AIT President participates at celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand-India
H.E. Mr. Sawanit Kongsiri, Thailand's Deputy Foreign Minister, and AIT trustee H.E. Ms. Vijaya Latha Reddy, Ambassador of India to Thailand, on 3 August 2007, hosted a reception to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand-India, at Vithes Samosorn, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dean of SET and faculty receive recognition
Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology, was invited by the Academic Affairs Division, Thammasat University, to be part of the academic quality assurance evaluation auditing team, which will undertake the annual internal audit of the College of Innovative Education on 16 August 2007. This is an important recognition of Professor Worsak's standing in his field and provides a good opportunity wherein AIT can partner and contribute to Thammasat University in this important exercise.

Dr. Tess del Rosario, former Visiting Faculty and Acting AIT Extension Dean, volunteers to develop proposals for academic cooperation
AIT President Said Irandoust, on 2 August 2007, met Dr. del Rosario, currently a Capacity Development Consultant in the Central and West Asia Department of ADB, to discuss and develop proposals for academic cooperation and capacity building in Afghanistan, the Philippines and Central Asia.

France's Université Nice Sophia Antipolis and Polytechnic University, interested in collaboration with AIT

During the visit to AIT on 3 August 2007, Dr. Philippe Gourbesville, Dean, Faculty of Geographic Sciences, Unversité Nice Sophia Antipolis, France, who was accompanied by Dr. Mukand S. Babel (who helped coordinate the visit), expressed his interest in establishing collaboration between AIT and the Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, as well as the Polytechnic University, through the development of joint programs, student exchanges.

Sweden's SENSA discusses possibility of providing instruments to upgrade AIT laboratories

On 3 August 2007, Mr. Christer Holtsberg, Director of the Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia (SENSA), informed the AIT administration of the formation of a new agency of the Swedish Government with the role to support and promote the export of Swedish environmental technology.

24th Universiade 2007

The World University Games: Universiade 2007 will take place in Thailand from 8-18 August 2007. AIT is currently exploring with Thammasat University regarding the possibility of there being an opportunity for AIT to invite and/or interact with the university students from all over the world who will be participating in the event.

AIT-Iran Collaboration
AIT President Said Irandoust, on 23 July, was updated by Dr. Nitin K. Tripathi on some of the initiatives with Iran which are currently being pursued under the framework of AIT-Iran formal collaboration.

Fifteen students are expected to enroll in the professional doctoral program for the January 2008 semester.

Two shops opening for new term

With the start of the new term, two new shops will open to serve the community.

The AIT Community School kiosk, now under new management, will start
to serve the school children and the neighboring residents on 14 August.

New Asia Pacific business book features writings by AIT professors and president
AIT News08 August 2007A pair of past and present AIT professors recently combined to co-author a chapter in a major new book on Asia Pacific business management issues to be unveiled this week in Japan.

Local disaster preparedness gets AIT boost in India and Sri Lanka
AIT and USAID collaborate on disaster management training When disaster strikes, it is often the local response that dictates the degree and impact of the tragedy. Recognizing this fact, the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), recently collaborated with the USAID Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) to conduct workshops in India and Sri Lanka on “Local Institutions’ Response towards Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation”.

This initial workshop, held from 23-24 July, in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, evaluated the role played by local institutions, such as government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), panchayati raj institutions and community-based organizations (CBOs), in the area of disaster management.