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Annual Report
                          2011

Asian Institute of Technology
Copyright © 2011 Asian Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.

ADDRESS:
P Box 4, Klong Luang
 .O.
Pathumthani 12120
Thailand
www.ait.asia



   This Annual Report was compiled and produced by the Media and Communications Unit
   (MCU), External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO), with the involvement of
   all AIT employees.

   AIT wishes to thank the many people who rendered assistance in preparing this report.
Contents
AIT LEADERSHIP	                                 2    ACADEMICS	74
	   AIT Board of Trustees 	                     2    	   Academic Quality	                         74
	   Senior Management 	                         3    	   Admissions and Enrolment,
	   Chairman’s Message 	                        4    	   Management Improvements 	                 74
	   President’s Message	                        5    	   Language Center	                          75
                                                     	   Career Center	                            76
AIT OVERVIEW	                                   6
                                                     	   Fields of Study & Acedemic Programs	      76
	   AIT Quick Facts	                            6
	   Institutional Highlights	                   8    SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND
                                                     TECHNOLOGY	78
	   Fundraising Office	                         32
	   AIT Alumni Office	                          33   SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES
                                                     AND DEVELOPMENT	                              84
FLOOD of 2011	                                  34
                                                     SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT	                         90
Awards and Recognition	                         40
                                                     UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS	                       94
	   Alumni, Former Faculty 	                    40
	   Students 	                                  42   AIT EXTENSION	                                96
	Faculty	                                       45   AIT CONSULTING	                               98
AIT AT A GLANCE	                                52   intERLab	104
	Projects	                                      52
                                                     AIT VIETNAM	                                  108
	   Students and Alumni at a Glance	            54
	   Faculty at a Glance	                        55   Centers of Excellence	                        110
                                                     	   Center of Excellence on Sustainable
INTERNATIONAL REACH	                            56   	   Development in the context of
	   Consolidating AIT’s Bridge with Europe           	   Climate Change (CoE SDCC)	                110	
	   and North America	                          59   	   Yunus Center at AIT	                      111	
	   Looking Towards Africa	                     61   	   CSR Asia at AIT	                          112	
	   Looking towards the Indian Ocean	                	   United Nations, AIT Office	               113	
	   region and Central Asia	                    61
                                                     	   ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence
	   Satellite campuses study for Nepal,              	   on Millennium Development
	   Sri Lanka and Vietnam	                      61   	   Goals (ARCMDG)	                           113	
	   AIT opens its first Office in                    	   AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre
	   Shanghai, China	                            62   	   for Asia and the Pacific
	   Two stage Undergraduate and Unified              	   (AIT-UNEP RRC.AP)	                        116	
	   International Bachelor-Master’s Programs	   62   	   Asian Center for Soil Improvement 	
	   Visits and Exchanges	                       63   	   and Geosynthetics	                        117	
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT	                       68   	   WHO Collaborating Centre for Water 	           	
                                                     	   Supply, Waste Disposal and Air Pollution	 117	
	   New Research Strategy Developed in 2011	 68	
	   Most Cited in Scopus	                    71      	ACECOMS	                                     118	
	   Top Researchers with the Highest                 	   The Wetlands Alliance 2011	               119	
	   Number- of Projects initiated                    	   The Center of Excellence in
	   2006- 2011	                                 71   	   Nanotechnology (CoEN)	                    120	
	   Student Research	                           72   FACULTY MEMBERS	                              122
	   AIT Master’s Thesis Competition 2011	       73
                                                     PARTNERS IN 2011	                             128
                                                     FINANCIAL REPORT	                             134
                                                     GLOSSARY	148




                                                                                 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011     1
AIT Leadership



     ait board of trustees
       Chairman Emeritus                                  H.E. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda 	
                                                          Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand
       H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman			
       Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and       H.E. Mrs. Linglingay F. Lacanlale	
       Former Minister of Foreign Affairs                 Ambassador of the Philippines to Thailand
                                                          H.E. Mr. Gildas Le Lidec		
       Chairman                                           Ambassador of France to Thailand

       H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag 			                            Professor Dr. Somkit Lertpaithoon	
                                                          Rector, Thammasat University
       Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand and
       Assistant Secretary General for Administration,    H.E. Mr. Lim Jae-hong			
       the Thai Red Cross Society                         Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Thailand
                                                          H.E. Mr. David Lipman 			
       Vice Chair persons                                 Ambassador-Head of Delegation	 European
                                                          Commission to Thailand
       Professor Shinichiro Ohgaki		
       Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo,     H.E. Mr. Sohail Mahmood		
       President, National Institute for Environmental    Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand
       Studies (NIES), Japan                              H.E. Ms. Sirpa Mäenpää			
                                                          Ambassador of Finland to Thailand
       Mr. Jean-Pierre Verbiest		
                                                          H.E. Mr. Klas Molin			
       Former Country Director, Thailand Resident
                                                          Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand
       Mission, Asian Development Bank
                                                          H.E. Mrs. Katja Christina Nordgaard	
                                                          Ambassador of Norway to Thailand
       Board Members
                                                          H.E. Mr. Ouan Phommachak	
       H.E. Mrs. You Ay			
                                                          Ambassador of Lao People’s Democratic Republic
       Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand
                                                          to Thailand
       H.E. Mr. Johannes Andries Boer 	
                                                          Dr. Chitriya Pinthong 		
       Ambassador of the Netherlands to Thailand
                                                          Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign
       Mr. Chawalit Ekabut			                             Affairs, Thailand (retired end of September 2011)
       President, AIT Alumni Association (ex-officio)
                                                          Mr. Deepak Seth		
       Professor Hubert Gijzen	                           Chairman, House of Pearl Fashion Ltd., India
       Director of UNESCO in Jakarta
                                                          H.E. Mr. Naveen Prakash Jung Shah 	
       H.E. Mr. Mohammad Hatta 		                         Ambassador of Nepal to Thailand
       Ambassador of Indonesia to Thailand
                                                          H.E. Mr. Ngo Duc Thang 		
       Dr. Tongchat Hongladaromp	                         Ambassador of Vietnam to Thailand
       President of the University Council, King
                                                          H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa 		
       Mongkut’s University of Technology (Thonburi)
                                                          Ambassador of India to Thailand
       H.E. Mr. Kazi Imtiaz Hossain 	
                                                          Khunying Jada Wattanasiritham	
       Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand
                                                          Director and Executive Director, Siam Commercial
       Professor Said Irandoust		                         Bank Public Co., Ltd.
       President (ex-officio)
                                                          Ms. Yang Xinyu		
       Mr. Apichart Jeerawut			                           Deputy Secretary-General of China Scholarship
       Secretary-General, Commission on Higher            Council (CSC), PR of China
       Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand
                                                          Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong		
       H.E. Mr. Seiji Kojima	                             Former Minister of Science and Technology,
       Ambassador of Japan to Thailand                    Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand



                                                          Secretary to the Board
                                                          Mrs. Kulvimol Wasuntiwongse


2   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
AIT Leadership



senior management 2011
          PRESIDENT
          ●● Professor Said Irandoust

          VICE PRESIDENTS
          ●● Professor Joydeep Dutta, Academic Affairs
          ●● Professor Sudip K. Rakshit, Research
          ●● Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Resource
             Development

          DEANS
          ●● Dr. Barbara Igel, School of Management
          ●● Dr. Nitin V. Afzulpurkar, School of Engineering &
             Technology
          ●● Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, School of Environment,
             Resources & Development

          DIRECTORS
          ●● Dr. Amrit Bart, AIT Vietnam
          ●● Mr. Nico Barito, AIT Indonesia
          ●● Dr. Jonathan L. Shaw, AIT Extension and Regional
             Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC-AP)
             (Deputy Director)
          ●● Professor Kanchana Kanchanasut, Internet Education &
             Research Laboratory (intERLab)
          ●● Dr. Naveed Anwar, AIT Consulting
          ●● Mr. SanjeevJayasinghe, Fundraising
          ●● Dr. Sandro Calvani, ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence
             on Millennium Development Goals based at AIT
          ●● Professor Ajit P Annachhatre, AIT-United Nations
                             .
             Office,based at AIT
          ●● Dr. Riaz Rahman Khan, Yunus Center at AIT
          ●● Ms. Leena Wokeck, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
             Asia Center at AIT
          ●● Professor Gabor Louis Hornyak, Center for Learning
             Innovation & Quality
          ●● Professor Dennes T Bergado, Unified Programs at AIT
          ●● Dr. Mukand Singh Babel, Asian Water Research and
             Education (AWARE) Center at AIT




                                                      AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   3
AIT Leadership



     chairman's message
                                    NOW          in its fifty-second year, the Asian Institute of Technol-
                                                 ogy is a special and unique example of an interna-
                                    tional approach to higher education that transcends boundaries,
                                    encourages regional amity, and works for the sustainable develop-
                                    ment of Asia and beyond.

                                    As Chairman of the Board of Trustees, I am privileged to be associ-
                                    ated with this noble endeavor, and to witness the empowerment of
                                    young people that takes place at the AIT through first-class scholar-
                                    ship and learning.

                                    This has been a year when further strides were taken to position
         the Institute towards possibilities and opportunities that would enable its historical mission to
         progress to the future.

         As you read this report, you will see that it was another year when AIT scored highly in teach-
         ing, research, capacity building and outreach, across the breadth of our extensive networks.

         Conversely, however, 2011 will also be remembered for an historical low that tested the Insti-
         tute’s resolve and shook it to its very core. While certainly destructive to infrastructure, the
         devastating flood that submerged our campus nevertheless failed to wash away the AIT Com-
         munity’s most precious commodity – its spirit of international solidarity and goodwill.

         The AIT’s journey forward passed a significant historical signpost this year, when a new Charter
         was signed by twelve countries and one international organization. By moving towards becom-
         ing a fully fledged intergovernmental organization, a new era dawns for this noble institute
         situated in Thailand.




         H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag
         Chairman of the Board of Trustees
         Asian Institute of Technology




4   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
AIT Leadership



president's message
 AMONG                  the great universities and institutes of higher
                        learning around the region and throughout
 the world, the Asian Institute of Technology stands out as a uniquely
 international organization of higher learning committed to advancing
 quality teaching, learning, research, capacity-building and outreach
 beyond boundaries.

 In 2011, AIT delivered on its pledge to “develop highly qualified
 and committed professionals who play a leading role in the region’s
 sustainable development and its integration into the global economy” in
 a multitude of ways, many of which are reflected throughout the pages
 of this Annual Report.

 Once again, AIT distinguished itself through its niche capacity for networking, connecting, reaching
 out as a positive agent for change for people from developing countries, and by servicing countries in
 transition with knowledge and expertise. Across our faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, partners,
 supporters and stakeholders, the Institute achieved great results through ever more partnerships
 with public and private sector enterprises, all the while emphasizing excellence and practicality in the
 delivery of cutting edge new knowledge and enhanced human capital.

 In 2011, the Institute proudly finalized development of its research policy and research umbrella of
 “Sustainable Development in the context of Climate Change”. The five identified thematic areas of
 focus – Disaster Risk Management; Sustainable Land and Water Resources Management; Business
 and Innovation Models for a Green Economy; Urban and Rural Quality of Life and Sustainability;
 Lower Carbon, and Sustainable Production & Consumption Technologies & Management – aim to
 boost sustainable development of the region by strengthening its overall knowledge, development and
 business capacity, and by supporting communities and their sustainable economic development.

 Throughout the year, a number of significant strides were made to enhance the overall delivery of quality
 learning through the introduction of innovative professional master’s programs, regular postgraduate
 programs and the expansion of offerings in our new undergraduate programs. The inauguration of
 the new China Office in Shanghai, the official launch of the on campus AIT Consulting office, and the
 significant expansion of AIT Vietnam’s facility, signified our continued ambition to connect our experts
 and knowledge to opportunities and emerging markets.

 Near the end of the year, however, as a result of the Great Thailand Flood in 2011, the Asian Institute
 of Technology endured its greatest ever natural disaster and was forced to evacuate its cherished home
 campus. Indeed, AIT was crippled, with 50 percent of its infrastructure completely destroyed. Still,
 down but not undaunted, and through the resolve of the entire AIT Community, AIT was able to rise
 above the floodwaters that inundated our campus so that by year’s end the Institute was well on its
 way to recovery.

 It was at this darkest moment in our 52-year history that I believe AIT collectively rose up to embrace its
 finest hour. Looking forward, as president, let us all resolve to rebuild the Asian Institute of Technology
 into an even greater institute dedicated to the advancement of the region and the people of Asia and
 beyond.




 Prof. Said Irandoust
 President
 Asian Institute of Technology



                                                                                       AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   5
asian institute of technology
     overview




    AIT Quick Facts:

    ßß Students: 2,300 from 50+ countries         ßß Schools: 3
    ßß Faculty: 120+ from 20+ countries           ßß Research and Outreach Centers: 15
    ßß Alumni: 18,000+ postgraduate-level         ßß Research & Outreach Projects: 400+
       graduates from 88 countries and territo-
                                                  ßß Fields of Study and Academic Programs: 75+
       ries who live and work in 108 countries
       and territories                            ßß Courses: 1000+
    ßß Partners: 330                              ßß Research Staff: 100+




6   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
AIT Overview




HOME              to renowned experts, in-
                  ternational centers, and
international academic programs, the Asian
                                                  AIT Extension offers professional educa-
                                                  tion, short-course training and professional
                                                  degree programs. AIT Consulting links the
Institute of Technology (AIT) situated north      institute’s expertise with industry partners
of Bangkok, Thailand, is one of the leading       and provides of consulting services.
higher educational and research institutions
in Asia.                                          AIT also houses a number of reputed re-
                                                  search and outreach centers, such as the
Founded in 1959, AIT fosters a complete           Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology;
multicultural learning experience in English.     ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence on the
More than a university, AIT is a unique inter-    Millennium Development Goals (ARCMDG);
national organization of higher learning that     Yunus Center at AIT, established in partner-
is regionally focused, global in outlook and      ship with Professor Muhammad Yunus, re-
cosmopolitan in character.                        cipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize; CSR
                                                  Asia Center at AIT; and the Center of Excel-
It carries out its mission … “to develop highly   lence on Sustainable Development in the
qualified and committed professionals who         Context of Climate Change (SDCC).
play a leading role in the region’s sustain-
able development and its integration into the     The institute is host to the 3R (Reduce, Re-
global economy” … by supporting techno-           use and Recycle) Regional Knowledge Hub,
logical change and sustainable development        supported by the Asian Development Bank
through rigorous academic, research, capac-       (ABD), UNEP and UNESCAP AIT also hosts
                                                                               .
ity building and outreach activities.             UNEP's Regional Resource Center for Asia
                                                  and Pacific (AIT-UNEP RR.CAP), a joint
AIT partners with public and private sector       center with UNEP; the Regional Integrated
enterprises throughout the region and with        Multi-hazard Early Warning System for Asia
some of the world’s top universities and in-      and Africa (RIMES); and the Asia office of
ternational organizations. In addition to its     Télécoms Sans Frontières.
main campus in Bangkok, Thailand, AIT has
established a center in Vietnam.                  With friends all over the globe, a five-decade-
                                                  long history of academic excellence, and an
The main AIT campus in Pathumthani prov-          enduring reputation for responding to emerg-
ince is a mosaic of nationalities, ethnicities    ing regional and global challenges such as
and socioeconomic backgrounds. Diversity          climate change and sustainability, AIT is
of students, staff and faculty members is         advancing new understanding and applying
a valued part of AIT campus life that leads       practical solutions across Asia through its
to levels of cross-cultural engagement and        knowledge hub in Thailand.
international experiences not found at other
university campuses.

