GRADUATION SPEECH
By PROF. JEAN-LOUIS ARMAND
AIT PRESIDENT
H. E. Dr. Estrella F. Alabastro, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Republic of the Philippines, and our distinguished graduation speaker for today.
H. E. Mr. Janak Bahadur Singh, Ambassador of Nepal to Thailand and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps,
Your Excellencies and Honoured Guests,
Trustees,
Faculty and Staff, Graduands,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Welcome to the 97th Graduation Ceremony of the Asian Institute of Technology. To our 211 graduands from 25 countries, our special congratulations!
Today is the culmination of years of hard work, personal sacrifice and commitment. I encourage you to treasure this precious moment. This day is also very special for your parents, spouses, children, families, teachers and friends, who have provided the support and sacrifice without which you would not have reached this significant milestone on the road to knowledge and high accomplishments.
The graduation ceremony is one of the most important occasions in the life of an academic community and the presence here today of so many distinguished dignitaries, together with our graduation speaker H. E. Dr. Estrella F. Alabastro , Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Republic of the Philippines, significantly enhances the meaning of your graduation.
On behalf of the Institute, I would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines for the valuable assistance, support and encouragement it has extended to the Asian Institute of Technology over the years. AIT's alliance with the Philippines goes back a long way. It was in Manila that the Council of Ministers of the South East Asia Treaty Organization, at its meeting in March 1958, approved the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering project, the forerunner of AIT. Being a SEATO Council member, the Philippines, naturally, became one of AIT's founding members, together with Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, U.K. and U.S.A.
The success that AIT enjoys today is for the most part due to the cooperation and partnership with various governments, including the Republic of the Philippines, which, since the Institute's early years, is a provider of direct financial support to the Institute, in the form of an annual grant to AIT, as contribution to the Institute's operating funds. The MoU that was signed recently between DOST and AIT signifies an augmentation of support from the Philippine Government, through provision of scholarships for Filipino students at AIT. Such scholarship grants will certainly provide higher education opportunities for young Filipino professionals in order to help create a pool of highly-skilled manpower so necessary for achieving long-term sustainability in the Philippines.
We are also proud to have with us today the Ambassadors or their representatives of Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Indonesia, Iran, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Lanka, and Vietnam.
They represent the partners who have generously supported AIT's mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy.
The conferring of degrees is a special function and privilege of an academic institution that declares to the society at large the accomplishments of students upon completion of their studies, your multi-faceted accomplishments, the new knowledge and enhanced skills that you now possess as well as the essential attributes, ethical and moral, that you have developed as educated persons and responsible members of the global community. Since the first graduation in 1961, this has been a belief that AIT has unswervingly inculcated in all its graduates.
We are especially proud of the fact that, as graduates of this unique and well-respected institution of higher learning, you are now in the best position to partner AIT and our donors in contributing towards the development of the region through human resources enhancement, research and outreach in science, technology, management and planning.
You are a very privileged group. This privilege will provide you with opportunities to explore for yourselves as well as responsibilities to carry out for others. You have a special obligation passed onto you by your elders to assess and lead in the pathways to a better society. In return, let me assure you that we will fulfill our responsibility to ensure that AIT upholds and enhances its mission and vision. The quality of an AIT degree must be unquestioned, and we will do all in our power to make sure that it is so.
Your gowns symbolize your readiness to undertake these new challenges and responsibilities, which are now yours. I hope that your years at AIT, your teachers and classmates from so many different countries and cultural backgrounds, the countless hours spent studying, and your moments of personal reflections, have built the confidence, capacity and courage that you will need in your long journey ahead.
We hope that, as new members of the AIT alumni body, you will demonstrate honesty, integrity, diligence, professional competence and other qualities, which characterize AIT graduates. Always pursue the truth, work towards peace, enjoy beauty, and show compassion.
As you embark on your journey, you carry our hopes and confidence, our pride and good wishes in the path you will take.
Our most sincere congratulations to all of you