is to improve infrastructure, systems and processes which will leverage our AIT activities in research and education.

 

3.    Laureate's participation will force the Thai government and other governments to cease its support to AIT. AIT is supported strongly by the Thai government because of its mission to help develop the region without profit making purpose. A

deviation from this mission will lead to reduction and eventually complete cut of support. This will push AIT towards become a complete private university.

 

 

Support from Thailand and other member countries has been declining, is insufficient, and non-dependable over the years. AIT will never be a for-profit institution and will not compromise on its mission of international, regional, development.  Any decision undertaken would be to increase our ability to achieve and extend our mission, while becoming less dependent on our member countries.

 

The mission of AIT is capacity building throughout Asia and beyond. A potential partnership with Laureate will not compromise this. Laureate can help enable AIT to fulfill its mission faster and better, since AIT is not able to grow without support from outside. In the end, everybody should be happy if as many people in Asia have access to education. AIT can be a bigger contributor here, and if Laureate can help AIT to make this happen, I do not see much reason why governments should view this in a negative way.

 

4.    What are your comments on lack of transparency in the deal, since the details of the deal have never been reported. Key terms were not presented to the Board and the Executive Committee clarifying the format of participation, roles and responsibilities, cost and benefits estimation, institute impact assessment, alumni impact assessment, etc. The team who evaluates the deal should be independent, having no interest or any stake in the outcome of the deal, to justify the objectivity.

 

 

Over the last two years, the AIT management, the Executive Committee, and the AIT Board have made substantial efforts to discuss options to adopt a new business model to address challenges from the rapidly changing environment, e.g. governments are significantly reducing their funding for scholarships (in AIT), other universities are advancing, more and more universities start (have started) online programs and compete on a global scale. Hence AIT needs strategies to achieve a sustainable future, e.g. decrease donor dependency, while 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.Among others, we are exploring answers to the following questions:

 

 

 

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§   Which initiatives can be undertaken to improve the financial situation of AIT?

§   Which initiatives have the greatest potential to fulfill the AIT mission?

§   What is the optimal timing of high impact initiatives?

§   What are risks / tradeoffs of proposed initiatives?

§   What are the investment needed to enable these initiatives?

§   What are the guiding principles to implement these initiatives, e.g. mission and values of AIT cannot be compromised?

 

As one way to improve our situation, the AIT Board explored the option of collaborations with specialized educational partners (also refer to Answer 1 of this section). The idea is to find a partner who shares our international mission, can help meet the investment needs of AIT, and can bring capabilities to help us achieve our strategic priorities.

 

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.  Interested members of the AIT community can contact or visit my office if they would like to learn more.Since both sides are still in the

exploration state, neither AIT nor Laureate has made any commitment regarding a potential partnership.

 

There is no deal. None of these items have been determined yet.  It is crucial to the planning process to explore a wide range of options. Therefore, the AIT community is invited to contribute ideas on how AIT can become more sustainable.

 

5.    Who are the other potential partners? It is now known that an agreement with Laureate was signed on 30 September 2011. Has AIT also signed similar agreements with the other potential partners? Are there any comparative offers or alternatives under consideration?

 

 

A communication of a "Background note on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) – A Possible Future Model for AIT" was sent by AIT to the Board of Trustees, Members of the Executive Committee, Institute-Level Advisory Board, School and AIT Extension Board; as well as several of AIT's partner institutions (Presidents of universities in countries including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Thailand, Australia, US, China, Norway, Taiwan, India etc.) organizations and individuals in Asia, Europe and the US including alumni, former senior administrators, former faculty and staff etc. in seeking their views and comments on the PPP,  as well as exploring whether they or organizations / institutions through their networks and contacts would be interested in entering into discussions with AIT.

 

At the same time discussions were held with resident members of the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, Institute-level Advisory Board, as well as School and AIT Extension Boards and Alumni.

 

Expressions of Interest were received from Laureate International Universities, Apollo Group, Siam Cement Group, Amata Corporation, Sodexo, Nanyang University of Technology, Singapore.

