Asian Institute of Technology October 2010

INSIDE ISSUE.. .

HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn receivesAIT’s first Hall of Fame trophy

Recent News / Happenings at AIT...................... 2AIT Day 2010 Photo Gallery............................... 4-5

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Chairman of the Board of Trustees, HE Dr. Tej Bunnag, presents the first Hall of Fame trophy to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn

RH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was officially inducted into AIT’sHall of Fame by H.E. Tej Bunnag, formerForeignMinister ofThailand andChairman oftheBoardofTrusteesofAIT.Awarded numerous honors in her career, thedesignationmarks thefirst timeHRHhasbeeninducted into any educational institute’s Hallof Fame. The AIT Hall of Fame recognizesand permanently honors the accomplishmentsandcontributionsofitssenioralumniandothers

who have brought pride and inspiration totheirprofessions,societyandtheiralmamater.

Her Royal Highness PrincessMaha ChakriSirindhorn’s induction into AIT’s Hall ofFame is an expression of the Institute’sprofound appreciation for Her RoyalHighness’supportandassistancerenderedtotheAIT,DrTejsaid.

More details on page 4-5.

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Recent news / happenings at ait

Nigeria’s NSUK seeks collaboration with AIT

NasawaraStateUniversity(NSUK)ofNigeriahasexpressedinterestinstudent,facultyandstaffexchangeprogramswiththeAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT).ThiswasstatedbytheViceChancellorofNSUK,Prof.ShamsudeenO.O.AmaliduringavisittoAITon20September2010.Prof.AmalistatedthatNSUKwasimpressedwithAITandwaskeenontrainingandenhancingitspoolofexperts.“WeareshortofexpertsandwouldlikeAITtotrainourstaff,”

We will act as ambassadors of AIT: Ethiopian Minister

Israel for greater academic and industrial ties with AIT

HisExcellencyMr.ItzhakShoham,Ambassa-dorofIsraeltoThailand,hasevincedgreatin-terestinthenewCharteroftheAsianInstituteofTechnology (AIT) and stated that Israel islookingforwardtowardsgreateracademicandindustrialtieswithAIT.ThiswasstatedbytheAmbassadorduringhismaidenvisittoAITon14September2010.ApartfrommeetingseniorAITofficials,theAmbas-sadoralsovisitedtheASEANRegionalCenterofExcellenceonMDGs,YunusCenter atAIT,AITConsulting,EnergyPark and theCenterofExcellenceinNanotechnology.Theambas-sadorwasaccompaniedbyMr.IlanWeitzman,FirstSecretary,andDeputyChiefofMission.

Prof.Amalisaid.TheViceChancellorremarkedthatNSUKwouldliketoestablishlinkagesinbothstudentandstaffex-change,apartfromtrainingprograms.Thelinkagecouldalsobe extended tomaterial and research exchange, he added.Prof.J.O.E.Otuka,DeputyViceChancellorofNSUKelabo-ratedon theacademicofferingsofhisuniversity.Thedel-egationincludedProf.EbeleAmali,ProfessorofEconomicsatNSUKandFatimaOthman,DirectorofLinkages,NSUK.Prof.ElebeAmaliisoneoftheonlyfivefemaleprofessorsofEconomicsinNigeria.

“TheAsianInstituteofTechnologyfocusesonappro-priate technologyandwehavebenefitteda lot fromthisinstitute.WewillactasambassadorsofAITandsendmorestudents,visitorsandofficialsfortraining.”ThiswasstatedbyH.E.Dr.AberaDeressa,StateMi-

nister, Minis-tryofAgricul-tureandRuralDevelopment( M o ARD ) ,Ethiopiawhilespeaking atthe closingceremony ofProfessional

DevelopmentProgramon“SustainableDevelopmentinRuralandAgriculturalPracticesusingITApplica-tions”organizedbyAITExtensionon1September2010.TheMinister,who alongwith eight senior officialsfrom Ethiopia attended the program, remarked thattheirstudyobjectivehasbeenattainedandthatAITprovided them with practical examples of usingtechnology in rural development and agriculture.ComplimentingAIT for hosting and organizing theprogram, the minister stated that theAIT focus onappropriatetechnologyfordevelopingcountrieshasprovedtobeverybeneficialfortheparticipants.

