Dear Fellow AIT Alumni
As we enter into 2017, please allow me to take this salient moment on behalf of the AIT Community to wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Attached please find the 2016 AIT Photo Folio which highlights the activities of AIT over the year 2016. We can confidently say that AIT has now completed its long journey toward normalcy, thanks to the solidarity and the hard work of faculty and staff. Thus, AIT is now preparing itself to cope with new challenges on the horizon in order to move into a new era.
While AIT in its early years was the only choice in Asia for international post-graduate studies, today the higher education landscape has totally changed. However, today's globalization process has provided AIT with blue-ocean opportunities, which AIT is ready to capitalize upon, based on its unique experiences in global engagement.
The international demand for globally responsible citizens in the globalization age has reinforced the important roles of AIT in the development of global citizens. Thus, AIT is ready to offer itself as a neutral platform to resolve many pressing global issues, such as climate change, urbanization, renewable energy, disaster preparedness, etc., for the sustainable future of mankind.
This year of 2017 will be a year of transformation and expansion of the Institute, following the consolidation of our academic programs and the decentralization of administrative powers to schools and responsibility centers. It is also the year that one can expect to enjoy the fruits of our campus investment. I shall briefly elaborate the three major changes that we are going to see at AIT in 2017.
I. First, the year will see the inception of a newly transformed "School of Management (SOM)" under the leadership of the new SOM Dean, Professor Lawrence S. Abeln.
SOM promises to transform itself into one of Asia's great international business schools, which no doubt will contribute to the overall reputation of AIT. Many of its planned revised programs, which include a Modular Executive MBA program and Part-time DBA, will provide the Institute with linkages in the future to the business community, alumni, international institutions and employers. I therefore, request the AIT Community to provide its full cooperation and support to this exciting transformative change in the 30-year history of SOM.
II. Based on the call for more integration, multidisciplinary learning and cross-cutting research, the old-fashioned administrative walls between fields have been removed. Thus, all administrative workloads at the 'field of study' level will be pooled to the 'departmental' level, freeing faculty members more time for teaching and research. After a year of careful refinement, the new departmental structure will come into effect for the first time in 2017.
Specifically, the School of Engineering and Technology (SET) will have 3 departments, namely, the (1) Department of Civil & Infrastructure Engineering; (2) Department of Information & Communication Technologies; and (3) Department of Industrial Systems Engineering.
For the School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), there are 3 departments, namely, the (1) Department of Food, Agriculture & Bioresources; (2) Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Change; and (3) Department of Development & Sustainability.
III. We will soon enjoy an even better campus environment this year with our modernized library scheduled for soft opening on 17 January. The ground and walkway improvements will commence with improved landscape around the campus.
A new landmark clock tower will be built on the walkway between the Admin Building and AIT Conference Center thanks to the generous support from the AIT Alumni Association-Thailand Chapter. The AIT entrance from the highway will be remodeled with an attractive footpath along the road to the new front gate. The entire Administration Building will be renovated and made more befitting to visitors with a reception hall.
The ongoing renovation of all the campus infrastructure is due to be completed in 2017. It has taken several years since the aftermath of the campus flood because replacement needed to be carried out in phases, so as not to disrupt the regular academic operations. We will see more efforts spent on making the campus greener and more sustainable.
Although I foresee a small drop in our financial surplus in 2017 due to the reloading for more faculty in schools especially SOM and the increasing cost of better facility supports for students, I am convinced that the new policy on decentralization, and a fair process of year-end reward, will provide needed incentives for faculty and staff to be more productive.
At the end, I sincerely look forward to an overall fruitful year for AIT in 2017. I take this opportunity to record my sincere appreciation to my fellow alumni for your strong support rendered to me and to the Institute as a whole.
Sincerely,
Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai
President
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