 

 

 

 

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Only Laureate and Sodexo responded and expressed their interest in entering into more detailed discussions. We decided to explore with Laureate further because they have the most to offer to AIT in this regard. Sodexo is more likely to be a partner for other topics, e.g. building and operating residential housing.

 

 

 

D - NEW CHARTER

(Questions based on concerns of AITAA and faculty)

 

1.    Only six countries have ratified the new AIT Charter. The purpose of changing AIT to be an Inter-governmental organization is to allow more countries to support AIT. This has not been proved to be successful so far. At present there are about 20 countries currently involved in AIT, and many countries have representation on the Board of Trustees. The new Council will be comprised of just six countries only.

 

 

To date 7 countries have ratified the new AIT Charter, namely Japan, Sweden, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. So far Japan, Sweden, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have deposited their instruments of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, and will be part of the new AIT Council, when the new AIT Charter comes into force on 30th January 2012. To-date, 18 countries and 1 international organization have signed or confirmed to sign the new Charter, which include, not counting the above Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, Seychelles, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and the United Nations Development Fund for Women, East and Southeast Asia (UNIFEM) - now part of UN Women).

 

Also refer to answer 3 of this section.

 

 

 

2.    Thailand, as a host country, provides substantial support to AIT, both financially and non-financially. The Thai Government, which took the lead to prepare the new Charter, has not ratified it as yet. This could result to serious problems on budget allocation and disbursement since there is no representative from the Thai government in the new Council.

 

 

 

The cabinet of the Royal Thai Government has approved the new AIT Charter and the Draft Negotiation Framework of the Headquarters Agreement between the Thai Government and AIT. The cabinet approved it in its meeting held on 27 December 2011 and has endorsed the submission of the Charter and Draft Negotiation Framework for parliamentary review and approval. Besides, the Thai cabinet has also authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proceed with the ratification of the Charter, following which the new AIT Enabling Act will come into force.

 

As new Council members, we believe the concerned country and international organization representatives could help lobby with the relevant authorities in securing the needed support for AIT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3.    Do you think that the New Council is ready to take charge of AIT? Time is running out since the New Charter has to become effective from 30 January 2012. Do you think the new Council will be able to assure effective and good governance of AIT under these circumstances? It is unlikely either that the new Council will be able to support AIT's financial requirements due to a limited number of countries participating at the moment.

 

 

We believe countries and international organizations signing and ratifying the new AIT Charter signifies greater ownership and commitment.  Although the initial Council will comprise of 5-7 members, with increased ownership and engagement, we are confident that the new Council will be able to effectively govern the Institute.

 

In addition, it is not a requirement for countries and international organizations to sign the new AIT Charter to continue their engagement with AIT. Several of AIT's partners have indicated that even though they may not sign the new AIT Charter, their engagement with AIT would continue as long as AIT remains strong in terms of quality and brand, which could be on a project basis, both with the public and private sector.

 

Also, the quality of governance is not dependent on the number of members but more on the quality and extent of their engagement.

 

4.    The new Council may not be in a position to accept Laureate's participation. Also it may be inappropriate and problematics considering the fact that more than 20 countries have always been engaged with AIT but in the end, the critical decision is to be made by only the 6 countries.

 

 

If the new Council does not approve a potential partnership with Laureate, then there will be no partnership with Laureate. The new Council may also invite other signatories to participate as observers where critical matters are being discussed. Even though they will not be able to take part on the decision making, they are at least informed and part of the process.

 

In addition, some countries may leave, while new ones may come on board, which is the normal dynamics in such international organizations and bodies.

 

We do not assume that once we have all facts at the table it will be a difficult decision to make. The working team will structure the proposed terms in a way that it is good for AIT. Therefore, we do not expect a lot of problems when the decision is taken. Please give the working team the chance to work out the details first before judging that it is all so bad for AIT. We know the limitations and guiding parameters, and will take them into account. If we find out that we cannot make it match with the potential strategic partner, then there will be no partnership. However, if we can structure it in a way that AIT interests are not compromised, and benefits AIT, then it could be worth considering for implementation.