AIT’s degree programs are provided by its
School of Engineering and Technology; School
of Environment, Resources and Development;
and School of Management. Students benefit
from challenging academic programs and ex-
citing faculty-student research projects.




                                                                               AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   7
institutional highlights
       January

       AIT Consulting opens for business                                      H.E. Ms. Katja was impressed
                                                                              by AIT’s achievements and
                                                                              progress since its inception
                                                                              and made detailed inquiries
                                                                              of the programs, strategy and
                                                                              funding pattern of the insti-
                                                                              tute. She was accompanied
                                                                              by Mr. Erik Svedahl, Minister
                                                                              Counsellor and Mr. Moonstan
                                                                              Chatri, Senior Programme Of-
                                                                              ficer of the Royal Norwegian
                                                                              Embassy.



                                                                              AIT President
                                                                              meets Bangladesh
       AIT Consulting, AIT’s latest professional services arm, officially     President
       opened its doors for business on 20 January 2011 at a formal
       launching ceremony graced by numerous ambassadors, dignitar-
       ies, high-ranking officials, and senior AIT administration staff and
       faculty members.

       The Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag,
       and AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust cut the ceremonial ribbon
       to open the shiny new facility and usher in a new era for consulting
       services at AIT. The ceremony was witnessed by a large number of
       the AIT Board of Trustees and other distinguished guests.

       “AIT Consulting is AIT’s approach for professionalizing consultan-     AIT President Prof. Said Iran-
       cy services in an integrative way,” said Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive   doust met H.E. Mr. Moham-
       Director of AIT Consulting.                                            mad Zillur Rahman, President
                                                                              of the People’s Republic of
                                                                              Bangladesh during the sec-
       Norway assures continuous support to AIT                               ond convocation ceremony of
                                                                              Eastern University. The Presi-
       Norway has been a long time strong supporter of AIT, and it will       dent took the opportunity of
                                  continue to support the institute in        informing H.E. Mr. Rahman
                                  the future. This was stated by Her          about AIT and its initiatives
                                  Excellency Ms. Katja Christina Nor-         in Bangladesh. The President
                                  dgaard, Ambassador of Kingdom of            also discussed the latest de-
                                  Norway to Thailand, Cambodia and            velopments regarding the new
                                  Myanmar, during her visit to AIT on         AIT Charter with Her Excellen-
                                  11 January 2011.                            cy Hon. Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign
                                                                              Minister of Bangladesh.




8   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Prof. Irandoust also called on     Republic of Indonesia becomes 14th signatory
Nobel Laureate Prof. Muham-        of the new AIT Charter
mad Yunus and briefed him
about developments at the Yu-      Indonesia      became
nus Center at AIT.                 the fourteenth signa-
                                   tory of the new AIT
                                   Charter. In a modest
“I belong to the AIT               ceremony organized
fan club”                          at the Ministry of
                                   Foreign Affairs, Royal
                                   Thai Government in
                                   Bangkok on 20 Janu-
                                   ary 2011, the Ambas-
                                   sador of Indonesia to
                                   Thailand, His Excel-
                                   lency Mr. Mohammad
                                   Hatta, signed the AIT
                                   Charter. Indonesia joined 12 countries and one international orga-
                                   nization in signing the AIT Charter.
“I belong to the AIT fan club
and I admire AIT.” These were
the comments of Mr. Jadul          AIT is a very strong partner: JAXA
Apichatabutrd, Chief Inspector
General, Ministry of Interior of   Japan Aerospace Exploration
Thailand, during an interview      Agency (JAXA) considers AIT
conducted on the sidelines of      to be a very strong partner in
the Regional Workshop on the       terms of space technology re-
ASEAN Roadmap for the At-          lated work and will continue its
tainment of Millennium Devel-      collaboration. This was stated
opment Goals (MDGs),” orga-        by Dr. Masanori Homma, Ex-
nized on 24-25 January 2011        ecutive Director, JAXA, during a
in Bangkok.                        visit to AIT on 26 January 2011.
                                   “Our association with AIT is not
Mr. Apichatabutrd appreciated      restricted to capacity building
the work done by AIT, particu-     and education alone, since AIT’s
larly as a centre for education    contribution extends to substantive issues,” Dr. Homma said.
among ASEAN nations. Mr.
Nicholas Rosellini, Deputy Re-     Dr. Homma was accompanied by Mr. Shinichi Mizumoto, Director,
gional Director, Regional Bu-      JAXA Bangkok Office. JAXA has been seconding staff and faculty,
reau for Asia and the Pacific,     apart from supporting research at AIT.
United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), stated
that it is important that AIT is
now working on issues to do
with MDGs.




                                                                               AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   9
February

        AIT inaugurates China office                                            Dr. Rijsberman stated that the
                                                                                Foundation is looking towards
                                                                                AIT to come up with unique
                                                                                and innovative solutions in the
                                                                                field of sanitation. Impressed
                                                                                with the AIT’s research, labo-
                                                                                ratory work and scientific pa-
                                                                                pers, Dr. Rijsberman said they
                                                                                were interested to incentivize a
                                                                                move from laboratories to the
                                                                                field and a focus on practice
                                                                                and applications. “We are look-
                                                                                ing for innovations and tech-
                                                                                nology, which can benefit 80
                                                                                per cent of the population that
                                                                                does not have access to sanita-
                                                                                tion,” he added.



        AIT inaugurated a new office in Shanghai, a first-of-its-kind in the    ADB Country
        People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 24 February 2011. The for-         Director pays maiden
        mal ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the AIT China office          visit to AIT
        was jointly performed by H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman, Board of
        Trustees, AIT, and former foreign minister of Thailand; Ms. Yang
        Xinyu, Member, Board of Trustees, AIT, and Deputy Secretary-
        General, China Scholarship Council (CSC), Ministry of Education,
        PRC; and Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT.

        H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag said the AIT China office not only reaffirms
        the institute’s longstanding relationship with China, but also signi-
        fies the beginning of a new era based on “an ardent desire for a
        bright future of linkages in higher education between China and
        Thailand, and other countries in the region.”                           Country Director, Thailand
                                                                                Resident Mission of the Asian
                                                                                Development Bank (ADB), Mr.
        Gates Foundation interested in working with AIT                         Craig M. Steffensen, appreci-
                                                                                ated the role played by AIT,
        AIT enjoys a unique position and the Bill & Melinda Gates Founda-       stating that it is heartening
                                                  tion is exploring the pos-    that the institute is producing
                                                  sibility of AIT being an      graduates who return to their
                                                  Asian node for regional       home countries to help in the
                                                  cooperation. The Institute    nation building process.
                                                  is high on our radar, and
                                                  the Foundation would love     Mr. Steffensen referred to his
                                                  to work with AIT. These       experience     in   Afghanistan
                                                  were the remarks of Dr.       where AIT alumni are engaged
                                                  Frank Rijsberman, Direc-      in infrastructure development,
                                                  tor, Water, Sanitation and    particularly creating the road
                                                  Hygiene, Bill & Melinda       network in the country. At AIT
        Gates Foundation, during a visit to AIT on 11 February 2011.            on his maiden visit as ADB



10   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Country Director on 24 Febru-      ‘AIT gave me the break I needed’ – Oracle Corp VP
ary 2011, Mr. Steffensen said
he was aware of the long-term      Dr. Rafiul Ahad, Vice
engagement of ADB with AIT.        President, Collabora-
                                   tion Product Develop-
                                   ment, Oracle Corpora-
China Scholarship                  tion paid tribute to his
Council announces                  alma mater, stating
40 scholarships                    that AIT gave him the
                                   break that he needed.
                                   Visiting the AIT cam-
                                   pus on 14 February
                                   2011, Dr. Ahad ex-
                                   plained to senior fundraising officials about the impact AIT had
                                   on his professional career and personal life. “AIT was also where
                                   I met my wife, Frances Kasala, who was my classmate,” he joked
                                   playfully to a large audience attending his special alumni lecture at
                                   AIT on the topic “Cloud Computing: What, Why and How.”

                                   Watching her husband address the packed Milton E. Bender Jr.
                                   Auditorium, fittingly enough on Valentine’s Day, AIT alumna Ms.
                                   Frances Kasala, remembered the lecture hall vividly. Dr. Ahad also
The China Scholarship Coun-        pledged to do what he could back home in California, USA, to as-
cil (CSC) has announced 40         sist AIT’s fundraising campaign.
scholarships for qualified Chi-
nese candidates to undertake
Master’s and Doctoral pro-         Sri Lanka suggests AIT Colombo office
grams at AIT. A Memorandum
of Agreement (MoA) to this         H.E. Mr. S.B. Dis-
effect was signed by Ms. Yang      sanayake, Minister of
Xinyu, Deputy Secretary-Gen-       Higher Education, Sri
eral, of CSC, and Prof. Said       Lanka, has welcomed
Irandoust, President, AIT, dur-    the initial idea of
ing the inauguration ceremony      opening of an AIT city
of the AIT China office on 24      office in Colombo. The
February 2011 at Shanghai.         minister      suggested
                                   that the AIT Colombo office could offer short-term executive train-
CSC will provide 10 annual         ing programs in Sri Lanka, apart from overseeing the development
scholarships for a period of       of a full-fledged AIT campus in Hambantota. The minister made
four years. The scholarships       these remarks during a meeting with the AIT President Prof. Said
shall include tuition, registra-   Irandoust and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director Fundraising and
tion, research and visa fee;       Head AIT-Sri Lanka Satellite Campus Task Force, on 15 February
apart from living stipend and      2011.
health insurance; and a return
international airfare to China     Prof. Irandoust also met H.E.Mr. Namal Rajapaksa, Minister for
by the most economical route.      Southern Development along with Mr. R.M.D.B. Meegafnulla, Dis-
The funding for each Mas-          trict Secretary, Hambantota.
ter’s program will be up to 24
months, while the funding for
each Doctoral program shall
be up to 36 months.


                                                                                 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011    11
March
        AIT the focal point for satellite data                                  Delivering the welcome ad-
        information following Japan’s disaster                                  dress via a teleconference,
                                                                                Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor,
                                                                                Bangladesh Bank, remarked
                                                                                that the program would help
                                                                                the young bankers emerge
                                                                                as future leaders. “AIT is a
                                                                                world class institute and this
                                                                                program would contribute to-
                                                                                wards our aim of ensuring that
                                                                                Bangladesh Bank becomes a



                                                                                NASA Attaché visits
                                                                                AIT

        AIT played a critical role in helping recovery efforts in Japan, fol-
        lowing the earthquake and tsunami. The Cabinet Office of Japan
        activated the International Charter, and the Charter had appointed
        AIT’s Dr. Masahiko Nagai as project manager of this disaster for
        the International Charter on ‘Space and Major Disasters’. Interna-
        tional space organizations worked along with Dr. Nagai to provide
        maps and satellite images for rescue and relief operations.

        “Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is normally the proj-
        ect manager of Japan, but since in the immediate aftermath of           AIT hosted a visit by a senior
        the disasters, the JAXA repository was down, it was decided that        official representative of Amer-
        I would act as project manager,” Dr. Nagai revealed. Dr. Nagai is       ica’s National Aeronautics and
        Associate Director at AIT’s Geoinformatics Center, and has been         Space Administration (NASA).
        seconded to AIT by JAXA. The International Charter was activated        Mr. Justin Tilman, Attaché at
        following a disaster and partner agencies immediately start shar-       the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and
        ing satellite information and data on the disaster.                     NASA’s representative in the
                                                                                Pacific Rim, visited AIT on 25
                                                                                March 2011. Arriving at the in-
        21 bankers attend launch of Professional                                vitation of the Geoinformatics
        Master’s in Banking and Finance                                         Center at AIT, Mr. Tilman met
                                                                                with senior officials and gave a
                                                    Professional Master’s       lecture to students and faculty
                                                    in Banking and Fi-          titled “NASA Programs and Co-
                                                    nance (PMBF), a pro-        operation in Asia.”
                                                    gram jointly offered by
                                                    AIT and the University      Mr. Tilman elaborated on NA-
                                                    of Applied Sciences         SA’s five core themes, all of
                                                    Northwestern (FNHW),        which have international co-
                                                    Switzerland, was for-       operation components. NASA
                                                    mally launched at AIT       organizes its work through its
                                                    on 14 March 2011.           Human Spaceflight, Science,
                                                                                Exploration, Aeronautics, and
        The first batch of 21 bankers participated in the inaugural func-       Education Programs. He gave
        tion held at Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium at AIT. All participants   insight into its famed Human
        were from Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.


12   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Space Program, offering op-        MoA was initiated Prof. Takashi Nakatsuji, Professor, Graduate
erational specifics about the      School of Engineering, HU, and Dr. Kunnawee Kanitpong, Coordi-
30-year-old Shuttle Program,       nator, TRE, at AIT’s School of Engineering and Technology (SET).
the International Space Sta-
tion program and its associat-
ed international partnerships.     BJU signs MoU with
                                   AIT, seeks exchange
world class bank,” Dr. Rahman      of doctoral
said. He added that the pro-       students
gram participants had been
selected on a competitive ba-      Beijing Jiaotong Univer-
sis, and that this was the first   sity (BJU) signed a MoU
time that the bank had sent        with AIT, seeking to estab-
participants for a Professional    lish a strong collaboration
Master’s program.                  in academic and research
                                   programs. BJU and AIT decided to collaborate in academics, re-
                                   search, training, and faculty development, apart from jointly orga-
AIT launches double                nizing student activities.
degree program with
Hokkaido University                The MoU was signed by Prof. Ning Bin, President of BJU, and Prof.
                                   Said Irandoust, President, AIT, on 23 March 2011. AIT and BJU
                                   also plan to launch a two stage Master’s program in high speed
                                   railways. Prof. Bin said that it was because of AIT’s strong inter-
                                   national brand that three Deans and one Vice Dean were part of
                                   the BJU delegation visiting AIT. Prof. Bin also expressed interest in
                                   AIT’s Doctoral of Business Administration (DBA) program.



