Students from 23 Countries Make AIT Their New Home

AIT is Extremely Popular in Bangladesh: Ambassador

Indian Ambassador pays her first visit to AIT

The President Visits Top Universities in China

6 AIT Students attend NPU Winter Program

Dr Mohana Sundaram Shanmugam joins as Assistant Professor

AIT Alumnus appointed CEO of Mekong River Commission

EEM Alum appointed DG Wastewater Management Authority

Seminars and Workshops

Alumnus Colonel Dr. Yanyong Phataralaoha Donates 5 Million Baht to AIT

CSI Donates Two Million Baht toward Disaster Relief

Coming Up

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Students from 23 Countries Make AIT Their New Home

Students from 23 countries joined the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as the campus reopened for the January 2019 semester, with the new batch including a significant number who arrived as exchange students.Incoming students hail from Europe (France, Germany, and Hungary), Africa (Nigeria), and Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, People’s Republic of China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Viet Nam).

The diverse range of students is reflective of AIT’s international orientation and partnerships. Eight European universities have sent their students to AIT under international exchange agreements. These include Polytech Nice-Sophia, EDHEC Business School, and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (all of them from France); Technical University of Munich and Bauhaus University of Weimar (Germany); UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (The Netherlands); and Budapest Technical University, Hungary.Additionally, students from Tunghai University, Taiwan have also joined AIT under a Double Degree Master Program, while another batch joined from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (India) under the Unified Bachelor-Master program.

AIT is Extremely Popular in Bangladesh: Ambassador

“AIT is extremely popular in Bangladesh, and students aspire to study in the Asian Institute of Technology.” This was stated by H.E. Mr. Md Nazmul Quaunine, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand, during his visit to AIT on 7 January 2019. Accompanied by Ms. Shahnaz Gazi, Minister (Political), the Ambassador stated that Bangladesh wishes to

enhance its cooperation with AIT. “As we move towards the fourth industrial revolution, we will focus on research that is relevant to the emerging needs of our society,” the Ambassador said.

Welcoming the Ambassador, AIT President Eden Y Woon highlighted his vision of AIT, and stated that the Institute will focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. AIT was represented by Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Rajendra Shrestha, Dean, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Prof. Nazrul Islam, Dean, School of Management, Prof. Pennung Warnitchai, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology, Prof. Joyashree Roy, Bangabandhu Chair Professor at AIT, Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Executive Director, AIT Extension, Mr. Karma Rana, Institute Secretary, Mr. Shawn Kelly, Director, Office of External Relations (OEXR), and Ms. Sumana Shrestha, Senior Program Officer (OEXR). Later, the visiting delegation also met with members of the Bangladeshi community. Subsequently, on 29 January 2019, the Women’s Empowerment Organization of Bangladesh also organized an exhibition of products manufactured by small-scale entrepreneurs.

Indian Ambassador Pays First Visit to AIT

Ambassador of India to Thailand, H.E. Mrs. Suchitra Durai paid her first visit to AIT on 11 January 2019. Complimenting AIT for its exemplary work, she stated that it was heartening to learn about the contributions made by AIT,and how it has the shaped lives of so many people. She was accompanied by Mr. Ashwin M Kotnis, Counsellor (Science, Education and Consular).

AIT President Dr. Eden Y Woon mentioned that his vision is to establish the spread of AIT to other parts of Asia. There will be an increased focus on student exchange programs for students, and industry internships, President Woon added. The visiting delegation met with Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Rajendra Shrestha, Dean, School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), Prof. Nazrul Islam, Dean, School of Management, Prof. Matthew Dailey, Head, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, School of Engineering and Technology, Prof. Joyashree Roy of SERD, Mr. Karma Rana, Institute Secretary,and Ms. Sumana Shrestha, Senior Program Officer, Office of External Relations. The visiting delegation also interacted with students from India.

The President Visits Top Universities in China

Meeting with the Secretary General of China ScholarshipIn mid-January, President Eden Woon visited four universities in China. He also visited the China Scholarship Council to discuss the possibility of expanding scholarships for students from China. The universities visited were the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, the University of Science and Technology, University of China in Hefei, the Shanghai Tech University, and Shanghai University in Shanghai. The first three universities are in the Chinese Academy of Sciences system and are highly ranked in China and globally. The purpose is to promote AIT to these universities with the intention to forge agreements with them in students exchanges, faculty exchanges, workshops and training, research collaboration, and degree cooperation.

