Positioning AIT
President Worsak presents midterm accomplishments and a vision for the future

12 New AIT Initiatives (2014-2016)

I. Historic Penetration in World University Rankings

II. AIT ranks at the top in International Orientation

III. AIT is top Research Institute in Thailand: Thai Research Fund (TRF)

IV. AIT played a significant role in COP21

V. AIT Degree recognized in India for the first time

VI. Innovative Integrated Bachelor-Master program pursued

VII. Strengthening Local Partnerships

VIII. Embarked on Industrial Funding

IX. Reaching out to former Faculty Members

X. 1st Succesful fundraising campaign in AIT history

XI. First Campus Backhone Overhaul in 45 years

XII. Decentralization of equipment fund to AIT Schools

61 graduate at informal inter-semester graduation ceremony

Fifteen Years of Disaster Relief from Space

AIT inks 10.8 Mil. THB nanotechnology partnership

Workshop on Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building

Transitioning towards a sustainable bioeconomy

JICA visits AIT, explores future collaboration

Surendra Shrestha joins as new Vice President for Development

Dr Jai Govind Singh promoted to the rank of Associate Professor

Restructured AIT Administration

AIT Photo Folio (2014 - 2016)

Annual Report 2015

Coming Up

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Credits

Positioning AIT

President Worsak presents midterm accomplishments and a vision for the future

H.E. Dr. Subin Pinkayan, Chairman, Board of Trustees and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, AIT President.

Besides establishing collaborations with many new public and private entities in Thailand, AIT has reassumed its traditional role in the international arena. In the first half of 2016 alone, AIT entered into 31 Institute-level partnerships representing 20 countries, besides strengthening its partnership with China.

Presenting his Midterm Report before the AIT Board of Trustees on 14 July 2016, President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai not only highlighted the Institute’s achievements, but also presented his vision for the next two years. “For my remaining two years as President, I wish to start exploring the future positioning of AIT,” Prof. Worsak said. “If AIT can position itself based on this exclusive uniqueness, we can rightfully take full advantage of the blue ocean, i.e., an uncontested market space,” he said.

AIT should position itself as a leading ‘global research institute for mankind,’ thus providing a rare opportunity for its international students to be exposed to universal issues and emerge as true global citizens. ”AIT must offer itself as a neutral platform for international scholars to share their experiences where they learn from each other and work together in the interest of the region and the whole world,” Prof. Worsak remarked.

Read the Mid-Term Report at this link: http://goo.gl/ikIz0N

12 New AIT Initiatives 2014-2016

(Adapted from AIT President’s presentation. Download link: http://goo.gl/QEtuJt)

I. Historic Penetration in World University Rankings

II. AIT ranks at the top in International Orientation

III. AIT is top Research Institute in Thailand: Thai Research Fund (TRF)

IV. Climate Change

AIT played a significant role in COP21

V. AIT Degree recognized in India for the first time

VI. Innovative Integrated Bachelor-Master program pursued

VII. Strengthening Local Partnerships

VIII. AIT Embarked on Industrial Funding

IX. Reaching out to former Faculty Members

X. Library Modernization

1st Succesful fundraising campaign in AIT history

XI. First Campus Backhone Overhaul in 45 years

XII. Decentralization of equipment fund to AIT Schools

61 graduate at informal inter-semester graduation ceremony

SIXTY-ONE students were awarded degrees at the informal inter-semester graduation ceremony organized at AIT on 27 July 2016. Held two months after AIT’s 125th Graduation ceremony, this informal event saw six doctoral, 43 Master’s and 12 Bachelor’s degrees being awarded.

Graduating students came from 10 countries — India, Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, PR China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. Forty-two graduates came from AIT’s School of Engineering and Technology (SET); 16 came from the School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD); two from the School of Management (SOM); and one from a joint SERD-SOM program.

Speaking on behalf of the AIT President, Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto, Vice President for Administration (VPA) described AIT as a global village that produces future leaders. He mentioned that graduation is an occasion where their hard work, efforts and accomplishments are recognized. However, these accomplishments are a starting point for future achievements, Prof. Yamamoto remarked. He exhorted upon graduands to maintain their linkage with their alma mater and contribute towards its mission of producing global citizens.

Fifteen Years of Disaster Relief from Space

AIT in the prestigious “Science” journal Science

Cover of Journal "Science.'

Till a few years ago, very few specialists were working on the analysis and use of satellite images. However, for the past 15 years, a niche area has developed of those experts who are using satellite data for disaster management. Tracking these developments over the past decade and a half is an article titled “Global trends

in satellite-based emergency mapping,” published in the latest issue of the prestigious Science Journal (15 July 2016).

Among the authors is a scientist from AIT, Dr. Manzul Kumar Hazarika, who serves as Director (Project Operations) at AIT’s Geoinformatics Center (GIC). In this paper, more than 1000 major disaster situations from 2000-2014 were analyzed where satellite monitoring was employed. An international team of 17 experts from leading space organizations and research institutions analyzed the historical development of satellite-based emergency mapping, and presented global patterns alongside historic and emerging trends in this field.

AIT inks 10.8 Mil. THB nanotechnology partnership

Mr. Franklin Hung (left) and Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto.