                                   Uganda’s Busitema University signs MoU

                                   AIT and Busitema Univer-
AIT and Hokkaido University        sity (BU), Uganda, signed a
(HU) signed a Memorandum           MoU to enable cooperation
of Agreement (MoA) launching       between the two institutes.
a Double Degree program. The       The MoU was signed by
Double Degree program was          Prof. Mary Jossy Nakandha
initiated between the Trans-       Okwakwol, Vice Chancel-
portation Engineering field of     lor, BU, and Prof. Said Iran-
study at AIT and the Research      doust, President, AIT, on 17
Group of Policy for Engineer-      March 2011.
ing and Environment of Engi-
neering at HU.                     The MoU followed three-day-long deliberations with the delegation
                                   from BU, which arrived at AIT on 15 March, 2011. The delegation
The MoA signing ceremony           held talks with senior AIT officials and also visited AIT facilities.
was held at AIT on 17 March        Interacting with senior AIT officials, Prof. Okwakwol stated that
2011 in the presence of Prof.      BU is the only public university in Eastern Uganda. The University
Said Irandoust, President, AIT,    has seven campuses and is keen to develop a science and tech-
where Dr. Nitin V. Afzulpurkar,    nology park. Prof. Irandoust stated that AIT is keen to expand
Dean, School of Engineering        its horizons in to Africa. “Asia and Africa have a lot to learn from
and Technology (SET) signed        each other,” he remarked, while adding that the visit of BU is very
the MoA on behalf of AIT. The      important for AIT.


                                                                                  AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   13
April

        100 scholarships for Aceh students                                       “I have already informed the
                                                                                 Vice Prime Minister of Viet-
                                                                                 nam and the Vice Minister of
                                                                                 Education about the proposal
                                                                                 to partner with AIT to estab-
                                                                                 lish a university,” Mr. Thuang
                                                                                 added. “We are requesting AIT
                                                                                 to open a University in Ho Chi
                                                                                 Minh City to help meet the hu-
                                                                                 man resource needs of not just
                                                                                 our city, but also of entire Viet-
                                                                                 nam,” Mr. Thuan said, while
                                                                                 addressing senior AIT officials.
        A five-year program involving 100 scholarships for staff and fac-
        ulty members of Government of Aceh, Indonesia will be launched
        at AIT. The Government of Aceh will provide 75 per cent of tuition       AIT a ‘natural bridge’
        fellowships and transportation, living and other associated costs,       to Africa’s vast
        while AIT will offer 25 per cent tuition fellowship.                     opportunities

        This was finalized under a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA)
        signed by AIT President Prof Said Irandoust on 19 April 2011.
        Students under this scholarship program will be spread over five
        years and scholars will pursue Master’s or Doctoral degrees at AIT,
        mainly in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture and
        fisheries, and food processing. The program will be open for staff       African business executives, poli-
        and faculty members of the Government of Aceh and higher learn-          ticians, government officials and
        ing institutions in Aceh. In addition to the MoA, the Government         thought leaders concluded the
        of Aceh also plans to send more students to pursue community             first day of the Africa and South-
        development study programs at AIT.                                       East Asia Business Forum (AF-
                                                                                 RICSEA) 2011 convinced that
                                                                                 Africa’s social and economic po-
        AIT-Vietnam campus plan receives positive                                tential matches its vast physical
        support                                                                  size. According to co-organizer
                                                                                 Mr. Didier Acouetey, Executive
                             AIT moved closer towards establishing a satellite   President, AfricSearch, the an-
                             campus in Vietnam, with a delegation headed by      nual international forum aims
                             the Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of      to position Africa in South-East
                             Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Hua Ngoc Thuan, offering      Asia (SEA) by facilitating direct
                             land and “all support” to AIT to help establish a   contact between potential part-
                             full-fledged AIT-Vietnam campus.                    ners located on both continents.

                              The eight-member delegation from Vietnam           AIT was the sole higher learning
        which visited AIT on 18 April 2011 stated that they would prepare        institution partner for the event
        a final proposal and complete all formalities so that the concept of     that opened on April 19 under
        AIT satellite campus in Vietnam could be presented to the appro-         the theme “Bringing Africa to
        priate authorities. Mr. Thuan stated that an area ranging between        South East Asia.” Dr. Roland
        22-25 hectares will be available exclusively to AIT to establish a       Amoussou, AIT adjunct faculty,
        university in Ho Chi Minh City. The land demarcation follows a           and co-founder and president
        meeting with participants of various departments of Ho Chi Minh          of the Asia-Africa Foundation,
        City. Located in the northwest part of Ho Chi Minh City, the area        represented AIT leading a small
                                                                                                 ,
        will also host two other university campuses.                            delegation of associates from
                                                                                 Bangkok that included Mr. G.I.D.

14   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Chima, Senior Counsellor, Eco-      Union spearheaded a donation box for Japan at the auditorium’s
nomic Matters, Embassy of           entrance, and the capacity crowd observed one minute of silence
Nigeria to Thailand; Mr. Joseph     for Japan prior to the show’s opening curtain.
Bazambanza, Senior Partner,
Jobaz Consulting; and Mr. Wolf-
gang Bertelsmeier, former World     General Declaration of Understanding
Bank and IFC official, and Asia-    inked between AIT, CIRAD and University of La
Africa Foundation representa-       Réunion, France
tive.
                                    Following a five-day visit by senior
                                    officials to the French overseas De-
Cultural Show                       partment of Réunion Island, AIT
2011: AIT Unites in                 signed a General Declaration of
Solidarity for Japan                Understanding on 9 April 2011 be-
                                    tween AIT, CIRAD and University of
                                    La Réunion, France.

                                    The tripartite General Declaration of Understanding, signed on be-
                                    half of AIT by Prof. Sudip Rakshit, Vice President for Research, ex-
                                    presses the intention to collaborate on a number of fronts, including
                                    academic exchanges of scientists and faculty, joint research, student
                                    mobility, joint thesis, and publications. It makes possible a joint mas-
                                    ter’s program, especially one on ecological intensification research.
As the lights dimmed and the
spotlight shone, a bevy of AIT’s    Prof. Rakshit led the AIT delegation from 4-9 April 2011 to Reunion
finest performing artists took      that included Prof. Ajit Annachatre (EEM), Dr. Wenresti Gallardo
to the AIT Conference Center        (AARM), Dr. Manzul Hazarika (Geoinformatics Center) and Dr. Lio-
auditorium stage to sing, dance     nel Dabbadie (CIRAD seconded faculty to AARM). Mr. Olivier Dréan,
and entertain for the sheer love    Coordinator of AIT-French Collaboration, facilitated the mission.
of performance and to show
solidarity for the victims of the
recent catastrophe in Japan.        AIT alumnus appointed Ledcor Group Applied
                                    Research Chair
AIT Cultural Show 2011 at-
tracted a full-house of over 500                       Dr. Haneef Mian, an alumnus of AIT, has been
who witnessed a wide variety of                        appointed the Ledcor Group Applied Research
acts and nationalities compete                         Chair in Oil Sands Environmental Sustainabil-
in singing, drama, talent show,                        ity at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
and dance competitions.                                (NAIT), Canada. Dr. Haneef credits AIT for the
                                                       knowledge gained during graduate studies, and
Organized on 1 April 2011                              the advice offered to him at the Environmental
under the theme “We Unite in                           Engineering and Management (EEM) program.
Solidarity” the evening brought     “The graduate training at AIT-EEM provided me with the state-of-
out the very best of what the       the-art tools, techniques and practices that assisted me in push-
AIT Community represents. As        ing the envelope,” he said. Describing his studies at AIT as “amaz-
teams and individuals vied for      ing” Dr. Haneef, who was earlier with the Energy Resources Control
the judges’ approval, organiz-      Board (ERCB), completed his Master’s from AIT’s Environmental
ers said the competition took a     Engineering and Management (EEM) in 1997. He is leading the
back-seat to the spirit of inter-   “Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Initiative” at the School of
national togetherness on dis-       Sustainable Building and Environmental Management at NAIT. Fol-
play. The Gender and Culture        lowing his appointment, he was interviewed in Tech Life Mag, apart
Committee of the AIT Student        from being featured in the winter 2011 issue of the NAIT newsletter.

                                                                                     AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011    15
May

        428 graduates from 25 countries graduate                               Indian Administrative
                                                                               officers for training
                                                                               program at AIT




                                                                               AIT is a good platform for pro-
                                                                               viding training facilities in the
                                                                               field of disaster management.
                                                                               This was the view expressed by
                                                                               Mr. K.S.Prabhakar, Secretary,
        Four hundred and twenty eight graduates from 25 countries spread       Disaster Management, Gov-
        across five continents graduated from AIT on 26 May 2011. Thai-        ernment of Karnataka, India,
        land provided the maximum cohort of 144 graduates, followed by         during the inaugural function
        93 graduates from Vietnam. Dr. Madhav Karki, Deputy Director           of the training course on “Geo-
        General of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Devel-     spatial Technology for Flood
        opment (ICIMOD), who read the graduation speech on behalf of           Mitigation” organized for In-
        Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD, exhorted students      dian government officials on
        to take risks, and experiment in their young professional life.        23 May 2011. Stating that the
                                                                               Indian province of Karnataka
                                                                               faces the flood menace regu-
        Assam’s Chief Minister H.E. Tarun Gogoi visits                         larly, Mr. Prabhakar hoped that
        AIT, states interest in partnership                                    the training program would
                                                                               help in building capacity of the
        The Chief Minister of Assam State, India, H.E. Tarun Gogoi, ex-        administration in tackling such
                                                    pressed interest in col-   disasters. Mr. Prabhakar led a
                                                    laborating with AIT to     team of 11 Indian Administra-
                                                    address a number of        tive Service (IAS) officers to
                                                    priority concerns for      participate in the training pro-
                                                    his state, particularly    gram at AIT.
                                                    in the areas of edu-
                                                    cation and sustain-
                                                    able    socioeconomic
                                                    development. “These
                                                    issues must be solved
                                                    through a focus on
        improved education that stresses science and technology,” Chief
        Minister Gogoi told AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust. He made
        these comments on 3 May 2011 while leading a high-ranking del-
        egation to AIT to explore possibilities for partnership. The chief
        minister was accompanied on the visit by H.E. Mr. Pisan Manawa-
        pan, Thailand’s newly appointed Ambassador to India. Ambas-
        sador Manawapan officially assumed his diplomatic post in New
        Delhi on 22 March 2011.



16   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Ambassador plays                   IPLA Global Secretariat comes to AIT
host to Japanese
scholarship
recipients




                                   A major new global initiative, IPLA, launched by the United Na-
                                   tions Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to aid
                                   local governments in managing growing waste problems, was an-
Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Mr.      nounced at UN-Headquarters in New York on 13 May 2011. The
Seiji Kojima felicitated seven     Global Secretariat of International Partnership for Expanding
AIT Japanese scholarship re-       Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA) is hosted
cipients at a dinner hosted at     by AIT. The project is spearheaded by AIT’s Prof. C. Visvanathan.
his residence to celebrate their   Prof. Sudip Kumar Rakshit, Vice President for Research, represent-
graduation on 19 May 2011.         ed AIT at the official launch of the IPLA at UN-Headquarters in
H.E. Mr. Kojima congratulated      New York on 13 May 2011.
the graduating students, and
highlighted the importance
of AIT as a development part-      DPRK senior government officials train at AIT
ner in promoting sustainable
development in the region          Ten senior officials
through higher education. H.E.     from the Democratic
Mr. Kojima thanked AIT and         People’s Republic of
its contribution to the Govern-    Korea (DPRK) par-
ment of Japan towards recon-       ticipated in a highly
struction activities in the af-    specialized      four-
fected areas after the March       week training pro-
2011 earthquake and tsunami        gram on integrated
disaster. The graduating stu-      watershed manage-
dents included three students      ment and refores-
from GDS field of study and        tation at AIT. The
four from Remote Sensing and       training course from May 16 – June 10 on Integrated Watershed
Geographical Information Sys-      Management (IWSM) and Reforestation was a part of the proj-
tems (RS-GIS).                     ect “Promoting Regional and Economic Cooperation in North-East
                                   Asia with particular focus on the Democratic People’s Republic of
                                   Korea (DPRK)” implemented by United Nations Economic and So-
                                   cial Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).The course,
                                   conducted largely by AIT faculty and implemented by UNESCAP     ,
                                   was tailor-made for government officers and technical personnel
                                   from North Korea. The curriculum has been jointly prepared by
                                   UNESCAP and AIT and is based on the requirements for staff
                                   training prepared by the Ministry of Land and Environment Pro-
                                   tection and the State Academy of Sciences, Government of the
                                   DPRK.



                                                                               AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   17
June

        Nepal President, PM praise AIT                                        UNISDR for AIT
                                                                              participation in
                                                                              Global Assessment
                                                                              Report




                                                                              The United Nations International
                                                                              Strategy for Disaster Reduction
                                                                              (UNISDR) is keen to associate
        President of Nepal, Rt. Honorable Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and             with AIT in the preparation of
        Prime Minister Rt. Honorable Jhala Nath Khanal praised AIT, and       the Global Assessment Report
        thanked the Institute for its contribution towards development of     (GAR). This was stated by Mr.
        human resources in Nepal. They made these remarks in separate         Jerry Velasques, Senior Regional
        meetings with an AIT delegation led by the AIT President Prof.        Coordinator, UNISDR for Asia
        Said Irandoust on 16 June 2011.The Nepal president referred to        and Pacific, at a meeting held at
        the positive experience of his son when he was studying at AIT,       AIT on 3 June 2011. Interacting
        stating that AIT enjoys a prestigious place in the realm of educa-    with the AIT President and other
        tion. President Yadav offered his full support to AIT and wished      senior faculty and staff mem-
        the Institute success in its endeavours. Prime Minister Khanal        bers, Mr. Velasquez stated that
        highlighted the importance for Nepal to consolidate and update        the two had collaborated during
        its educational system.                                               the Asia Pacific Disaster Report
                                                                              in 2010. “We know the strengths
                                                                              of AIT and we are keen to learn
        AIT and RSU launch 5-year International                               more about other possibilities
        Bachelor-Master Degree program in                                     of collaboration particularly in
        engineering                                                           undertaking analytical work,” he
                                                                              said.
                                            AIT and Rangsit University
                                            (RSU) joined forces to offer a
                                            new Unified International Bach-   Nepali alumnus Binda
                                            elor-Master Degree program in     Pandey elected at ILO
                                            engineering that enables stu-
                                            dents in Thailand to earn both    AIT alumnus Ms. Binda Pandey
                                            an undergraduate and graduate     was elected as Deputy Member
                                            degree in five years. The Memo-   of the Governing Body of the
                                            randum of Agreement (MoA)         International Labour Organi-
        was signed by Dr. Arthit Urairat, President, RSU and Prof. Said       zation (ILO), a United Nations
        Irandoust, President, AIT on 2 June 2012. The English-only Uni-       specialized agency. Her elec-
        fied Program allows students to earn a bachelor in engineering        tion took place at the 100th
        from RSU, and then further their postgraduate-level engineering       Session of the International
        studies at AIT. RSU will initially offer a Bachelor of Engineering    Labour Conference held from
        (B.Eng.) in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Comput-     1-17 June 2011 in Geneva,
        ing Engineering.                                                      Switzerland. Ms. Pandey is the
                                                                              former Deputy Secretary Gen-


