I am pleased to inform you that during my recent meeting with the AIT Council members on 9th May 2012, they have authorized the AIT President to act on behalf of the Council to award degrees and diplomas as recommended by the Academic Senate. The Council members also agreed that in maintaining the earlier practice, they will authorize one of the Council members to co-sign the certificates alongside the AIT President.
Another good news I would like to report is that the first initial payment from the insurance company in the amount of approximately 125 million Baht has now been confirmed and will be released soon. As communicated regularly, the AIT Main Campus Rebuilding and Upgrading Committee, has for the past few months met, almost on a weekly basis, and made preparations for the implementation of much needed renovation and upgrading work, on different parts of the campus. During my meeting on 9th May 2012 with the members of the Council, I also informed them of the planned projects such as rebuilding of the dykes, building of the new lecture complex, renovation of the library and student dormitories, among others, and received their approval to proceed with planning for the implementation of the initial priority projects.
The first priority is student welfare and rebuilding academic facilities of AIT including renovation of student dormitories, therefore, upgrading work dealing with these two issues are given highest priority. Students, staff and faculty are most welcome to give their suggestions on the priority upgrades needed for student welfare and academic facilities. All these suggestions can be channeled through established mechanisms such as schools, other academic units, the AIT Main Campus Rebuilding and Upgrading Committee through your respective representatives, or directly to me.
I understand there has been some discussion among students on the venue of the forthcoming 117th AIT Graduation Ceremony on 1 June 2012, and, it should be noted that this issue was also discussed at the recent meeting of the Administration-Student Union meeting. We will have members of AIT?s Council, representatives from AIT?s partner governments, members of the diplomatic corps, international organizations and other partners along with family and friends of the graduating students joining this very memorable day in the life of student.
Therefore, as much as we would have liked to have it at our own AIT Conference Center, the conditions are not right, and time not sufficient, to do so, coupled with inadequate space to accommodate the number of students and the guests. The AIT Main Campus Rebuilding and Upgrading Committee already have plans to conduct major renovation and upgrade of the AIT Conference Center Auditorium. Therefore, any ad-hoc renovation work will only cost the Institute additional moneys, and it is best to wait for the major work to commence.
Here I wish to add that this is not the first time that we are having the graduation ceremony at NSTDA, and as a close neighbor and institutional partner, they have been generous in offering the use of their premises, without charging of any rent (only for utility and cost of chairs).
A graduation ceremony is a very memorable moment for students and their families, and having the event in a fully functional and nice place, does, I believe make a big difference, and I trust our students will also agree to this. However, the AIT campus will be fully decorated and ready to receive the graduates for celebration, as was customary in the past.
I am aware that we have not been able to work on the rebuilding of our campus, as expeditiously as we had planned and hoped for, due to several factors, including certain elements, both external and internal, who have worked against many of our efforts, and continue to do so, including attempts to destroy the AIT unity which was and is so important in a time of crisis.
I urge students to remain focused on their primary reason for joining AIT which is their studies and to keep away from elements that may try and use them for one political reason or another. It is our duty to protect students from such vulnerabilities and any such attempts to digress them from their intended ambitions, will never be tolerated by AIT, nor for the matter of fact, by any well-established institution of higher learning. On the part of the administration and faculty body, I wish to reaffirm our commitment to provide all necessary support, within our limit and resources, to the students to the fullest of our ability.
AIT remains grateful for your strong and continued support to the Institute and its mission. Significant challenges remain, but if we continue to come together, much can and will be accomplished as we build back better a stronger, more sustainable AIT.
We are planning a joint Admin-SU forum soon, the request for which has already been communicated to the SU President and I look forward to also meeting and interacting with many of you at the event.