 

A strong AIT would also help in furthering Thailand's ambition of becoming an

educational hub.

 

 

 

 

 

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E - ACADEMIC ISSUES

(Questions from faculty)

 

1.   How should the teaching be planned - modular of content based? Will the entire teaching be at Hua Hin or at Pathumthani, or will there be a shift in the middle of the semester?

 

 

The shift to the AIT mother campus will take place from 15-31 March 2012. The teaching method, whether modular or content-based, depends on the Instructor and Field of Study which has to be approved by the Dean, and would be the same irrespective of the location i.e. Hua Hin or at the main AIT campus.

 

2.   Will all the students return to AIT at the same time? If not, which of these - Research students and Coursework students will go earlier?

 

 

A time frame of 15-31 March 2012 is being provided for resumption of classes, so that all those who are currently based at temporary locations need not rush back to the mother campus in a single day. Classes will resume on the second floor of the SET (School of Engineering and Technology), SERD (School of Environment, Resources and Development) and SOM (School of Management) buildings. AIT will also utilize classrooms on the second floor of the AIT Conference Center. During this time, the ground floor of these buildings may have to be sealed (except for accessing upper level).

 

Meanwhile, a modern environment friendly lecture-theatre complex will be created by remodeling the AIT Extension Building. This lecture-theatre complex will house classrooms for all AIT students and will act as a central pivot of academic activities. AIT has held preliminary discussions on this issue, and by the time the AIT community returns to the campus, some work on this project would have already started. It is hoped that this lecture-theatre complex will be ready before the May graduation. As soon as the complex is ready, some students will be able to avail this facility in the January semester itself.

 

Certain other steps are being taken in light of the deadlines, and necessary instructions are being issued to ensure that clearance and cleaning activities are completed before the respective deadlines. However, the implementation of the above decisions would require that certain conditions are fulfilled, such as a certificate from a professional company that the campus is clean and safe for people to return.

 

Masters and doctoral students pursuing their thesis work who wish to return to the campus earlier than the dates indicated can do so. But this will be at their own risk, especially if they do so before AIT secures a certification from a professional company that the campus is clean and safe for people to return.

 

3.   Some students may wish to take leave if the teaching continues in Hua Hin for most of the semester, because they cannot leave their family for a long time. Can there be a provision of waiving of registration fee for these students? But if we return to Pathumthani then maybe they do not need to take leave?

 

 

 

 

 

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The purpose of the registration fees is for a student to continue maintaining their status as an AIT student, and it cannot be waived.

 

4.   What is the drawback in starting the January semester a bit late (like mid-Feb) and graduation in June, so that we can start the new semester in Pathumthani? Are there any financial implications of this decision?

 

 

This would mean a delay in the graduation of students and can have serious implication for those who are on scholarships, study loans etc. vis-à-vis loss of time and opportunity costs.

 

5.   Are we starting the new academic structure in August 2012? Will our intake be according to current Field of Study? What is the timeframe for the Schools to come up with the restructuring plan or is it shelved for the time being?

 

 

We are continuing with the new academic structure but this process has been delayed due to the floods. The new timeline will be discussed in the Management Team with the Deans and announced later.

 

F - PERSONAL

(Question from faculty)

 

1.    What are your main moral and ethical principles related to your leadership of AIT, including public relations and media?

 

 

My view is that an institutional leader should follow the mission and vision of the founders, while taking the Institute ahead to cope with changing times. Hence as an Institute head, the ethical and moral principles are a commitment of the mission and vision of the Institute, while maintaining the dignity, decorum and brand of the Institute. For an individual – humanism remains the bedrock of ethics and morals, and there can be no compromise on this.