18   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




eral and member of the cen-       Better Cities.” AIT joins other universities including the University
tral planning commission of       of Pennsylvania (USA), Tongji University (China), ESSSEC Busi-
the General Federation of Ne-     ness School (France), and London School of Economics (UK) as
pali Trade Unions (GEFONT).       partners with UN-HABITAT. While inviting AIT to join the network,
AIT President Said Irandoust      UN-HABITAT described AIT as an “international renowned institu-
offered his congratulations       tion,” that will bring real added value to the award.
on her being the first woman
from South Asia elected to the
188-member governing body         UNESCO delegation for partnership with AIT
of the ILO.                       on sustainability issues

                                  UNESCO is working on
AIT and NEF-CCN                   mainstreaming the issue
Colleges to offer                 of climate change in curri-
joint educational                 cula and is keen to develop
programs                          sustainable      development
                                  indicators. UNESCO Bang-
                                  kok is also keen on policy
                                  initiatives, and it wishes to tap the expertise available at AIT. This
                                  was the sentiment expressed by a delegation of UNESCO which
                                  visited AIT on 27 June 2011. “UNESCO is keen that educational
                                  curriculum includes climate change and sustainability,” Ms. Vi-
                                  monmas Pam Vachatimanont, Programme Assistant, Education
AIT and Nepal Education Foun-     for Sustainable Development Unit (ESD) remarked. Ms. Katie
dation – Consortium of Col-       Vanhala, Associate Expert, ESD, stated that the concept of green
leges, Nepal (NEF-CCN), will      schools and community learning is a focus area. Ms. Lay-Cheng
jointly offer Two-stage Mas-      Tan, Programme Officer, Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational
ter’s Programs in Business Ad-    Innovation for Development (APEID) spoke on the issue of teacher
ministration, Energy Business     training, and was interested to learn about AIT’s experience on
Management, and in Energy         training of trainers.
and Environment, as well as
Two-stage Bachelor Programs
in ICT, and Civil and Infra-      Unified Bachelor-Master program launched in
structure Engineering. This       India
followed the signing of three
Memorandums of Agreement          A Unified Bachelor-Master-
by Prof Said Irandoust, Presi-    Program (UBMP) in the
dent, AIT and Prof. Sriram Bh-    Agri-Business Management
agut Mathe, Chairperson of        (ABM) was formally launched
NEF-CCN, on 15 June 2011 at       on 13 June 2011 at the Sam
a function organized in Kath-     Higginbottom Institute of
mandu, Nepal.                     Agriculture, Technology and
                                  Sciences (SHIATS), Allahabad, India. The inaugural ceremony was at-
                                  tended by Prof. S. B. Lal, Pro Vice Chancellor, SHIATS, and Dr. Weera-
AIT invited to join               korn Ongsakul, Dean, AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and
“Business Award for               Development (SERD). This program allows students to complete a
Better Cities”                    Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in a period of five years, as opposed
                                  to a regular period of six years. Students spend their first four years
AIT was invited by UN-HABITAT     at SHIATS, and they move to AIT in the fifth year to complete the
to join the network of partners   Master’s program. The Bachelor’s degree will be awarded by SHIATS
for the “Business Award for       and the Master's degree will be awarded by AIT   .


                                                                                  AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011    19
July

        54 KIIT students return after a month at AIT                            since it is perceived to be a
                                                                                politically neutral platform.
                                                                                Kamen om Hjärnorna is a pub-
                                                                                lication of Akademiska Hus, a
                                                                                Swedish state-owned company
                                                                                which manages real estate and
                                                                                facilities in academic and re-
                                                                                search institutions in Sweden.



                                                                                ‘US-Thai Creative
                                                                                Partnership’
        Fifty four students of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology       explores
        (KIIT) returned to India after spending a month of intensive stud-      opportunities with
        ies at AIT. They were awarded certificates of attendance by Dr.         AIT
        Weerakorn Ongsakul, Dean, School of Environment, Resources
        and Development (SERD), at a concluding ceremony organized
        at the AIT Conference Center. The students, who were from the
        School of Rural Management of KIIT, went through a program
        comprising of studies and coursework at AIT, combined with field
        work at Saraburi province in Thailand. AIT enrols KIIT students as
        special students during the inter-semester period and offers them
        a certificate in Rural Management, which is counted towards cred-
        its in KIIT’s MBA in rural management. Led by Prof. Gopal Baha-
        dur Thapa; Prof. Jayant Kumar Routray; and Dr. Soparth Pongquan
        of Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP) field of study        Opportunities exist for AIT
        at AIT’s SERD, the program is now running into its second year.         to partner with the ‘US-Thai
                                                                                Creative Partnership’ across
                                                                                a broad range of activities.
        AIT featured among six successful knowledge                             The initiative is spearheaded
        environments                                                            by the Embassy of the United
                                                                                States in Thailand. This was
                                  AIT was featured by the Swedish publica-      stated by Ms. Harriet Foster,
                                  tion Kampen om Hjärnorna, as one of the       Creative Partnership Coordina-
                                  six educational institutes which possess      tor, United States Embassy in
                                  a successful knowledge environment. AIT,      Thailand, who paid her maiden
                                  along with University of Geneva; Univer-      visit to AIT on 18 July 2011.
                                  sity of Zurich, Switzerland; University of    Ms. Foster was accompanied
                                  Melbourne, Australia; University of Min-      by Dr. Chonchanok Viravan,
                                  nesota, USA; and Technical University,        Advisor, Amata Science City
                                  Munich; were chosen for their ability to      project. The Creative Partner-
                                  create a knowledge environment which is       ship is intended to streamline
                                  successful in attracting international stu-   existing Thai-U.S. business and
                                  dents and furthering knowledge. “Green        government efforts in innova-
                                  campus becomes a knowledge hub” is            tion; increase research and
                                  how journalist Ms. Linda Karl Sson Eldh       university exchange; and build
        described AIT. AIT’s internationality is also mentioned in the arti-    beneficial bridges between the
        cle. Sixty per cent of AIT’s students come from abroad, and an in-      private sector and academia.
        ternational climate pervades its entire premises, the article said.
        AIT is also home to several international organizations and NGOs,



20   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




AIT to foster capacity            ESCAP welcomes AIT expertise on Green
building in Maldives              Growth Capacity Development Training
                                  Modules

                                  United Nations Eco-
                                  nomic and Social
                                  Commission        for
                                  Asia and the Pacific
                                  (ESCAP) are inter-
                                  ested in developing
                                  Green Growth Ca-
                                  pacity Development
                                  Training Modules along with AIT. AIT’s expertise is sought in pro-
                                  viding case studies, and subject experts to deliver the training
                                  modules. In a meeting at AIT on 6 July 2011, a delegation includ-
                                  ing Dr. Aida Karazhanova, Head, Institutional Support Component,
Civil    Service   Commission     AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC.
(CSC) of Republic of Maldives     AP); Ms. Maria Tomovic, Green Business and Sustainable Develop-
signed a Memorandum of Un-        ment Consultant, Environment and Development Policy Section
derstanding (MoU) to create       (EDPS), UNESCAP; Mr. Kenan Mogultay, and Ms. Pitchayanin Suk-
more capacity among civil ser-    holthaman highlighted the Green Growth Capacity Development
vants to pursue public sector     Programme (GGCDP). Ms. Tomovic remarked that the GGCDP is
reform initiatives. The MoU       aimed at policy-makers in South-East Asia, Central Asia and the
was signed by Mr. Mohammed        Pacific. She expressed interest in AIT providing case studies and
Fahmy Hassan, Chairman of         also offering subject experts for the program.
Maldives CSC, and Prof. Su-
dip Kumar Rakshit, Vice Presi-
dent, Research, AIT, on 25 July   AIT among UNESCO-IHE partners in Gates
2011.The MoU aims to facili-      Foundation project
tate staff exchange programs,
training of trainers and offer    AIT was among the eight
of professional degree and        partners of UNESCO-
certificate programs. AIT ex-     IHE Institute for Water
perts will visit Maldives to      Education, which was
offer management and train-       awarded a US$8 million
ing consultancy. AIT will also    grant from the Bill &
encourage Doctoral and Mas-       Melinda Gates Founda-
ter’s level research in areas     tion (BGMF). Spread over five years, the grant is targeted at educa-
of relevance to Maldives. AIT     tion and research in postgraduate programs with a focus on solu-
Extension will despatch a fact    tions for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
finding mission to Maldives to    The project was developed by Prof. Damir Brdjanovic, Professor of
determine the capacity devel-     Sanitary Engineering, UNESCO-IHE. Dr. Thammarat Koottatep of
opment needs of various min-      AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD)
istries in the country.           is spearheading the project for AIT. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foun-
                                  dation announced this grant at the AfricaSan 2011 Conference
                                  in Kigali, Rwanda, on 19 July 2011. This is one of the largest re-
                                  search and postgraduate education projects targeting sanitation
                                  for the urban poor. Earlier, a delegation of the Bill & Melinda Gates
                                  Foundation headed by Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director, Water, Sani-
                                  tation and Hygiene; and Mr. Doulaye Kone, Senior Program Officer
                                  had visited AIT in February 2011.


                                                                                 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   21
August
                                                                                the inaugural address. Later,
        532 students from 42 countries join AIT
                                                                                President Irandoust visited the
                                                                                TERI University campus to ex-
                                                                                plore ideas for possible coop-
                                                                                eration and joint work, and to
                                                                                tour its facilities. He also held
                                                                                talks with TERI Vice Chancel-
                                                                                lor Prof. Bhavik Bakshi, Regis-
                                                                                trar Dr. Rajiv Seth, and various
                                                                                deans and department heads.



                                                                                AIT Professor
                                                                                publishes book with
                                                                                Nobel laureate

        Five hundred and thirty-two students from forty-two countries con-
        stituted the latest batch of students at AIT enrolled for the August
        2011 semester. Those accepted for admission at AIT included stu-
        dents from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
        Welcoming the students on Orientation Day on 10 August 2011,
        Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT, remarked that AIT is an ideal
        platform for not only learning, but also for forging lifelong friend-
        ships, connections and networks. “AIT is not a normal university,
        as it focuses on networking and learning through interaction and
        observation,” Prof. Irandoust remarked. He added that AIT is an
        International Intergovernmental Institute of higher learning, and
        unlike traditional universities, students would be awarded a de-
                                                                                Faculty member Prof. Ganesh
        gree by an Intergovernmental Institute.
                                                                                P Shivakoti co-authored a book
                                                                                 .
                                                                                with Nobel laureate Ms. Elinor
                                                                                Ostrom, winner of the 2009
        AIT inks MOU with Nobel Laureate of TERI
                                                                                Nobel Prize in Economics. The
        University
                                                                                book, titled “Improving Irriga-
                                               AIT entered into a Memo-         tion in Asia,” is based on a two-
                                               randum of Understanding          decade-long study on innova-
                                               (MoU) with India’s TERI          tive interventions for sustained
                                               University which opens up        performance of irrigation sys-
                                               possibilities for cooperation    tems. Co-authored by Prof.
                                               in across a range of aca-        Elinor Ostrom; Mr. Wai Fung
                                               demics and research. The         Lam of the University of Hong
                                               MoU was signed in 4 August       Kong; Mr. Prachanda Pradhan,
                                               2011 by AIT President Said       Patron, Farmer Managed Ir-
        Irandoust and Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chancellor, TERI Universi-      rigation Systems (FMIS) Pro-
        ty, India. Dr. Pachauri was the co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace       motion Trust, Nepal; and Prof.
        Prize. The signing was made in conjunction with the opening cer-        Ganesh P Shivakoti; the book
                                                                                           .
        emony of the Fourth International Conference on HealthGIS 2011,         was published by Edward Elgar
        which took place in New Delhi, India on 4-6 August 2011. The AIT        publishing. The book provides
        President was a guest of honor for the conference and delivered         practical    policy    solutions,




22   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




making it a good resource for       Sri Lankan minister visits AIT, assures
academics and scholars of de-       continuous support
velopment studies, resource
management, and irrigation          Deputy Minister of Finance
studies; apart from develop-        and Planning, Sri Lanka,
ment specialists in internation-    H.E. Mr. Gitanjana Gunawar-
al agencies, policymakers in        dena, visited AIT on 16 Au-
governments and international       gust 2011, and assured the
donor agencies, Prof. Sivakoti      Government of Sri Lanka’s
said.                               continuous support. The
                                    Minister stated that the
                                    Government is keen that AIT
partnership with                    should establish a campus
bimtech                             in Sri Lanka under the AIT brand name. While interacting with the
                                    AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust, the minister remarked that
                                    the Government was actively considering the request for financial
                                    support to AIT. He added that the Government of Sri Lanka was
                                    working on the issue of allotment of land to AIT, and a formal
                                    agreement would emerge very soon. “The land allotment has been
                                    agreed in principle and the Honorable President of Sri Lanka is
                                    taking personal interest in this matter,” the Minister added.



                                    AIT and Thailand’s MWA jointly launch
                                    Professional Master’s Program in Water
AIT and Birla Institute of Man-     Technology and Management
agement Technology (BIM-
TECH), India have signed a          AIT partnered with the Met-
Memorandum of Understand-           ropolitan Waterworks Au-
ing (MoU) to strengthen their       thority (MWA) of Thailand
partnership in the fields of stu-   in launching a Professional
dent exchange, joint teaching       Master’s Degree Program
activities and industry training.   in Water Technology and
The MoU was signed by AIT           Management (PM-WTM). A
President Prof. Said Irandoust      Memorandum of Agreement
and Director, BIMTECH, Dr. H        (MoA) for the new profes-
Chaturvedi on 19 August 2011        sional program was signed
in Delhi. The MoU was signed        by Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT, and Mr. Charoen Passara,
in the presence of the Ambas-       MWA Governor, on 17 August 2011 at the MWA headquarters in
sador of The Kingdom of Thai-       Bangkok. The program offered at AIT targets middle and senior
land to India, H.E. Mr. Pisan       level managers working at metropolitan and provincial water au-
Manawapat, and H.E. Dr. Tej         thorities who are interested in improving their technical knowledge
Bunnag, Former Foreign Minis-       in the field of water technology and management. Through the
ter of Thailand and Chairman,       agreement, MWA will coordinate with the Royal Thai Government
AIT Board of Trustees.              (RTG) and Thailand International Development Cooperation Agen-
                                    cy (TICA) to secure at least 15 Professional Master’s scholarships
                                    over a period of five years from 2011-2016.




                                                                                 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   23
September

        AIT celebrates its 52nd Anniversary                                   National Institution Building
                                                                              Project, UNDP Afghanistan.
                                                                              During their visit to AIT on 21
                                                                              September 2011, Mr. Osmani
                                                                              remarked that AIT’s contribu-
                                                                              tion towards capacity building
                                                                              in Afghanistan was impressive
                                                                              and he sought a continuation
                                                                              of this work. Mr. Svanidze stat-
                                                                              ed that UNDP would be very
                                                                              happy to facilitate AIT’s work
                                                                              in Afghanistan.



