Dr. Tadao Chino (above left) the ADB delegation (below) meets with the members of the AIT administration
Visiting AIT
On Tuesday, October 19, 2004, a high level delegation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) visited AIT. The delegation was headed by Dr. Tadao Chino, ADB President. Joining him in the delegation were Mr. Rajat Nag, Director General of the Mekong Department, ADB; Mr. Yasushi Kanzaki, Chief Advisor to the ADB President and Mr. Jaseem Ahmed, Head of ADB Extended Mission in Thailand.
The ADB delegation met with Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, President; Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, Provost; Prof. Chongrak Polprasert, Dean SERD and Acting Dean SCE; Dr. Nazrul Islam, Dean SOM; Prof. Gajendra Singh, Dean AIT Extension and Dr. Teresita Del Rosario, GMSARN Secretary General. In the meeting, they discussed the collaboration between ADB and AIT, particularly in the GMS Region.
ADB-JSP scholars (above and below) meet and welcome Dr. Tadao Chino on his arrival
At a reception held at the AIT Conference Center, the ADB delegation also met with students who are studying at AIT under the ADB-JSP (Japan Scholarship Program) scholarships. Currently, the ADB-JSP sponsors 23 students from 13 countries in Asia to study master's degree at AIT. During the meeting with the students, Dr. Tadao Chino,
ADB President expressed his appreciation of the partnership and stressed that ADB and AIT share a similar mission in serving the developmental needs of this region. He further emphasized the value of capacity building in the region and the role of ADB-JSP scholars in the future developmental efforts in their respective countries.
Dr. Tadao Chino (right) delivers his remarks.
On October 22, 2004, a delegation from International Center for Urban Safety Engineering (ICUS), Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, comprising Prof. Taketo Uomoto, Director of ICUS, Prof. Reiko Amano, Dr. Kimiro Meguro, and Dr. Junichi Susaki, visited AIT to sign a memorandum between ICUS and AIT for the renewal of contract for the Regional Network Office for Urban Safety (RNUS) for another three year period, from 2004-2007.
Prof. Jean-Louis Armand (left) hands a memento to Prof. Takoto Uomoto
From left: Dr. Junichi Susaki, Dr. Kimiro Meguro, Prof. Reiko Amano, Prof. Takoto Uomoto, Prof. Jean-Louis Armand, Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, Prof. Chongrak Polprasert, Dr. Pennung Warnitchai and Dr. Dushmanta Dutta
Through this agreement, ICUS provides financial support for the operation of RNUS. Separately, ICUS also carries Dr. Dushmanta Dutta as seconded faculty to SCE. Dr. Dutta also acts as the Coordinator of RNUS.
RNUS, established in 2002 with the support from ICUS, is based in SCE. The activities of RNUS focus on collaborative research with different organizations in Asian countries in areas of urban safety engineering with advanced technology tools such as numerical models, remote sensing, GIS, GPS, etc. for devising appropriate methodologies for management and maintenance of urban buildings, infrastructures, mitigation of urban disasters and environmental problems for sustainable development of Asian cities with adequate safety and security.
On the same day, the delegation were also speakers for the Workshop on Urban Safety for Sustainable Urbanization: From Experiences of Japan, which was attended by interested faculty and students from AIT.