AIT on 21 July 2016 entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with Ideal Fastener Asia, Ltd., Hong Kong, for a Thai Baht 10.8 Mil (THB) three-year program titled ‘Enhancement of Industrial Fastener Coating Processes by Application of Nanotechnology.’ Ideal Fastener Asia Ltd., CEO Mr. Franklin Hung signed the MoA with AIT Vice President for Administration Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto.

A total of 10,899,020 THB will be provided by the company to support two Master’s scholarships and one Doctoral scholarship, as well as to fund laboratory supplies and instrumentation and equipment at the AIT Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology for nanotechnology research and development.

Workshop on Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building

Workshop in progress at AIT.

A galaxy of experts spoke about the importance of creating disaster resilience capacity in Southeast Asia during a workshop organized at AIT on 21 July 2016. The Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) program at AIT is a partner in the project 'Disaster Resilience Education Capacity Building in Southeast Asia’ with University of Newcastle, Australia, under the Australia ASEAN Council (AAC) grant.

Experts who spoke at the workshop included Dr. Waheed Uddin of University of Mississippi; Mr. Arun Pinta of Department of Disaster Prevention and Management, Thailand; Mr. Chaiwat Prechawit of Panya Consultants Co., Ltd, Thailand; Dr. Temchit Chantaka of National Institute for Development of Teacher, Faculty Staff and Educational Personnel (NIDTEP), Thai Ministry of Education (Local Government); Dr. Jamie Mackee of University of Newcastle, Australia; and Dr. Indrajit Pal of AIT.

Transitioning towards a sustainable bioeconomy

Prof. Sudip K Rakshit (left) with Prof. Sivanappan Kumar.

Ever since the commencement of the Oil Age 150 years ago, the world has witnessed many “Black Swan” events leading to unpredictable oil prices. This signals a need to focus on sustainable bioeconomy with a renewed emphasis on innovation.

Tracing the historical perspective on the development of biorefining research and recent challenges in bioeconomy was Prof. Sudip K Rakshit, who delivered the Fifth Distinguished Adjunct Faculty (DAF) Seminar at AIT on 6 July 2016. Prof. Rakshit, who served AIT as Vice President for Research (2005-2012), spoke of the policy-technology interface stating that bioethanol production in Canada witnessed a major increase from 2005 when the government made it mandatory to mix alcohol with petrol. He anticipated that in the coming times, paper mills in Canada will move towards becoming energy producing centers.

JICA visits AIT, explores future collaboration

JICA team visits AIT labs.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is expanding in Thailand, and will focus on human resource development in the field of engineering and science. Visiting AIT on 14 July 2016, a threemember JICA delegation explored AIT’s expertise and offerings, and hoped that the two organizations can work toward human resource development in the region.

Chief Representative of JICA in Thailand, Mr. Hiroo Tanaka stated that JICA is concentrating on the transportation sector, particularly on high-speed railways. Mr. Tanaka was accompanied by Mr. Yojiro Miyashita, Representative from JICA, and Mr. Masanori Takenaka, Senior Program Officer.

Surendra Shrestha joins as new Vice President for Development

Mr. Surendra Shrestha

Mr. Surendra Shrestha has joined AIT as the new Vice President for Development (VPD) with effect from 1 July 2016. Earlier, his appointment as VPD was endorsed by the AIT Board of Trustees at its meeting held on 18 February 2016.

An AIT alumnus, Mr. Shrestha completed his MSc. in Computer Applications (1979-80). Prior to joining AIT, he was serving as Director of United Nations Environment Programme’s International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP IETC). He also delivered the distinguished alumni address on the occasion of AIT’s 120th Graduation. Mr. Shrestha has served in management capacities in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America in the United Nations.

Dr Jai Govind Singh promoted to the rank of Associate Professor

Dr. Jai Govind Singh

Dr. Jai Govind Singh has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD). Dr. Jai Govind Singh joined AIT as an Assistant Professor in December 2009, and his elevation follows positive recommendations of the Faculty Evaluation Panel (FEP) and the SERD

Professorial Board.

Prior to working at AIT, he has served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (July 2009-October 2009), and as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Electric Power System Division of the Royal Institute of Technology-KTH, Sweden (April

2008-June 2009). Dr. Singh obtained his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, India in 2001; his Master’s in Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, India in 2003; and a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, India in 2008.

Restructured AIT Administration

The AIT Central Administration has been reorganized and restructured. Effective 1 July 2016, the Institute also has a reconstituted AIT Management Team (AMT). Announcing this, AIT President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai said that five standing committees will aid and assist the AIT Management Team. The committees are: Finance and Resources Committee, Outreach Centers Committee, Development Committee, Research Committee, and IT Committee.

He also announced the implementation of a decentralized Responsibility Center Management (RCM), and creation of new Service Centers (SC). The existing Responsibility Centers (RC) which includes the three Schools and 12 Outreach RCs will remain untouched. More details are available at this link: http://goo.gl/yp3nbm

AIT Photo Folio (2014 - 2016)

A Photo Folio of AIT events and accomplishments for the preceding two-year period has been released. It can be downloaded at this link: http://goo.gl/YsIBVs

Annual Report 2015

The AIT Annual Report 2015 has been released. The 104-page report can be downloaded from this link: http://goo.gl/5CTp6Y

Coming Up

AIT Orientation: 4 August 2015

AIT-NIDA Sports Day: 20 August 2015

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Credits

Editor: Bajinder Pal Singh bajinder@ait.asia

Photos: Paitoon Tinnapong

Contact: Office of Media and Communications omco@ait.asia