                                                                              AIT students
                                                                              receive scholarship
                                                                              certificates from
                                                                              DAAD

        AIT’s Fifty-second Anniversary celebration was marked by the Nan-     Twelve stu-
        otechnology Portfolio Release, coupled with an expert talk by Prof.   dents of the
        Prabuddha Ganguli, CEO, Vision-IPR, and ample fun and festivities     AIT          were
        at the Renaissance Hotel in Bangkok. “For over five decades, AIT      fe l i c i t a t e d
        has contributed towards the empowerment of Asia, and this will        by the Am-
        continue with renewed vigour,” AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust     bassador
        announced to a gathering of ambassadors, academics, corporate         of Federal
        leaders, media, and members of the AIT community including            Republic of
        students, faculty, staff and alumni.                                  Germany to
                                                                              Thailand, H.E. Mr. Rolf Schul-
                                                                              ze, at a function held at the
        Afghanistan delegation expresses admiration                           Embassy of Germany on 15
        of AIT’s work                                                         September 2011. Recipients
                                                                              of the Germany Academic Ex-
                                              A delegation from Afghani-      change Service scholarships,
                                              stan expressed admiration       the students are from Viet-
                                              of the work done by AIT         nam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
                                              stating that it was “very       The Ambassador stated that
                                              impressed with AIT’s aca-       Germany has a keen inter-
                                              demic environment.” The         est in the ASEAN region, and
                                              delegation also sought a        the scientific cooperation be-
                                              framework agreement with        tween the ASEAN region and
                                              AIT, and invited AIT repre-     Germany has spanned more
                                              sentatives to visit Kabul to    than over a century. “I express
                                              formalize an agreement.         my sincere thanks and appre-
        Led by Mr. Rohullah Osmani, Director General, Programs Design         ciation to AIT for ensuring an
        and Management, Independent Administrative Reform and Civil           excellent academic environ-
        Service Commission, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the delega-      ment for these students,” the
        tion also included Mr. Vakhtang Svanidze, Deputy Country Direc-       Ambassador said. Dr. Carolin
        tor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghani-             Mülverstedt,         Representative
        stan, and Mr. Sultan Hajiyev, Chief Capacity Development Advisor,     of Deutscher Akademishcher



24   AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Institutional Highlights




Austausch Dienst (DAAD), and        AIT Vietnam expands presence in Ho Chi Minh
Director of DAAD Informa-           City
tion Center, and Ms. Annette
Sévery, Counsellor, Press and       AIT Vietnam (AIT-VN)
Cultural Affairs also congratu-     expanded its facility in
lated the students.                 Ho Chi Minh City, Viet-
                                    nam, to meet the rap-
                                    idly growing demand
Universiti Teknologi                for its higher learning
Mara signs MoU with                 professional programs
AIT                                 and professional devel-
                                    opment short courses
                                    in the nation’s largest
                                    city. The new office was
                                    unveiled on 31 August
                                    2011 at a ceremony
                                    graced by H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman of the Board of Trustees
                                    of AIT and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, who offi-
                                    cially opened the facility. The AIT chairman led a delegation from
                                    the headquarters of AIT in Bangkok, Thailand, which included
                                    Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President, and Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Ex-
                                    ecutive Director, AIT Extension. “The sheer growth in the number
Universiti    Teknologi     Mara    of programs we offer has required us to increase our number of
(UiTM), Malaysia, signed a          classrooms and offices,” AIT-VN director Dr. Amrit Bart said.
Memorandum of Understand-
ing (MoU) and looks forward
to sending students to AIT. The     Global Water Partnership lauds AIT
MoU, which was signed on 27
September 2011 by the Vice
Chancellor of UiTM Dato’ Prof
Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar and
AIT President Prof. Said Iran-
doust, seeks to foster coop-
eration between the two. Prof.
Bakar stated that AIT can con-
tribute towards enhancing the
educational skills of UiTM’s
faculty. “About 40 per cent of      The steering committee of the Global Water Partnership South-
UiTM’s 10,000-strong faculty        East Asia (GWP SEA) lauded the role of AIT and sought to strength-
possess a doctorate degree,         en its partnership with the Institute. The steering committee along
and we are seeking to upgrade       with representatives of the Thai Water Partnership (TWP) visited
the skills of our faculty,” Prof.   AIT on 20 September 2011. Dr. Mercy Dikito Wachtmeister, Senior
Bakar said. He remarked that        Network Officer, Global Water Partnership Organisation (GWPO),
UiTM proposes to send five          Stockholm, Sweden, stated that they were interested in the work
Master’s and five Doctoral stu-     being done at AIT in the water sector. “AIT has enhanced our net-
dents to AIT in the January         working capacity in this region,” Dr. Mercy said. Dr. Le Vanh Minh,
2012 session.                       Chairman of GWP SEA, said his organization consists of two rep-
                                    resentatives from nine countries in South-East Asia.




                                                                                 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011   25
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Ait.annual report.2011