�Recent news / happenings at ait

Asian Institute Technology in Vietnam (AITVN) unveils new office in Can Tho

Asian Institute ofTechnology inVietnam (AITVN)unveiledthenewAIT-VietnamofficeandclassroomfacilitieslocatedonthecampusoftheCanThoUni-versity (CTU) on 10September 2010. Speaking ontheoccasion,theAITPresidentProf.SaidIrandoustremarkedthattheeventisatestimonyof17yearsofstrongandsustainedpartnershipbetweentheGovern-mentofVietnamandtheAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT).

AITandCTUalsosignedanagreementtofacilitateefficientdeliveryofjointprogramsineducation,re-searchandotherservicesfortheregion.

President delves on AIT’s internationality in television interview

interviewwith theNationChannel for the program“InsideAsia.”During the half hour interview anchored by seniorjournalist Mr. Kavi Chongkittavorn of the NationMultimedia Group, the President elaborated on thebenefitsof thenewAITCharter.Prof. Irandoust re-markedthatthenewCharterisamandateforfoster-ing and promoting a global network.The Presidentalso added thatAfrica is an important area forAITand theexperience fromAsiacanbeapplied toAf-rica.HecitedtheexampleofSeychellesjoiningthenewAITCharterasatestimonytoAIT’sassociationwithAfrica.Prof. Irandoust also spoke aboutAIT’sinvolvementincapacitybuildinginAfghanistan,IraqandNorthKorea.

AIT signs agreement with Skydoor

“AsianInstituteofTechnologyisgearingtowardsanevenbrighterfutureafterthesigningofthenewAITCharter.WithrepresentativesacrossthreecontinentsbecomingsignatoriesofthenewAITCharter,thein-stitutepositionsitselfasnotjustaregionalhub,butasaglobalnetworkinstitute.”ThiswasstatedbytheAITPresidentProf.SaidIrandoustduringatelevision

StudentsfromtheAsian Instituteof Technology(AIT)areamongthebestandeachstudent is dif-ferent from theother in termsof knowledge,experience andskills.TheseweretheremarksofDr.RobertoMariani,CEOandFounderofSkydoorPteLimitedduringthesigningceremonyofaMemorandumofUnderstand-ing (MOU) between Skydoor andAIT.Dr.Marianiremarked thatAITwasoneof the threeglobaledu-cationalinstitutionswherehehadfoundsuchstudentdiversity.Mr.KennethS.Brown,ManagingDirectorandChairmanofSkydoorPteLimitedstatedthatthiswasthefirstinstanceofhiscompanypartneringwithaneducationalinstitute.

Skydoor signed aMOUwithAITwherein the twopartnerswithhelpcreatetheSkydoorenvironmenttobeusedbyUniversitiesandotherinstitutesofhigherlearningtoenhanceskillsincomputeranddigitalim-agingenvironments.Thetwopartnerswillalsopro-motecreativityincomputeranddigitalimaginganddrivedevelopingnationstowardsaknowledgebasedeconomy.

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On the Asian Institute of Technology’s (AIT) 51stanniversary celebration, a three-day celebrationwasorganizedtobringallalumni,formerfacultymembersandfriendsofAIT.

HerRoyalHighnessPrincessMahaChakriSirindhornofThailandbecamethefirsteverinducteeintoAIT’snewHallOfFameon7September2010ataglitter-ingAIT Day 2010 ceremony.Accepting the honor,HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn remarkedthatshewas“honoredandflatteredtoacceptthein-vitationofthepanelofjudges,chairedbyformerAIT

PresidentProf.AlastairNorth,tobethefirstHallofFame inducteeat theAsian InstituteofTechnology.ThebelovedThaiPrincessheadedastellargroupofelevenThaiandinternationalAITalumniasHallofFame inductees from Thailand, Pakistan, ChineseTaipei,IndonesiaandthePhilippines.

