: 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:
: 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.
: 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
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
: 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.
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.
: 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:
: 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.
: 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.
. 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.
: 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.
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