President visits Nepal

AIT President Said Irandoust recently travelled to Nepal during 15-18 September 2007 to promote the Institute and solidify numerous relationships and partnerships. The president was accompanied by Mrs. Naina Shakya, Coordinator-Partner Relations and Development, External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO). The following is a record of the highlights of the many successful events and meetings attended by the President on behalf of the Asian Institute of Technology.

Kathmandu University (KU) Graduation Ceremony 

The President took part as the Guest Speaker at the 13^th Convocation Ceremony of Kathmandu University held September 17^th on the occasion of which 1,211 graduates received their degrees. Out of the total number of graduates, 38% were female students and 24% were foreign students from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, India, Lebanon, Norway, Pakistan, Sweden, Sri Lanka and UK. Degrees offered were for the completion of bachelor, master’s and doctoral degree programs.

President speaks at the 13th Graduation Ceremony of Kathmandu University (KU).

H.E. Mr. Pradeep Nepal, Minister of Education, also participated in the KU Graduation Ceremony. The Minister mentioned that he and his Ministry support the idea of an establishment of the AIT Center in Nepal, and also wishes to see Nepal as one of the first signatories to the new AIT Charter, which they fully support.

H.E. Mr. Pradeep Nepal (right), Minister of Education and President Said  Irandoust

The President met with Professor Suresh Sharma; Vice Chancellor; KU Professor, Bhadra Man Tuladhar; Registrar, KU, Professor Subas KC, Dean of KU School of Management (KUSOM); and Dr. Bhola Thapa, Acting Dean of School of Engineering, and discussed ways in which AIT and KU could foster collaborations. The School of Management and School of Engineering of Kathmandu University would like to jointly collaborate with the SOM and SET in the form of joint or dual degree programs. Several modules of collaboration were discussed and the possibilities for conducting joint courses partly at KU and at AIT were also explored. Both institutions are also keen on further motivating students to conduct their research work in Nepal in order to better address the needs of the country. Since students from Nepal may face some difficulty in paying for AIT tuition fees, KU has also offered to look into the possibility of seeking funds from the private sector and donor agencies.

Front row(from left): Professor Bhadra Man Tuladhar, KU; AIT President Said Irandoust; Registrar; H.E. Minister Pradeep Nepal; and Professor Suresh Sharma, Vice Chancellor, KU.

'AIT Day' Seminar

An ‘AIT Day’ seminar was organized on September 16 in Kathmandu, which was attended by more than 172 prospective students. The President made presentations on AIT and there was an opportunity for the participants to interact with the AIT representatives and the AIT Alumni Association (AITAA) - Nepal Chapter members. Promotion for the ‘AIT Day’ seminar event was carried out through newspaper advertisements, television commercials and popular FM radio stations. AIT was grateful to the AITAA-Nepal Chapter, in particular to Mr. Pramod Pradhan, for all the support rendered in the organization of the event.

AITAA-Nepal Dinner Reception: On 15 September, the AITAA-Nepal Chapter
hosted a dinner which was attended by about thirty-five AIT alumni. The majority of the AITAA-Nepal members hold influential positions in government, academe, industry, as well as international governmental organizations (IGOs) and NGOs, and they support and are assisting in the establishment of an AIT Center in Nepal.

Above: 172 prospective students attended the AIT Day Seminar held at the Yak Palace.

Highlights of Other Meetings

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC):  The AIT delegation met with Mr. Dal Ran Pradhan, Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC); Dr. Nanda Prasad Shrestha, Executive Director, Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC); and Mr. Bhola Man Singh Basnet, Chief, Communication, Publication and Documentation Division, NARC. MOAC areas of interest include: agro-tourism, water management, livelihood, environment issues and disaster management. MOAC shared with AIT a recent report entitled Policies, Strategies and Implementation Plan for Human Resources Development and Management in the Agricultural Sector in Nepal, where the need for human resources development has been identified. AIT will review the recent report and identify areas where AIT could contribute through training programs.

President Said Irandoust (middle) with Mr. Dal Ran Pradhan (wearing blue shirt), Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; Dr. Nanda Prasad Shrestha (third from left), Executive Director, Nepal Agricultural Research Council, flanked by AIT alumni members.


National Planning Commission (NPC): During a meeting with the Honourable Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel, Vice Chairman, NPC, he mentioned that the Government of Nepal is seriously interested in the establishment of an AIT Center in Nepal. However, he stressed that it is important to be clear on the modalities for the Center and that he has already discussed this matter with the Ministry of Education. Under the proposal, the Government of Nepal will provide the infrastructure needed for the Center, with the expertise coming from AIT, and investments to be sought from the donor agencies and private sector in Nepal.

From left: President Said Irandoust and Honorable Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel, Vice Chairman, National Planning Commission and AIT alumni.