The official launch of the Friends ofAIT Heritage(FAITH) Foundation also took place during thecelebration. Her Royal Highness Princess MahaChakriSirindhorn encouragedall alumni to supporttheAITFundraisingCampaign.

Brainstorming Session“Implementation of Satellite Model for AIT” | September 6, 2010

Over 70 participants including AIT alumni, former faculty, current AIT faculty and staff participated in a brainstorming session on AIT’s future.

Mini Press Conference | September 7, 2010

A panel consisting of H.E.Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman, AIT Board of Trustees; Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT; Prof. Alistair North, Chairman of Panel of AIT Hall of Fame Judging Committee and Prof. Worsak Kanok Nukul-Chai, Vice President for Resource Development briefing the media on AIT’s Hall of Fame and the new Friends of AIT Heritage “FAITH” Foundation.

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HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presiding over AIT Day CelebrationsSeptember 7, 2010.

1. Keynote address by HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.2. AIT President Said Irandoust, Chairman of the Hall of Fame Panel of Judges, Professor Alastair M. North and Chairman of AIT Board of Trustees HE Dr. Tej Bunnag.3. Mr. Peerawat Premchun, AIT Alumni 1972 and Director of TEAM Group of Companies, received the AIT Medal of Appreciation for his contribution of one million Baht.4. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn along with all inductees in AIT’s Hall of Fame. 5.-6. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn unveils the photos of the Hall of Fame Inductees.7.-9. HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visiting the exhibition area featuring the Citations of the Hall of Fame Inductees, the Yunus Center at AIT, the ARCMDG Center, and the AIT-UNEP RRC.AP office.

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Technical and Cultural Tour for AIT AlumniEarth Retaining Wall along Chao Phraya River Project | Bank of Thailand Museum8 September 2010

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Multicultural welcome show at AIT draws packed house

A full packed house at theAITConferenceCenter en-joyedthemulticulturalwelcomeshoworganizedfornewstudents. Students from India, Thailand and Cambodiabaggedthetophonorsinthevariouscompetitionsorga-nizedbytheAITStudentUnion(AITSU)tomarktheoc-casion.

Theculturalextravaganzawitnessedparticipationofstu-dents fromAsia,EuropeandAfrica.An interestingdis-playwasa joint‘international’performancebystudentsof various countries.Many participants included songsand music from other countries while presenting theirperformance, illustrating themulticulturalcharacterofAIT.Students fromIndiawonthetophonorsinbothsonganddancecompetitions,whilestudentsfromThailandwonthedramacontest.TheteamfromCambodiabaggedtheMs.andMr.AITcontest.Theinternationalgroupwonthesecondprizeinthesongcompetition,whilestudentsfromMyanmarwonthethirdprize.Inthedancecompetition,theteamfromMyanmarwasthesecondrunnerup,whiletheteamfromThailandfinishedasthefirstrunnerup.

Editor:BajinderPalSingh

MediaSpecialist,AITbajinder@ait.asiaGraphic Design:

ChittrawineeWichiansonPhotos:

PaitoonTinnapong

Forfeedback,contactMediaandCommunications

UnitatAITmcu@ait.asia

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Just after the release of the new TimesHigher Education (THE) Rankings, theEuropeanUniontooisdevelopinganewworldwiderankingsystemofuniversitiestorivalcurrentlyestablishedleaguetablesinabidtoimprovetherankingofEuro-pean universities and improve Europe’seconomicpower.ReadmoreinanarticleintheEUObserver.

NewsYouCanUse

So far 113 graduation ceremonies have been

held at AIT

The much debated new metho-dology on THE rankings can bereadhere.

How THE rated various universities

• Teaching—thelearningenvironment(30%)

• Research—volume,incomeandreputation(30%)

• Citations—researchinfluence(32.5%)

• Industryincome—innovation(2.5%)