  • 1. Annual Report 2011 Asian Institute of Technology
  • 2. Copyright © 2011 Asian Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. ADDRESS: P Box 4, Klong Luang .O. Pathumthani 12120 Thailand www.ait.asia This Annual Report was compiled and produced by the Media and Communications Unit (MCU), External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO), with the involvement of all AIT employees. AIT wishes to thank the many people who rendered assistance in preparing this report.
  • 3. Contents AIT LEADERSHIP 2 ACADEMICS 74 AIT Board of Trustees 2 Academic Quality 74 Senior Management 3 Admissions and Enrolment, Chairman’s Message 4 Management Improvements 74 President’s Message 5 Language Center 75 Career Center 76 AIT OVERVIEW 6 Fields of Study & Acedemic Programs 76 AIT Quick Facts 6 Institutional Highlights 8 SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY 78 Fundraising Office 32 AIT Alumni Office 33 SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT 84 FLOOD of 2011 34 SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 90 Awards and Recognition 40 UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS 94 Alumni, Former Faculty 40 Students 42 AIT EXTENSION 96 Faculty 45 AIT CONSULTING 98 AIT AT A GLANCE 52 intERLab 104 Projects 52 AIT VIETNAM 108 Students and Alumni at a Glance 54 Faculty at a Glance 55 Centers of Excellence 110 Center of Excellence on Sustainable INTERNATIONAL REACH 56 Development in the context of Consolidating AIT’s Bridge with Europe Climate Change (CoE SDCC) 110 and North America 59 Yunus Center at AIT 111 Looking Towards Africa 61 CSR Asia at AIT 112 Looking towards the Indian Ocean United Nations, AIT Office 113 region and Central Asia 61 ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence Satellite campuses study for Nepal, on Millennium Development Sri Lanka and Vietnam 61 Goals (ARCMDG) 113 AIT opens its first Office in AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre Shanghai, China 62 for Asia and the Pacific Two stage Undergraduate and Unified (AIT-UNEP RRC.AP) 116 International Bachelor-Master’s Programs 62 Asian Center for Soil Improvement Visits and Exchanges 63 and Geosynthetics 117 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 68 WHO Collaborating Centre for Water Supply, Waste Disposal and Air Pollution 117 New Research Strategy Developed in 2011 68 Most Cited in Scopus 71 ACECOMS 118 Top Researchers with the Highest The Wetlands Alliance 2011 119 Number- of Projects initiated The Center of Excellence in 2006- 2011 71 Nanotechnology (CoEN) 120 Student Research 72 FACULTY MEMBERS 122 AIT Master’s Thesis Competition 2011 73 PARTNERS IN 2011 128 FINANCIAL REPORT 134 GLOSSARY 148 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 1
  • 4. AIT Leadership ait board of trustees Chairman Emeritus H.E. Gen. Shantha Kottegoda Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand H.E. Dr. Thanat Khoman Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and H.E. Mrs. Linglingay F. Lacanlale Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador of the Philippines to Thailand H.E. Mr. Gildas Le Lidec Chairman Ambassador of France to Thailand H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag Professor Dr. Somkit Lertpaithoon Rector, Thammasat University Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand and Assistant Secretary General for Administration, H.E. Mr. Lim Jae-hong the Thai Red Cross Society Ambassador of Republic of Korea to Thailand H.E. Mr. David Lipman Vice Chair persons Ambassador-Head of Delegation European Commission to Thailand Professor Shinichiro Ohgaki Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo, H.E. Mr. Sohail Mahmood President, National Institute for Environmental Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand Studies (NIES), Japan H.E. Ms. Sirpa Mäenpää Ambassador of Finland to Thailand Mr. Jean-Pierre Verbiest H.E. Mr. Klas Molin Former Country Director, Thailand Resident Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand Mission, Asian Development Bank H.E. Mrs. Katja Christina Nordgaard Ambassador of Norway to Thailand Board Members H.E. Mr. Ouan Phommachak H.E. Mrs. You Ay Ambassador of Lao People’s Democratic Republic Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand to Thailand H.E. Mr. Johannes Andries Boer Dr. Chitriya Pinthong Ambassador of the Netherlands to Thailand Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Mr. Chawalit Ekabut Affairs, Thailand (retired end of September 2011) President, AIT Alumni Association (ex-officio) Mr. Deepak Seth Professor Hubert Gijzen Chairman, House of Pearl Fashion Ltd., India Director of UNESCO in Jakarta H.E. Mr. Naveen Prakash Jung Shah H.E. Mr. Mohammad Hatta Ambassador of Nepal to Thailand Ambassador of Indonesia to Thailand H.E. Mr. Ngo Duc Thang Dr. Tongchat Hongladaromp Ambassador of Vietnam to Thailand President of the University Council, King H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa Mongkut’s University of Technology (Thonburi) Ambassador of India to Thailand H.E. Mr. Kazi Imtiaz Hossain Khunying Jada Wattanasiritham Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand Director and Executive Director, Siam Commercial Professor Said Irandoust Bank Public Co., Ltd. President (ex-officio) Ms. Yang Xinyu Mr. Apichart Jeerawut Deputy Secretary-General of China Scholarship Secretary-General, Commission on Higher Council (CSC), PR of China Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong H.E. Mr. Seiji Kojima Former Minister of Science and Technology, Ambassador of Japan to Thailand Ministry of Science and Technology, Thailand Secretary to the Board Mrs. Kulvimol Wasuntiwongse 2 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 5. AIT Leadership senior management 2011 PRESIDENT ●● Professor Said Irandoust VICE PRESIDENTS ●● Professor Joydeep Dutta, Academic Affairs ●● Professor Sudip K. Rakshit, Research ●● Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Resource Development DEANS ●● Dr. Barbara Igel, School of Management ●● Dr. Nitin V. Afzulpurkar, School of Engineering & Technology ●● Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, School of Environment, Resources & Development DIRECTORS ●● Dr. Amrit Bart, AIT Vietnam ●● Mr. Nico Barito, AIT Indonesia ●● Dr. Jonathan L. Shaw, AIT Extension and Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC-AP) (Deputy Director) ●● Professor Kanchana Kanchanasut, Internet Education & Research Laboratory (intERLab) ●● Dr. Naveed Anwar, AIT Consulting ●● Mr. SanjeevJayasinghe, Fundraising ●● Dr. Sandro Calvani, ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence on Millennium Development Goals based at AIT ●● Professor Ajit P Annachhatre, AIT-United Nations . Office,based at AIT ●● Dr. Riaz Rahman Khan, Yunus Center at AIT ●● Ms. Leena Wokeck, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Asia Center at AIT ●● Professor Gabor Louis Hornyak, Center for Learning Innovation & Quality ●● Professor Dennes T Bergado, Unified Programs at AIT ●● Dr. Mukand Singh Babel, Asian Water Research and Education (AWARE) Center at AIT AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 3
  • 6. AIT Leadership chairman's message NOW in its fifty-second year, the Asian Institute of Technol- ogy is a special and unique example of an interna- tional approach to higher education that transcends boundaries, encourages regional amity, and works for the sustainable develop- ment of Asia and beyond. As Chairman of the Board of Trustees, I am privileged to be associ- ated with this noble endeavor, and to witness the empowerment of young people that takes place at the AIT through first-class scholar- ship and learning. This has been a year when further strides were taken to position the Institute towards possibilities and opportunities that would enable its historical mission to progress to the future. As you read this report, you will see that it was another year when AIT scored highly in teach- ing, research, capacity building and outreach, across the breadth of our extensive networks. Conversely, however, 2011 will also be remembered for an historical low that tested the Insti- tute’s resolve and shook it to its very core. While certainly destructive to infrastructure, the devastating flood that submerged our campus nevertheless failed to wash away the AIT Com- munity’s most precious commodity – its spirit of international solidarity and goodwill. The AIT’s journey forward passed a significant historical signpost this year, when a new Charter was signed by twelve countries and one international organization. By moving towards becom- ing a fully fledged intergovernmental organization, a new era dawns for this noble institute situated in Thailand. H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag Chairman of the Board of Trustees Asian Institute of Technology 4 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 7. AIT Leadership president's message AMONG the great universities and institutes of higher learning around the region and throughout the world, the Asian Institute of Technology stands out as a uniquely international organization of higher learning committed to advancing quality teaching, learning, research, capacity-building and outreach beyond boundaries. In 2011, AIT delivered on its pledge to “develop highly qualified and committed professionals who play a leading role in the region’s sustainable development and its integration into the global economy” in a multitude of ways, many of which are reflected throughout the pages of this Annual Report. Once again, AIT distinguished itself through its niche capacity for networking, connecting, reaching out as a positive agent for change for people from developing countries, and by servicing countries in transition with knowledge and expertise. Across our faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, partners, supporters and stakeholders, the Institute achieved great results through ever more partnerships with public and private sector enterprises, all the while emphasizing excellence and practicality in the delivery of cutting edge new knowledge and enhanced human capital. In 2011, the Institute proudly finalized development of its research policy and research umbrella of “Sustainable Development in the context of Climate Change”. The five identified thematic areas of focus – Disaster Risk Management; Sustainable Land and Water Resources Management; Business and Innovation Models for a Green Economy; Urban and Rural Quality of Life and Sustainability; Lower Carbon, and Sustainable Production & Consumption Technologies & Management – aim to boost sustainable development of the region by strengthening its overall knowledge, development and business capacity, and by supporting communities and their sustainable economic development. Throughout the year, a number of significant strides were made to enhance the overall delivery of quality learning through the introduction of innovative professional master’s programs, regular postgraduate programs and the expansion of offerings in our new undergraduate programs. The inauguration of the new China Office in Shanghai, the official launch of the on campus AIT Consulting office, and the significant expansion of AIT Vietnam’s facility, signified our continued ambition to connect our experts and knowledge to opportunities and emerging markets. Near the end of the year, however, as a result of the Great Thailand Flood in 2011, the Asian Institute of Technology endured its greatest ever natural disaster and was forced to evacuate its cherished home campus. Indeed, AIT was crippled, with 50 percent of its infrastructure completely destroyed. Still, down but not undaunted, and through the resolve of the entire AIT Community, AIT was able to rise above the floodwaters that inundated our campus so that by year’s end the Institute was well on its way to recovery. It was at this darkest moment in our 52-year history that I believe AIT collectively rose up to embrace its finest hour. Looking forward, as president, let us all resolve to rebuild the Asian Institute of Technology into an even greater institute dedicated to the advancement of the region and the people of Asia and beyond. Prof. Said Irandoust President Asian Institute of Technology AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 5
  • 8. asian institute of technology overview AIT Quick Facts: ßß Students: 2,300 from 50+ countries ßß Schools: 3 ßß Faculty: 120+ from 20+ countries ßß Research and Outreach Centers: 15 ßß Alumni: 18,000+ postgraduate-level ßß Research & Outreach Projects: 400+ graduates from 88 countries and territo- ßß Fields of Study and Academic Programs: 75+ ries who live and work in 108 countries and territories ßß Courses: 1000+ ßß Partners: 330 ßß Research Staff: 100+ 6 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 9. AIT Overview HOME to renowned experts, in- ternational centers, and international academic programs, the Asian AIT Extension offers professional educa- tion, short-course training and professional degree programs. AIT Consulting links the Institute of Technology (AIT) situated north institute’s expertise with industry partners of Bangkok, Thailand, is one of the leading and provides of consulting services. higher educational and research institutions in Asia. AIT also houses a number of reputed re- search and outreach centers, such as the Founded in 1959, AIT fosters a complete Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology; multicultural learning experience in English. ASEAN Regional Center of Excellence on the More than a university, AIT is a unique inter- Millennium Development Goals (ARCMDG); national organization of higher learning that Yunus Center at AIT, established in partner- is regionally focused, global in outlook and ship with Professor Muhammad Yunus, re- cosmopolitan in character. cipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize; CSR Asia Center at AIT; and the Center of Excel- It carries out its mission … “to develop highly lence on Sustainable Development in the qualified and committed professionals who Context of Climate Change (SDCC). play a leading role in the region’s sustain- able development and its integration into the The institute is host to the 3R (Reduce, Re- global economy” … by supporting techno- use and Recycle) Regional Knowledge Hub, logical change and sustainable development supported by the Asian Development Bank through rigorous academic, research, capac- (ABD), UNEP and UNESCAP AIT also hosts . ity building and outreach activities. UNEP's Regional Resource Center for Asia and Pacific (AIT-UNEP RR.CAP), a joint AIT partners with public and private sector center with UNEP; the Regional Integrated enterprises throughout the region and with Multi-hazard Early Warning System for Asia some of the world’s top universities and in- and Africa (RIMES); and the Asia office of ternational organizations. In addition to its Télécoms Sans Frontières. main campus in Bangkok, Thailand, AIT has established a center in Vietnam. With friends all over the globe, a five-decade- long history of academic excellence, and an The main AIT campus in Pathumthani prov- enduring reputation for responding to emerg- ince is a mosaic of nationalities, ethnicities ing regional and global challenges such as and socioeconomic backgrounds. Diversity climate change and sustainability, AIT is of students, staff and faculty members is advancing new understanding and applying a valued part of AIT campus life that leads practical solutions across Asia through its to levels of cross-cultural engagement and knowledge hub in Thailand. international experiences not found at other university campuses. AIT’s degree programs are provided by its School of Engineering and Technology; School of Environment, Resources and Development; and School of Management. Students benefit from challenging academic programs and ex- citing faculty-student research projects. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 7
  • 10. institutional highlights January AIT Consulting opens for business H.E. Ms. Katja was impressed by AIT’s achievements and progress since its inception and made detailed inquiries of the programs, strategy and funding pattern of the insti- tute. She was accompanied by Mr. Erik Svedahl, Minister Counsellor and Mr. Moonstan Chatri, Senior Programme Of- ficer of the Royal Norwegian Embassy. AIT President meets Bangladesh AIT Consulting, AIT’s latest professional services arm, officially President opened its doors for business on 20 January 2011 at a formal launching ceremony graced by numerous ambassadors, dignitar- ies, high-ranking officials, and senior AIT administration staff and faculty members. The Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, and AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the shiny new facility and usher in a new era for consulting services at AIT. The ceremony was witnessed by a large number of the AIT Board of Trustees and other distinguished guests. “AIT Consulting is AIT’s approach for professionalizing consultan- AIT President Prof. Said Iran- cy services in an integrative way,” said Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive doust met H.E. Mr. Moham- Director of AIT Consulting. mad Zillur Rahman, President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh during the sec- Norway assures continuous support to AIT ond convocation ceremony of Eastern University. The Presi- Norway has been a long time strong supporter of AIT, and it will dent took the opportunity of continue to support the institute in informing H.E. Mr. Rahman the future. This was stated by Her about AIT and its initiatives Excellency Ms. Katja Christina Nor- in Bangladesh. The President dgaard, Ambassador of Kingdom of also discussed the latest de- Norway to Thailand, Cambodia and velopments regarding the new Myanmar, during her visit to AIT on AIT Charter with Her Excellen- 11 January 2011. cy Hon. Dr. Dipu Moni, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. 8 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 11. Institutional Highlights Prof. Irandoust also called on Republic of Indonesia becomes 14th signatory Nobel Laureate Prof. Muham- of the new AIT Charter mad Yunus and briefed him about developments at the Yu- Indonesia became nus Center at AIT. the fourteenth signa- tory of the new AIT Charter. In a modest “I belong to the AIT ceremony organized fan club” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government in Bangkok on 20 Janu- ary 2011, the Ambas- sador of Indonesia to Thailand, His Excel- lency Mr. Mohammad Hatta, signed the AIT Charter. Indonesia joined 12 countries and one international orga- nization in signing the AIT Charter. “I belong to the AIT fan club and I admire AIT.” These were the comments of Mr. Jadul AIT is a very strong partner: JAXA Apichatabutrd, Chief Inspector General, Ministry of Interior of Japan Aerospace Exploration Thailand, during an interview Agency (JAXA) considers AIT conducted on the sidelines of to be a very strong partner in the Regional Workshop on the terms of space technology re- ASEAN Roadmap for the At- lated work and will continue its tainment of Millennium Devel- collaboration. This was stated opment Goals (MDGs),” orga- by Dr. Masanori Homma, Ex- nized on 24-25 January 2011 ecutive Director, JAXA, during a in Bangkok. visit to AIT on 26 January 2011. “Our association with AIT is not Mr. Apichatabutrd appreciated restricted to capacity building the work done by AIT, particu- and education alone, since AIT’s larly as a centre for education contribution extends to substantive issues,” Dr. Homma said. among ASEAN nations. Mr. Nicholas Rosellini, Deputy Re- Dr. Homma was accompanied by Mr. Shinichi Mizumoto, Director, gional Director, Regional Bu- JAXA Bangkok Office. JAXA has been seconding staff and faculty, reau for Asia and the Pacific, apart from supporting research at AIT. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), stated that it is important that AIT is now working on issues to do with MDGs. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 9
