On 2 April 2007, an AIT Field Coordination Center was set up in Thailand’s Udon Thani Province. The Center’s establishment is in response to over 20 years of collaboration between AIT and Udon Thani. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed, officially marking the occasion, by Mr. Jareuk Parinyapon, Governor of Udorn Thani and Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President, who was making a special visit to the province.
The Udorn Thani provincial authorities are interested in developing partnerships between AIT and the various Udorn Thani provincial authorities including provincial community organizations, inter-provincial coordinating bodies, and authorities responsible for the coordination within the North-eastern region and neighbouring countries. According to the MoU, the Udorn Thani provincial authorities will provide an office for the AIT Field Coordination Center in Udorn Thani free of charge.
Also visiting the province were Professor S. K. Rakshit, AIT Vice President for Research, Mr. Borje Wallberg and Dr. Jean Lacoursière, who also attended the first Board Committee meeting of AIT and the Udorn Thani Provincial Authorities, and discussed ways in which there could be closer collaboration with the public and private sectors in Udorn Thani. AIT President Irandoust took part in a few field visits during which he was able to witness firsthand some of the outreach activities being conducted by AIT colleagues. He visited the College of Agriculture and Technology of Udorn Thani which is organizing a number of interesting training courses and providing vocational education. From next year, the college has been authorized to confer Bachelor of Science degrees aiming to attract students also from neighboring countries such as Laos. Being interested in working with AIT especially in the areas such as training of trainers and curriculum development, the college has some grants available for this purpose. Interested colleagues can either contact Mr. Nick Innes-Taylor, AIT Outreach Field Coordinator, or Dr. Hakan Berg, Coordinator, WAP Secretariat at AIT for further details.
The AIT President later paid a visit to the provincial water authority, which has expressed interest in allocating scholarships to some of their employees to pursue studies at AIT. They are keen to solve problems in a holistic manner involving water resources, forestry, aquaculture, and tourism etc. involving local partners.
Mr. Nick Innes-Taylor was in charge of all the arrangements and for promoting outreach activities of the Institute through the extensive networks, which he has helped establish.