 

Regarding public relations and media, I am happy to state that we are a very open organization. For instance, when a leading English newspaper posed questions to me regarding the flood and relocation to Hua Hin, I responded to each and every question. I could have refused to answer or made myself unavailable. But I wanted to put the record straight and answered all questions so that everyone is clear about mine and AIT's position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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G - AIT's REPUTATION & QUALITY

(Question based on concerns of AITAA)

 

1.    AIT has experienced a decline in student enrolment for many years. AIT graduates are often regarded at party with other graduates in Thailand, and below many overseas universities, as well as below past graduates of AIT. A recent evaluation by the Thai government places AIT at par with many average Thai universities in

many areas. However, AIT still says that they are doing well.

 

 

This is not true. AIT enrolments have been more or less stable over the past 10 years in spite of the decline in the level of scholarships:1999 (1,812 students), 2000 (2,192), 2001 (2,384), 2002 (2,470), 2003 (2,516), 2004 (2,352), 2005 (1,904), 2006 (1,870), 2007 (2,067), 2008 (2,233), 2009 (2,123), 2010 (2,154), 2011 (2,182).

 

According to the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) rating for the 2007-2008 period, among the 12 participating clusters from AIT, five AIT Clusters received the top rating of 5; six AIT Clusters received the second highest rating of 4 and one AIT Cluster received the rating 3. Aside from the four program clusters, namely, (1) Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, (2) Industrial Engineering, (3) Information and Communication

Technology and (4) Environment Engineering and Management Group, which received the top rating of 5. Also the Regional and Rural Development Planning Program received a TRF Rating of 5, ranking top among 6 participating institutes in Thailand.

 

The TRF Rating is based on the weighted average varied from 5 to 1 of the following four factors: (1) Equivalent international journal papers per faculty member (30%), (2) Journal impact factor per faculty member (20%), (3) Total equivalent international journal papers for the entire subject cluster (30%), and (4) Total journal impact factors for the entire subject cluster (20%). AIT stands out in all "per-head" categories, i.e., Factors (1) and (2), and this implies the highest order of research efficiency and quality of individual faculty members of AIT. Despite the disadvantage of Factors (3) and (4) compared with other more comprehensive universities, many of AIT's program clusters still received very high overall ratings.

 

In light of AIT's positive standing, the TRF has agreed to award five doctoral scholarships for the five clusters that received the top rating of 5. This is the prestigious Golden Jubilee Royal Scholarship that covers a three year study for doctoral students.

 

Here I wish to add that how well we are doing cannot be isolated from how we are funded. In spite of the funding going down, we have still been able to maintain a relatively strong position.

 

This cannot continue for long and AIT may find it difficult to sustain the same standards with decline in funding.

 

However, there are areas where there is room for improvements, and that is why we have to work on changes. I wish to add that enrollment figures are mainly a function of scholarships and government support, which has been on the decline not only for AIT but in general as a trend as well.

 

 

 

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2.    While AIT is financially weaker and its reputation has deteriorated, some other universities/institutes in Thailand (the same environment) like ABAC, NIDA, Sasin, are doing better. There should be objective assessment for the root cause of the problem.

 

 

 

This is not correct. When reference is made to weaker, the context in terms of weaker compared to what, must also be put in perspective. Most of the universities or institutes referred to are heavily funded and with a large number of undergraduate students. In addition, they also have large sources of income from other businesses and are running on a completely different mode.  That is the reason why we are exploring a new business

model. The financially weak position can also be seen as an opportunity as a wakeup call to work on getting better and return to our former leading position.

 

3.    Interestingly enough, the management has recently proposed to outsource the administration work saying that they have no capability to bring AIT forward even if they could get sufficient funding support.

 

 

Internationality brings greater responsibility and the need to upgrade to keep abreast with changing times. It requires excellent infrastructure and modern facilities that provide an inviting environment for work and scholarship, which are key factors in attracting outstanding talent.

 

Outsourcing non-core support services when clear benefits can be identified is an integral element of AIT's Strategy 2013 aimed at uplifting the Institute's infrastructure to international standards, while focusing on its core activities of teaching and learning, research and outreach.  AIT is striving to become an entrepreneurial organization and in the context, with the changing landscape of higher learning and increased competition, AIT also needs to continuously explore new ways of doing things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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