  • 12. February AIT inaugurates China office Dr. Rijsberman stated that the Foundation is looking towards AIT to come up with unique and innovative solutions in the field of sanitation. Impressed with the AIT’s research, labo- ratory work and scientific pa- pers, Dr. Rijsberman said they were interested to incentivize a move from laboratories to the field and a focus on practice and applications. “We are look- ing for innovations and tech- nology, which can benefit 80 per cent of the population that does not have access to sanita- tion,” he added. AIT inaugurated a new office in Shanghai, a first-of-its-kind in the ADB Country People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 24 February 2011. The for- Director pays maiden mal ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the AIT China office visit to AIT was jointly performed by H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman, Board of Trustees, AIT, and former foreign minister of Thailand; Ms. Yang Xinyu, Member, Board of Trustees, AIT, and Deputy Secretary- General, China Scholarship Council (CSC), Ministry of Education, PRC; and Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT. H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag said the AIT China office not only reaffirms the institute’s longstanding relationship with China, but also signi- fies the beginning of a new era based on “an ardent desire for a bright future of linkages in higher education between China and Thailand, and other countries in the region.” Country Director, Thailand Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Gates Foundation interested in working with AIT Craig M. Steffensen, appreci- ated the role played by AIT, AIT enjoys a unique position and the Bill & Melinda Gates Founda- stating that it is heartening tion is exploring the pos- that the institute is producing sibility of AIT being an graduates who return to their Asian node for regional home countries to help in the cooperation. The Institute nation building process. is high on our radar, and the Foundation would love Mr. Steffensen referred to his to work with AIT. These experience in Afghanistan were the remarks of Dr. where AIT alumni are engaged Frank Rijsberman, Direc- in infrastructure development, tor, Water, Sanitation and particularly creating the road Hygiene, Bill & Melinda network in the country. At AIT Gates Foundation, during a visit to AIT on 11 February 2011. on his maiden visit as ADB 10 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 13. Institutional Highlights Country Director on 24 Febru- ‘AIT gave me the break I needed’ – Oracle Corp VP ary 2011, Mr. Steffensen said he was aware of the long-term Dr. Rafiul Ahad, Vice engagement of ADB with AIT. President, Collabora- tion Product Develop- ment, Oracle Corpora- China Scholarship tion paid tribute to his Council announces alma mater, stating 40 scholarships that AIT gave him the break that he needed. Visiting the AIT cam- pus on 14 February 2011, Dr. Ahad ex- plained to senior fundraising officials about the impact AIT had on his professional career and personal life. “AIT was also where I met my wife, Frances Kasala, who was my classmate,” he joked playfully to a large audience attending his special alumni lecture at AIT on the topic “Cloud Computing: What, Why and How.” Watching her husband address the packed Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium, fittingly enough on Valentine’s Day, AIT alumna Ms. Frances Kasala, remembered the lecture hall vividly. Dr. Ahad also The China Scholarship Coun- pledged to do what he could back home in California, USA, to as- cil (CSC) has announced 40 sist AIT’s fundraising campaign. scholarships for qualified Chi- nese candidates to undertake Master’s and Doctoral pro- Sri Lanka suggests AIT Colombo office grams at AIT. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to this H.E. Mr. S.B. Dis- effect was signed by Ms. Yang sanayake, Minister of Xinyu, Deputy Secretary-Gen- Higher Education, Sri eral, of CSC, and Prof. Said Lanka, has welcomed Irandoust, President, AIT, dur- the initial idea of ing the inauguration ceremony opening of an AIT city of the AIT China office on 24 office in Colombo. The February 2011 at Shanghai. minister suggested that the AIT Colombo office could offer short-term executive train- CSC will provide 10 annual ing programs in Sri Lanka, apart from overseeing the development scholarships for a period of of a full-fledged AIT campus in Hambantota. The minister made four years. The scholarships these remarks during a meeting with the AIT President Prof. Said shall include tuition, registra- Irandoust and Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director Fundraising and tion, research and visa fee; Head AIT-Sri Lanka Satellite Campus Task Force, on 15 February apart from living stipend and 2011. health insurance; and a return international airfare to China Prof. Irandoust also met H.E.Mr. Namal Rajapaksa, Minister for by the most economical route. Southern Development along with Mr. R.M.D.B. Meegafnulla, Dis- The funding for each Mas- trict Secretary, Hambantota. ter’s program will be up to 24 months, while the funding for each Doctoral program shall be up to 36 months. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 11
  • 14. March AIT the focal point for satellite data Delivering the welcome ad- information following Japan’s disaster dress via a teleconference, Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor, Bangladesh Bank, remarked that the program would help the young bankers emerge as future leaders. “AIT is a world class institute and this program would contribute to- wards our aim of ensuring that Bangladesh Bank becomes a NASA Attaché visits AIT AIT played a critical role in helping recovery efforts in Japan, fol- lowing the earthquake and tsunami. The Cabinet Office of Japan activated the International Charter, and the Charter had appointed AIT’s Dr. Masahiko Nagai as project manager of this disaster for the International Charter on ‘Space and Major Disasters’. Interna- tional space organizations worked along with Dr. Nagai to provide maps and satellite images for rescue and relief operations. “Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is normally the proj- ect manager of Japan, but since in the immediate aftermath of AIT hosted a visit by a senior the disasters, the JAXA repository was down, it was decided that official representative of Amer- I would act as project manager,” Dr. Nagai revealed. Dr. Nagai is ica’s National Aeronautics and Associate Director at AIT’s Geoinformatics Center, and has been Space Administration (NASA). seconded to AIT by JAXA. The International Charter was activated Mr. Justin Tilman, Attaché at following a disaster and partner agencies immediately start shar- the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and ing satellite information and data on the disaster. NASA’s representative in the Pacific Rim, visited AIT on 25 March 2011. Arriving at the in- 21 bankers attend launch of Professional vitation of the Geoinformatics Master’s in Banking and Finance Center at AIT, Mr. Tilman met with senior officials and gave a Professional Master’s lecture to students and faculty in Banking and Fi- titled “NASA Programs and Co- nance (PMBF), a pro- operation in Asia.” gram jointly offered by AIT and the University Mr. Tilman elaborated on NA- of Applied Sciences SA’s five core themes, all of Northwestern (FNHW), which have international co- Switzerland, was for- operation components. NASA mally launched at AIT organizes its work through its on 14 March 2011. Human Spaceflight, Science, Exploration, Aeronautics, and The first batch of 21 bankers participated in the inaugural func- Education Programs. He gave tion held at Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium at AIT. All participants insight into its famed Human were from Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh. 12 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 15. Institutional Highlights Space Program, offering op- MoA was initiated Prof. Takashi Nakatsuji, Professor, Graduate erational specifics about the School of Engineering, HU, and Dr. Kunnawee Kanitpong, Coordi- 30-year-old Shuttle Program, nator, TRE, at AIT’s School of Engineering and Technology (SET). the International Space Sta- tion program and its associat- ed international partnerships. BJU signs MoU with AIT, seeks exchange world class bank,” Dr. Rahman of doctoral said. He added that the pro- students gram participants had been selected on a competitive ba- Beijing Jiaotong Univer- sis, and that this was the first sity (BJU) signed a MoU time that the bank had sent with AIT, seeking to estab- participants for a Professional lish a strong collaboration Master’s program. in academic and research programs. BJU and AIT decided to collaborate in academics, re- search, training, and faculty development, apart from jointly orga- AIT launches double nizing student activities. degree program with Hokkaido University The MoU was signed by Prof. Ning Bin, President of BJU, and Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT, on 23 March 2011. AIT and BJU also plan to launch a two stage Master’s program in high speed railways. Prof. Bin said that it was because of AIT’s strong inter- national brand that three Deans and one Vice Dean were part of the BJU delegation visiting AIT. Prof. Bin also expressed interest in AIT’s Doctoral of Business Administration (DBA) program. Uganda’s Busitema University signs MoU AIT and Busitema Univer- AIT and Hokkaido University sity (BU), Uganda, signed a (HU) signed a Memorandum MoU to enable cooperation of Agreement (MoA) launching between the two institutes. a Double Degree program. The The MoU was signed by Double Degree program was Prof. Mary Jossy Nakandha initiated between the Trans- Okwakwol, Vice Chancel- portation Engineering field of lor, BU, and Prof. Said Iran- study at AIT and the Research doust, President, AIT, on 17 Group of Policy for Engineer- March 2011. ing and Environment of Engi- neering at HU. The MoU followed three-day-long deliberations with the delegation from BU, which arrived at AIT on 15 March, 2011. The delegation The MoA signing ceremony held talks with senior AIT officials and also visited AIT facilities. was held at AIT on 17 March Interacting with senior AIT officials, Prof. Okwakwol stated that 2011 in the presence of Prof. BU is the only public university in Eastern Uganda. The University Said Irandoust, President, AIT, has seven campuses and is keen to develop a science and tech- where Dr. Nitin V. Afzulpurkar, nology park. Prof. Irandoust stated that AIT is keen to expand Dean, School of Engineering its horizons in to Africa. “Asia and Africa have a lot to learn from and Technology (SET) signed each other,” he remarked, while adding that the visit of BU is very the MoA on behalf of AIT. The important for AIT. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 13
  • 16. April 100 scholarships for Aceh students “I have already informed the Vice Prime Minister of Viet- nam and the Vice Minister of Education about the proposal to partner with AIT to estab- lish a university,” Mr. Thuang added. “We are requesting AIT to open a University in Ho Chi Minh City to help meet the hu- man resource needs of not just our city, but also of entire Viet- nam,” Mr. Thuan said, while addressing senior AIT officials. A five-year program involving 100 scholarships for staff and fac- ulty members of Government of Aceh, Indonesia will be launched at AIT. The Government of Aceh will provide 75 per cent of tuition AIT a ‘natural bridge’ fellowships and transportation, living and other associated costs, to Africa’s vast while AIT will offer 25 per cent tuition fellowship. opportunities This was finalized under a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed by AIT President Prof Said Irandoust on 19 April 2011. Students under this scholarship program will be spread over five years and scholars will pursue Master’s or Doctoral degrees at AIT, mainly in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture and fisheries, and food processing. The program will be open for staff African business executives, poli- and faculty members of the Government of Aceh and higher learn- ticians, government officials and ing institutions in Aceh. In addition to the MoA, the Government thought leaders concluded the of Aceh also plans to send more students to pursue community first day of the Africa and South- development study programs at AIT. East Asia Business Forum (AF- RICSEA) 2011 convinced that Africa’s social and economic po- AIT-Vietnam campus plan receives positive tential matches its vast physical support size. According to co-organizer Mr. Didier Acouetey, Executive AIT moved closer towards establishing a satellite President, AfricSearch, the an- campus in Vietnam, with a delegation headed by nual international forum aims the Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of to position Africa in South-East Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Hua Ngoc Thuan, offering Asia (SEA) by facilitating direct land and “all support” to AIT to help establish a contact between potential part- full-fledged AIT-Vietnam campus. ners located on both continents. The eight-member delegation from Vietnam AIT was the sole higher learning which visited AIT on 18 April 2011 stated that they would prepare institution partner for the event a final proposal and complete all formalities so that the concept of that opened on April 19 under AIT satellite campus in Vietnam could be presented to the appro- the theme “Bringing Africa to priate authorities. Mr. Thuan stated that an area ranging between South East Asia.” Dr. Roland 22-25 hectares will be available exclusively to AIT to establish a Amoussou, AIT adjunct faculty, university in Ho Chi Minh City. The land demarcation follows a and co-founder and president meeting with participants of various departments of Ho Chi Minh of the Asia-Africa Foundation, City. Located in the northwest part of Ho Chi Minh City, the area represented AIT leading a small , will also host two other university campuses. delegation of associates from Bangkok that included Mr. G.I.D. 14 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 17. Institutional Highlights Chima, Senior Counsellor, Eco- Union spearheaded a donation box for Japan at the auditorium’s nomic Matters, Embassy of entrance, and the capacity crowd observed one minute of silence Nigeria to Thailand; Mr. Joseph for Japan prior to the show’s opening curtain. Bazambanza, Senior Partner, Jobaz Consulting; and Mr. Wolf- gang Bertelsmeier, former World General Declaration of Understanding Bank and IFC official, and Asia- inked between AIT, CIRAD and University of La Africa Foundation representa- Réunion, France tive. Following a five-day visit by senior officials to the French overseas De- Cultural Show partment of Réunion Island, AIT 2011: AIT Unites in signed a General Declaration of Solidarity for Japan Understanding on 9 April 2011 be- tween AIT, CIRAD and University of La Réunion, France. The tripartite General Declaration of Understanding, signed on be- half of AIT by Prof. Sudip Rakshit, Vice President for Research, ex- presses the intention to collaborate on a number of fronts, including academic exchanges of scientists and faculty, joint research, student mobility, joint thesis, and publications. It makes possible a joint mas- ter’s program, especially one on ecological intensification research. As the lights dimmed and the spotlight shone, a bevy of AIT’s Prof. Rakshit led the AIT delegation from 4-9 April 2011 to Reunion finest performing artists took that included Prof. Ajit Annachatre (EEM), Dr. Wenresti Gallardo to the AIT Conference Center (AARM), Dr. Manzul Hazarika (Geoinformatics Center) and Dr. Lio- auditorium stage to sing, dance nel Dabbadie (CIRAD seconded faculty to AARM). Mr. Olivier Dréan, and entertain for the sheer love Coordinator of AIT-French Collaboration, facilitated the mission. of performance and to show solidarity for the victims of the recent catastrophe in Japan. AIT alumnus appointed Ledcor Group Applied Research Chair AIT Cultural Show 2011 at- tracted a full-house of over 500 Dr. Haneef Mian, an alumnus of AIT, has been who witnessed a wide variety of appointed the Ledcor Group Applied Research acts and nationalities compete Chair in Oil Sands Environmental Sustainabil- in singing, drama, talent show, ity at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and dance competitions. (NAIT), Canada. Dr. Haneef credits AIT for the knowledge gained during graduate studies, and Organized on 1 April 2011 the advice offered to him at the Environmental under the theme “We Unite in Engineering and Management (EEM) program. Solidarity” the evening brought “The graduate training at AIT-EEM provided me with the state-of- out the very best of what the the-art tools, techniques and practices that assisted me in push- AIT Community represents. As ing the envelope,” he said. Describing his studies at AIT as “amaz- teams and individuals vied for ing” Dr. Haneef, who was earlier with the Energy Resources Control the judges’ approval, organiz- Board (ERCB), completed his Master’s from AIT’s Environmental ers said the competition took a Engineering and Management (EEM) in 1997. He is leading the back-seat to the spirit of inter- “Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Initiative” at the School of national togetherness on dis- Sustainable Building and Environmental Management at NAIT. Fol- play. The Gender and Culture lowing his appointment, he was interviewed in Tech Life Mag, apart Committee of the AIT Student from being featured in the winter 2011 issue of the NAIT newsletter. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 15
  • 18. May 428 graduates from 25 countries graduate Indian Administrative officers for training program at AIT AIT is a good platform for pro- viding training facilities in the field of disaster management. This was the view expressed by Mr. K.S.Prabhakar, Secretary, Four hundred and twenty eight graduates from 25 countries spread Disaster Management, Gov- across five continents graduated from AIT on 26 May 2011. Thai- ernment of Karnataka, India, land provided the maximum cohort of 144 graduates, followed by during the inaugural function 93 graduates from Vietnam. Dr. Madhav Karki, Deputy Director of the training course on “Geo- General of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Devel- spatial Technology for Flood opment (ICIMOD), who read the graduation speech on behalf of Mitigation” organized for In- Dr. Andreas Schild, Director General of ICIMOD, exhorted students dian government officials on to take risks, and experiment in their young professional life. 23 May 2011. Stating that the Indian province of Karnataka faces the flood menace regu- Assam’s Chief Minister H.E. Tarun Gogoi visits larly, Mr. Prabhakar hoped that AIT, states interest in partnership the training program would help in building capacity of the The Chief Minister of Assam State, India, H.E. Tarun Gogoi, ex- administration in tackling such pressed interest in col- disasters. Mr. Prabhakar led a laborating with AIT to team of 11 Indian Administra- address a number of tive Service (IAS) officers to priority concerns for participate in the training pro- his state, particularly gram at AIT. in the areas of edu- cation and sustain- able socioeconomic development. “These issues must be solved through a focus on improved education that stresses science and technology,” Chief Minister Gogoi told AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust. He made these comments on 3 May 2011 while leading a high-ranking del- egation to AIT to explore possibilities for partnership. The chief minister was accompanied on the visit by H.E. Mr. Pisan Manawa- pan, Thailand’s newly appointed Ambassador to India. Ambas- sador Manawapan officially assumed his diplomatic post in New Delhi on 22 March 2011. 16 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 19. Institutional Highlights Ambassador plays IPLA Global Secretariat comes to AIT host to Japanese scholarship recipients A major new global initiative, IPLA, launched by the United Na- tions Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) to aid local governments in managing growing waste problems, was an- Ambassador of Japan, H.E. Mr. nounced at UN-Headquarters in New York on 13 May 2011. The Seiji Kojima felicitated seven Global Secretariat of International Partnership for Expanding AIT Japanese scholarship re- Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA) is hosted cipients at a dinner hosted at by AIT. The project is spearheaded by AIT’s Prof. C. Visvanathan. his residence to celebrate their Prof. Sudip Kumar Rakshit, Vice President for Research, represent- graduation on 19 May 2011. ed AIT at the official launch of the IPLA at UN-Headquarters in H.E. Mr. Kojima congratulated New York on 13 May 2011. the graduating students, and highlighted the importance of AIT as a development part- DPRK senior government officials train at AIT ner in promoting sustainable development in the region Ten senior officials through higher education. H.E. from the Democratic Mr. Kojima thanked AIT and People’s Republic of its contribution to the Govern- Korea (DPRK) par- ment of Japan towards recon- ticipated in a highly struction activities in the af- specialized four- fected areas after the March week training pro- 2011 earthquake and tsunami gram on integrated disaster. The graduating stu- watershed manage- dents included three students ment and refores- from GDS field of study and tation at AIT. The four from Remote Sensing and training course from May 16 – June 10 on Integrated Watershed Geographical Information Sys- Management (IWSM) and Reforestation was a part of the proj- tems (RS-GIS). ect “Promoting Regional and Economic Cooperation in North-East Asia with particular focus on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)” implemented by United Nations Economic and So- cial Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).The course, conducted largely by AIT faculty and implemented by UNESCAP , was tailor-made for government officers and technical personnel from North Korea. The curriculum has been jointly prepared by UNESCAP and AIT and is based on the requirements for staff training prepared by the Ministry of Land and Environment Pro- tection and the State Academy of Sciences, Government of the DPRK. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 17