University Grants Commission: The AIT delegation met with Dr. Kamal Krishna, Chairman, University Grants Commission, who expressed strong support for the AIT Center in Nepal concept and noted that courses offered in the Center should have applications for people from the region who come to study aspects of geotechnical engineering in higher mountains. The Chairman is also a member of the task force working on the establishment of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) University, and will put forward AIT’s proposal to act as a postgraduate engineering arm for the proposed SAARC University.

Local Development Training Academy: A meeting was held with Mr. Babu Ram Shrestha, Executive Director, Local Development Training Academy (LDTA), who is also an AIT alumnus. It was agreed to develop a joint proposal with LDTA and AIT Extension for capacity building activities and to approach prospective donors for support. Moreover, it was proposed that LDTA and AIT jointly conduct diploma and certificate programs as modules which could be further developed into a master’s degree program. LDTA would like to hold a workshop at AIT with the objective of coming up with a proposal for joint proposals to approach donor agencies and to discuss modules for the proposed master’s degree program.

President Said Irandoust puts the AIT-Nepal pin on Mr. Babu Ram Shrestha (right), Executive Director, Local Development Training Academy and an AIT alumnus.

Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST): The President met Professor Hom Nath Bhattarai, Vice-Chancellor, NAST, who expressed interest in collaborating with AIT in the field of biotechnology. He plans to visit AIT in October 2007, to discuss further concrete collaboration with AIT.

Tribhuvan University (TU): President Irandoust also met with Professor Madhav Sharma, Vice Chancellor, TU, who supports the idea of an AIT Center in Nepal, and indicated that the role of the Center should be to complement Nepal’s national universities. Tribhuvan University and AIT have a MoU which the Vice Chancellor would like to see activated through the implementation of concrete programs. TU and AIT could work on several possible areas for research and exchange of faculty members and students in the near future.

Modern Nepal College: The President held discussions with Mr. Kiran Dongol, Vice Chairman, Faculty of Management, Modern Nepal College, who is also an AIT alumnus. Modern Nepal College will look into the possibility of sending students who have completed their bachelor degree program to AIT. AIT will also look into the possibility of providing a certain number of credit fellowships if Modern Nepal is able to confirm a certain number of students to AIT on a regular basis.

Swedish Consulate: A special meeting was held with Mr. Gajendra B. Shrestha, Honorary Consul General for Sweden, who was very supportive to the concept of an AIT Center in Nepal, with an agenda to serve the needs of Nepal as well as the region through higher education. He has also offered to seek Swedish support for the proposed AIT Center in Nepal. During the same occasion, the President  met with the Honorary Consul’s brother Professor Pramod Bahadur Shrestha, who has agreed to give a seminar at AIT on consultancy services for international entities.

Mr. Gajendra B. Shrestha (left), Honorary Consul General for Sweden receives President Said Irandoust at the Swedish Consular office.

SNV Netherlands Development Organization, Nepal: The President met with Mrs. Moushumi Shrestha, Quality Control Officer, SNV / Nepal. The sustainable development organization works at grass roots levels in close partnerships with local NGOs. The areas of focus are biogas, water supply management and sanitation, livelihood activities, as well as productivity and employability - all areas in which there could be collaboration with AIT.
 
European Union, Delegation of the European Commission to Nepal: The President had an opportunity to met Dr. Giap Dang, Cooperation Coordinator, European Union. Dr. Dang is also a former faculty member, who worked at AIT for almost fourteen years and is a strong supporter and well wisher of the Institute. Dr. Dang mentioned that one potential area for AIT to explore would be joint research projects or programs with ICIMOD / Nepal, as the EU has recently funded (Euro) ten million to ICIMOD / Nepal. This concept could also be expanded to proposals coming from ministries and other government agencies in which AIT could be identified as the implementing arm.

Mr. Rajendra K. Khetan, Honorary Consul – Republic of Portugal: President Irandoust met with Mr. Khetan, who is an industrialist and owner of various leading companies in Nepal, as well as a Senate member of Kathmandu University. Mr. Khetan mentioned that AIT could take on a vital role in providing skill trainings through vocational training programs either as a polytechnic institute or through the AIT Center in Nepal. Mr. Khetan indicated that by 2012, Nepal would need about 500,000 skilled people in various public and private sector organizations, and that AIT could play an important role in this context. Mr. Khetan supported and expressed keen interest in the proposed AIT Center.
 

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC): Finally, the President met with H.E. Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji, Secretary General, SAARC. H.E. Dorji served as a member of the AIT Board of Trustees of AIT during his tenure as Ambassador of Bhutan to Thailand, and is strong supporter and well wisher of AIT. As soon as AIT attains intergovernmental status, AIT could be considered as an implementing arm for the attainment of SAARC development goals in the region, and could also apply for observer status as an international institute. H.E. Dorji expressed his full support to the activities of AIT as well as the establishment of the AIT Center in Nepal. The President indicated that AIT will be pursuing a MoU with SAARC.

H.E. Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorj (left), Secretary General, SAARC, welcomes President Said Irandoust.