At each university, the President described the mission and status of AIT, and laid out for the leadership of the host universities his vision for the future of AIT. He found that there is great interest in AIT’s capacity building research and education and training, and there is interest in either directly collaborating with AIT in our core strength research areas or in complementarily collaborating with AIT by seeing if the leading-edge innovation research they are engaged in can be applied in our social impact research areas. In short, relationships will be developed between AIT and these prestigious universities, with AIT beneficiaries being students and faculty who will be able to interact in exchanges and research with these top universities in China. Followup actions to result eventually in concrete agreements have begun. This visit is part of the President’s vision to expand AIT’s global footprint and relationships and influence, and visits to top universities in other parts of the world will continue.

6 AIT Students Attend NPU Winter Program

Six AIT students attended the Winter Program organized by the Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi'an, China from 4-17 January 2019. The six students —  Mr. Sanguansak Pithaksenakul (Thailand), Mr. Kenneth Daniel Quesada (Philippines), Mr. Chanpisith Phal (Cambodia), Ms. Sirapa Malla (Nepal), Ms. Su Myat Kyaw (Myanmar), and Ms. Somaly Oum (Cambodia) joined other international students from Russia, South Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the winter program. Students participated in a wide range of activities ranging from learning about satellite control systems to Chinese history and language, and workshops on laser paper cutting.

Dr Mohana Sundaram Shanmugam Joins as Assistant Professor

Dr. Mohana Sundaram Shanmugam has joined the Water Engineering and Management program in AIT as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Shanmugam obtained his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, and completed his postdoc from University of Nebraska at Lincoln. His research interests include irrigation water management, groundwater recharge estimation, soil moisture monitoring and modelling in unsaturated zone, chemical leaching modelling into the groundwater systems, remote sensing and GIS applications for water resources and agriculture, and time series and geostatistical modelling of environmental observations.

AIT Alumnus appointed CEO of Mekong River Commission

Dr. An Pich Hatda , an AIT alumnus has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). He assumed office on January 18, 2019. Dr. Hatda is the second person from a Mekong riparian country to hold this position. He replaces Pham Tuan Phan of Viet Nam. Dr. Hatda earned a Master’s in Agricultural Systems from AIT in

1997, after which he completed a doctorate in Development Studies at the University of Tokyo.

EEM Alumnus appointed DG Wastewater Management Authority

Mr. Chira Wongburana, an AIT alumnus has been appointed Director General of Wastewater Management Authority of Thailand. He graduated with a Master’s in Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM) from AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) in 2007. He has served as Director of Wastewater Management, Deputy Director General for Operations, and Deputy Director General for Technical and Planning.

Seminars and Workshops

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Training 14-18 January 2019

Seminar on “Emotional Intelligence for Professional Growth” by Mr. Venugopal Lakshmipuram 15 January 2019

ICT seminar on "The Evolving Field of VR180 and 360 Immersive Storytelling" by AI Caudullo 23 January 2019

Workshop on “Sustainable Urban Development and Climate Change” 28 January 2019

Talk on “Construction Industry and Environmental Issue: Alternatives and Solutions” by Prof. Jahangir Mirza 30 January 2019

5 Million Baht for AIT

Alumnus and Member of the AIT Board of Trustees Colonel Dr. Yanyong Phataralaoha, donated 5 million bhat towards for scholarships, fellowships, and research fund support to AIT students. Dr. Yanyong, Managing Director of Thai PIpe Co.Ltd., graduated with a Ph.D. from AIT’s Industrial Engineering and Management program in 1986. AIT President Dr. Eden Y Woon, President, and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director, Office of Advancement, thanked Dr. Yanyong and Ms. Wintica Phataralaoha for their generous support.

CSI Donates Two Million Baht toward Disaster Relief

Computers and Structures Inc. (CSI) USA has donated two million baht to AIT toward disaster relief. The donation includes a one-million-baht donation for the victims of the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami.Following deliberations with Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive Director of AIT Solutions, CSI President and CEO Mr. Ashraf Habibullah announced a one-million-baht donation to the Sulawesi victims and an additional one million baht for disaster relief support activities organized by AIT.

The one-million-baht donation for victims of the Sulawesi disaster was handed over to the Ambassador of Indonesia to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Ahmad Rusdi by AIT President Dr. Eden Y. Woon on 11 January 2018. President Woon was accompanied by Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive Director, AIT Solutions, and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director, Office of Advancement.

Coming Up

AIT Day in Nepal: 9 February 2019

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Editor: Bajinder Pal Singh bajinder@ait.ac.th

Photos:

Paitoon Tinnapong

Samphat Semathong

Contact: Office of Media and Communications omco@ait.ac.th