  • 20. June Nepal President, PM praise AIT UNISDR for AIT participation in Global Assessment Report The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is keen to associate President of Nepal, Rt. Honorable Dr. Ram Baran Yadav and with AIT in the preparation of Prime Minister Rt. Honorable Jhala Nath Khanal praised AIT, and the Global Assessment Report thanked the Institute for its contribution towards development of (GAR). This was stated by Mr. human resources in Nepal. They made these remarks in separate Jerry Velasques, Senior Regional meetings with an AIT delegation led by the AIT President Prof. Coordinator, UNISDR for Asia Said Irandoust on 16 June 2011.The Nepal president referred to and Pacific, at a meeting held at the positive experience of his son when he was studying at AIT, AIT on 3 June 2011. Interacting stating that AIT enjoys a prestigious place in the realm of educa- with the AIT President and other tion. President Yadav offered his full support to AIT and wished senior faculty and staff mem- the Institute success in its endeavours. Prime Minister Khanal bers, Mr. Velasquez stated that highlighted the importance for Nepal to consolidate and update the two had collaborated during its educational system. the Asia Pacific Disaster Report in 2010. “We know the strengths of AIT and we are keen to learn AIT and RSU launch 5-year International more about other possibilities Bachelor-Master Degree program in of collaboration particularly in engineering undertaking analytical work,” he said. AIT and Rangsit University (RSU) joined forces to offer a new Unified International Bach- Nepali alumnus Binda elor-Master Degree program in Pandey elected at ILO engineering that enables stu- dents in Thailand to earn both AIT alumnus Ms. Binda Pandey an undergraduate and graduate was elected as Deputy Member degree in five years. The Memo- of the Governing Body of the randum of Agreement (MoA) International Labour Organi- was signed by Dr. Arthit Urairat, President, RSU and Prof. Said zation (ILO), a United Nations Irandoust, President, AIT on 2 June 2012. The English-only Uni- specialized agency. Her elec- fied Program allows students to earn a bachelor in engineering tion took place at the 100th from RSU, and then further their postgraduate-level engineering Session of the International studies at AIT. RSU will initially offer a Bachelor of Engineering Labour Conference held from (B.Eng.) in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Comput- 1-17 June 2011 in Geneva, ing Engineering. Switzerland. Ms. Pandey is the former Deputy Secretary Gen- 18 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 21. Institutional Highlights eral and member of the cen- Better Cities.” AIT joins other universities including the University tral planning commission of of Pennsylvania (USA), Tongji University (China), ESSSEC Busi- the General Federation of Ne- ness School (France), and London School of Economics (UK) as pali Trade Unions (GEFONT). partners with UN-HABITAT. While inviting AIT to join the network, AIT President Said Irandoust UN-HABITAT described AIT as an “international renowned institu- offered his congratulations tion,” that will bring real added value to the award. on her being the first woman from South Asia elected to the 188-member governing body UNESCO delegation for partnership with AIT of the ILO. on sustainability issues UNESCO is working on AIT and NEF-CCN mainstreaming the issue Colleges to offer of climate change in curri- joint educational cula and is keen to develop programs sustainable development indicators. UNESCO Bang- kok is also keen on policy initiatives, and it wishes to tap the expertise available at AIT. This was the sentiment expressed by a delegation of UNESCO which visited AIT on 27 June 2011. “UNESCO is keen that educational curriculum includes climate change and sustainability,” Ms. Vi- monmas Pam Vachatimanont, Programme Assistant, Education AIT and Nepal Education Foun- for Sustainable Development Unit (ESD) remarked. Ms. Katie dation – Consortium of Col- Vanhala, Associate Expert, ESD, stated that the concept of green leges, Nepal (NEF-CCN), will schools and community learning is a focus area. Ms. Lay-Cheng jointly offer Two-stage Mas- Tan, Programme Officer, Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational ter’s Programs in Business Ad- Innovation for Development (APEID) spoke on the issue of teacher ministration, Energy Business training, and was interested to learn about AIT’s experience on Management, and in Energy training of trainers. and Environment, as well as Two-stage Bachelor Programs in ICT, and Civil and Infra- Unified Bachelor-Master program launched in structure Engineering. This India followed the signing of three Memorandums of Agreement A Unified Bachelor-Master- by Prof Said Irandoust, Presi- Program (UBMP) in the dent, AIT and Prof. Sriram Bh- Agri-Business Management agut Mathe, Chairperson of (ABM) was formally launched NEF-CCN, on 15 June 2011 at on 13 June 2011 at the Sam a function organized in Kath- Higginbottom Institute of mandu, Nepal. Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHIATS), Allahabad, India. The inaugural ceremony was at- tended by Prof. S. B. Lal, Pro Vice Chancellor, SHIATS, and Dr. Weera- AIT invited to join korn Ongsakul, Dean, AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and “Business Award for Development (SERD). This program allows students to complete a Better Cities” Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in a period of five years, as opposed to a regular period of six years. Students spend their first four years AIT was invited by UN-HABITAT at SHIATS, and they move to AIT in the fifth year to complete the to join the network of partners Master’s program. The Bachelor’s degree will be awarded by SHIATS for the “Business Award for and the Master's degree will be awarded by AIT . AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 19
  • 22. July 54 KIIT students return after a month at AIT since it is perceived to be a politically neutral platform. Kamen om Hjärnorna is a pub- lication of Akademiska Hus, a Swedish state-owned company which manages real estate and facilities in academic and re- search institutions in Sweden. ‘US-Thai Creative Partnership’ Fifty four students of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology explores (KIIT) returned to India after spending a month of intensive stud- opportunities with ies at AIT. They were awarded certificates of attendance by Dr. AIT Weerakorn Ongsakul, Dean, School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), at a concluding ceremony organized at the AIT Conference Center. The students, who were from the School of Rural Management of KIIT, went through a program comprising of studies and coursework at AIT, combined with field work at Saraburi province in Thailand. AIT enrols KIIT students as special students during the inter-semester period and offers them a certificate in Rural Management, which is counted towards cred- its in KIIT’s MBA in rural management. Led by Prof. Gopal Baha- dur Thapa; Prof. Jayant Kumar Routray; and Dr. Soparth Pongquan of Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP) field of study Opportunities exist for AIT at AIT’s SERD, the program is now running into its second year. to partner with the ‘US-Thai Creative Partnership’ across a broad range of activities. AIT featured among six successful knowledge The initiative is spearheaded environments by the Embassy of the United States in Thailand. This was AIT was featured by the Swedish publica- stated by Ms. Harriet Foster, tion Kampen om Hjärnorna, as one of the Creative Partnership Coordina- six educational institutes which possess tor, United States Embassy in a successful knowledge environment. AIT, Thailand, who paid her maiden along with University of Geneva; Univer- visit to AIT on 18 July 2011. sity of Zurich, Switzerland; University of Ms. Foster was accompanied Melbourne, Australia; University of Min- by Dr. Chonchanok Viravan, nesota, USA; and Technical University, Advisor, Amata Science City Munich; were chosen for their ability to project. The Creative Partner- create a knowledge environment which is ship is intended to streamline successful in attracting international stu- existing Thai-U.S. business and dents and furthering knowledge. “Green government efforts in innova- campus becomes a knowledge hub” is tion; increase research and how journalist Ms. Linda Karl Sson Eldh university exchange; and build described AIT. AIT’s internationality is also mentioned in the arti- beneficial bridges between the cle. Sixty per cent of AIT’s students come from abroad, and an in- private sector and academia. ternational climate pervades its entire premises, the article said. AIT is also home to several international organizations and NGOs, 20 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 23. Institutional Highlights AIT to foster capacity ESCAP welcomes AIT expertise on Green building in Maldives Growth Capacity Development Training Modules United Nations Eco- nomic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) are inter- ested in developing Green Growth Ca- pacity Development Training Modules along with AIT. AIT’s expertise is sought in pro- viding case studies, and subject experts to deliver the training modules. In a meeting at AIT on 6 July 2011, a delegation includ- ing Dr. Aida Karazhanova, Head, Institutional Support Component, Civil Service Commission AIT-UNEP Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (RRC. (CSC) of Republic of Maldives AP); Ms. Maria Tomovic, Green Business and Sustainable Develop- signed a Memorandum of Un- ment Consultant, Environment and Development Policy Section derstanding (MoU) to create (EDPS), UNESCAP; Mr. Kenan Mogultay, and Ms. Pitchayanin Suk- more capacity among civil ser- holthaman highlighted the Green Growth Capacity Development vants to pursue public sector Programme (GGCDP). Ms. Tomovic remarked that the GGCDP is reform initiatives. The MoU aimed at policy-makers in South-East Asia, Central Asia and the was signed by Mr. Mohammed Pacific. She expressed interest in AIT providing case studies and Fahmy Hassan, Chairman of also offering subject experts for the program. Maldives CSC, and Prof. Su- dip Kumar Rakshit, Vice Presi- dent, Research, AIT, on 25 July AIT among UNESCO-IHE partners in Gates 2011.The MoU aims to facili- Foundation project tate staff exchange programs, training of trainers and offer AIT was among the eight of professional degree and partners of UNESCO- certificate programs. AIT ex- IHE Institute for Water perts will visit Maldives to Education, which was offer management and train- awarded a US$8 million ing consultancy. AIT will also grant from the Bill & encourage Doctoral and Mas- Melinda Gates Founda- ter’s level research in areas tion (BGMF). Spread over five years, the grant is targeted at educa- of relevance to Maldives. AIT tion and research in postgraduate programs with a focus on solu- Extension will despatch a fact tions for the urban poor in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. finding mission to Maldives to The project was developed by Prof. Damir Brdjanovic, Professor of determine the capacity devel- Sanitary Engineering, UNESCO-IHE. Dr. Thammarat Koottatep of opment needs of various min- AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) istries in the country. is spearheading the project for AIT. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foun- dation announced this grant at the AfricaSan 2011 Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, on 19 July 2011. This is one of the largest re- search and postgraduate education projects targeting sanitation for the urban poor. Earlier, a delegation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headed by Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director, Water, Sani- tation and Hygiene; and Mr. Doulaye Kone, Senior Program Officer had visited AIT in February 2011. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 21
  • 24. August the inaugural address. Later, 532 students from 42 countries join AIT President Irandoust visited the TERI University campus to ex- plore ideas for possible coop- eration and joint work, and to tour its facilities. He also held talks with TERI Vice Chancel- lor Prof. Bhavik Bakshi, Regis- trar Dr. Rajiv Seth, and various deans and department heads. AIT Professor publishes book with Nobel laureate Five hundred and thirty-two students from forty-two countries con- stituted the latest batch of students at AIT enrolled for the August 2011 semester. Those accepted for admission at AIT included stu- dents from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Welcoming the students on Orientation Day on 10 August 2011, Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT, remarked that AIT is an ideal platform for not only learning, but also for forging lifelong friend- ships, connections and networks. “AIT is not a normal university, as it focuses on networking and learning through interaction and observation,” Prof. Irandoust remarked. He added that AIT is an International Intergovernmental Institute of higher learning, and unlike traditional universities, students would be awarded a de- Faculty member Prof. Ganesh gree by an Intergovernmental Institute. P Shivakoti co-authored a book . with Nobel laureate Ms. Elinor Ostrom, winner of the 2009 AIT inks MOU with Nobel Laureate of TERI Nobel Prize in Economics. The University book, titled “Improving Irriga- AIT entered into a Memo- tion in Asia,” is based on a two- randum of Understanding decade-long study on innova- (MoU) with India’s TERI tive interventions for sustained University which opens up performance of irrigation sys- possibilities for cooperation tems. Co-authored by Prof. in across a range of aca- Elinor Ostrom; Mr. Wai Fung demics and research. The Lam of the University of Hong MoU was signed in 4 August Kong; Mr. Prachanda Pradhan, 2011 by AIT President Said Patron, Farmer Managed Ir- Irandoust and Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chancellor, TERI Universi- rigation Systems (FMIS) Pro- ty, India. Dr. Pachauri was the co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace motion Trust, Nepal; and Prof. Prize. The signing was made in conjunction with the opening cer- Ganesh P Shivakoti; the book . emony of the Fourth International Conference on HealthGIS 2011, was published by Edward Elgar which took place in New Delhi, India on 4-6 August 2011. The AIT publishing. The book provides President was a guest of honor for the conference and delivered practical policy solutions, 22 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 25. Institutional Highlights making it a good resource for Sri Lankan minister visits AIT, assures academics and scholars of de- continuous support velopment studies, resource management, and irrigation Deputy Minister of Finance studies; apart from develop- and Planning, Sri Lanka, ment specialists in internation- H.E. Mr. Gitanjana Gunawar- al agencies, policymakers in dena, visited AIT on 16 Au- governments and international gust 2011, and assured the donor agencies, Prof. Sivakoti Government of Sri Lanka’s said. continuous support. The Minister stated that the Government is keen that AIT partnership with should establish a campus bimtech in Sri Lanka under the AIT brand name. While interacting with the AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust, the minister remarked that the Government was actively considering the request for financial support to AIT. He added that the Government of Sri Lanka was working on the issue of allotment of land to AIT, and a formal agreement would emerge very soon. “The land allotment has been agreed in principle and the Honorable President of Sri Lanka is taking personal interest in this matter,” the Minister added. AIT and Thailand’s MWA jointly launch Professional Master’s Program in Water AIT and Birla Institute of Man- Technology and Management agement Technology (BIM- TECH), India have signed a AIT partnered with the Met- Memorandum of Understand- ropolitan Waterworks Au- ing (MoU) to strengthen their thority (MWA) of Thailand partnership in the fields of stu- in launching a Professional dent exchange, joint teaching Master’s Degree Program activities and industry training. in Water Technology and The MoU was signed by AIT Management (PM-WTM). A President Prof. Said Irandoust Memorandum of Agreement and Director, BIMTECH, Dr. H (MoA) for the new profes- Chaturvedi on 19 August 2011 sional program was signed in Delhi. The MoU was signed by Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT, and Mr. Charoen Passara, in the presence of the Ambas- MWA Governor, on 17 August 2011 at the MWA headquarters in sador of The Kingdom of Thai- Bangkok. The program offered at AIT targets middle and senior land to India, H.E. Mr. Pisan level managers working at metropolitan and provincial water au- Manawapat, and H.E. Dr. Tej thorities who are interested in improving their technical knowledge Bunnag, Former Foreign Minis- in the field of water technology and management. Through the ter of Thailand and Chairman, agreement, MWA will coordinate with the Royal Thai Government AIT Board of Trustees. (RTG) and Thailand International Development Cooperation Agen- cy (TICA) to secure at least 15 Professional Master’s scholarships over a period of five years from 2011-2016. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 23
  • 26. September AIT celebrates its 52nd Anniversary National Institution Building Project, UNDP Afghanistan. During their visit to AIT on 21 September 2011, Mr. Osmani remarked that AIT’s contribu- tion towards capacity building in Afghanistan was impressive and he sought a continuation of this work. Mr. Svanidze stat- ed that UNDP would be very happy to facilitate AIT’s work in Afghanistan. AIT students receive scholarship certificates from DAAD AIT’s Fifty-second Anniversary celebration was marked by the Nan- Twelve stu- otechnology Portfolio Release, coupled with an expert talk by Prof. dents of the Prabuddha Ganguli, CEO, Vision-IPR, and ample fun and festivities AIT were at the Renaissance Hotel in Bangkok. “For over five decades, AIT fe l i c i t a t e d has contributed towards the empowerment of Asia, and this will by the Am- continue with renewed vigour,” AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust bassador announced to a gathering of ambassadors, academics, corporate of Federal leaders, media, and members of the AIT community including Republic of students, faculty, staff and alumni. Germany to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Rolf Schul- ze, at a function held at the Afghanistan delegation expresses admiration Embassy of Germany on 15 of AIT’s work September 2011. Recipients of the Germany Academic Ex- A delegation from Afghani- change Service scholarships, stan expressed admiration the students are from Viet- of the work done by AIT nam, Cambodia and Myanmar. stating that it was “very The Ambassador stated that impressed with AIT’s aca- Germany has a keen inter- demic environment.” The est in the ASEAN region, and delegation also sought a the scientific cooperation be- framework agreement with tween the ASEAN region and AIT, and invited AIT repre- Germany has spanned more sentatives to visit Kabul to than over a century. “I express formalize an agreement. my sincere thanks and appre- Led by Mr. Rohullah Osmani, Director General, Programs Design ciation to AIT for ensuring an and Management, Independent Administrative Reform and Civil excellent academic environ- Service Commission, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the delega- ment for these students,” the tion also included Mr. Vakhtang Svanidze, Deputy Country Direc- Ambassador said. Dr. Carolin tor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghani- Mülverstedt, Representative stan, and Mr. Sultan Hajiyev, Chief Capacity Development Advisor, of Deutscher Akademishcher 24 AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011
  • 27. Institutional Highlights Austausch Dienst (DAAD), and AIT Vietnam expands presence in Ho Chi Minh Director of DAAD Informa- City tion Center, and Ms. Annette Sévery, Counsellor, Press and AIT Vietnam (AIT-VN) Cultural Affairs also congratu- expanded its facility in lated the students. Ho Chi Minh City, Viet- nam, to meet the rap- idly growing demand Universiti Teknologi for its higher learning Mara signs MoU with professional programs AIT and professional devel- opment short courses in the nation’s largest city. The new office was unveiled on 31 August 2011 at a ceremony graced by H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AIT and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand, who offi- cially opened the facility. The AIT chairman led a delegation from the headquarters of AIT in Bangkok, Thailand, which included Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President, and Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Ex- ecutive Director, AIT Extension. “The sheer growth in the number Universiti Teknologi Mara of programs we offer has required us to increase our number of (UiTM), Malaysia, signed a classrooms and offices,” AIT-VN director Dr. Amrit Bart said. Memorandum of Understand- ing (MoU) and looks forward to sending students to AIT. The Global Water Partnership lauds AIT MoU, which was signed on 27 September 2011 by the Vice Chancellor of UiTM Dato’ Prof Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar and AIT President Prof. Said Iran- doust, seeks to foster coop- eration between the two. Prof. Bakar stated that AIT can con- tribute towards enhancing the educational skills of UiTM’s faculty. “About 40 per cent of The steering committee of the Global Water Partnership South- UiTM’s 10,000-strong faculty East Asia (GWP SEA) lauded the role of AIT and sought to strength- possess a doctorate degree, en its partnership with the Institute. The steering committee along and we are seeking to upgrade with representatives of the Thai Water Partnership (TWP) visited the skills of our faculty,” Prof. AIT on 20 September 2011. Dr. Mercy Dikito Wachtmeister, Senior Bakar said. He remarked that Network Officer, Global Water Partnership Organisation (GWPO), UiTM proposes to send five Stockholm, Sweden, stated that they were interested in the work Master’s and five Doctoral stu- being done at AIT in the water sector. “AIT has enhanced our net- dents to AIT in the January working capacity in this region,” Dr. Mercy said. Dr. Le Vanh Minh, 2012 session. Chairman of GWP SEA, said his organization consists of two rep- resentatives from nine countries in South-East Asia. AIT ANNUAL REPORT 2011 25