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| From left: Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President; H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees; and Professor Nguyen Thien Nhan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training, Vietnam. |
The Asian Institute of Technology Center in Vietnam (AITCV) relocated
to a new home in the heart of Vietnam’s capital last week (17 April
2009) by officially unveiling its new AIT Center Vietnam Building
located on the campus of the University of Transport and Communications
(UTC).
The special inauguration event at UTC was graced by Professor Nguyen
Thien Nhan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and
Training, Vietnam; H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, former Minister of Foreign
Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and Chairman of the AIT Board of
Trustees; AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust; Dr. Amrit Bart, Director
of AIT Center Vietnam (AIT-VN); representatives from the University of
Transportation and Communication and Vietnam National University; AIT
partners in Vietnam, and more than ten ambassadors based in
Vietnam.
“After sixteen years of operation in Vietnam, AIT has produced tens of
thousands of trained personnel, including about 2,000 doctoral and
master’s graduates from Vietnam. Currently AIT in Vietnam is also
training 590 private and public participants,” AIT President Prof. Said
Irandoust told the high-level audience.
Dr. Amrit Bart, Director of AIT-VN, commented on the significance of
the new facility, “Our new Center will be housed in a separate building
giving AIT a unique identity and independence. It also signifies our
own viability after being supported by various donor organizations,
including the MoET.” He added that to reflect its renewed mission and
new location, the name, ‘Asian Institute of Technology Center in
Vietnam (AITCV)’ would be changed to ‘Asian Institute of
Technology-Vietnam (AIT-VN).
The move to its new premises follows a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) signed in January 2009 between AIT and UTC. The agreement enables
a broad range of cooperation in education, research and outreach
programs. AITCV was previously housed at the Vietnam’s Ministry of
Education and Training (MoET).
AIT’s new facility will have more space and an enhanced academic
environment while continuing to maintain strong links with the Ministry
of Education and Training. The director said the launch of the new
building also provides an opportunity to celebrate AIT’s successful
16-year relationship with the Vietnamese government and the strong
alliances the Institute has developed with other universities and the
private sector of Vietnam.
Established in 1993 under a memorandum of agreement between the
Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and AIT, The AITCV was the
first internationally-affiliated tertiary institution to operate in
Vietnam. It was also AIT’s first satellite center situated outside of
Thailand and has trained approximately 2000 graduate-level students and
more than 15,000 continuing education trainees.
Currently, AIT-VN provides Vietnam and neighboring regional countries
with high quality education and training, consultancy and research in
sciences, education, engineering and management. The Center offers
two-stage Master’s and Doctoral programs in Information Technology,
Environment Technology Management, International Executive Master of
Business Administration (iEMBA), Industrial System Engineering
Management, Telecommunications and ICT, Construction, Engineering and
Infrastructure Management, Geo-Engineering and Management, and
Geo-exploration and Petroleum Engineering. The programs are implemented
on the basis of flexibility of two stages, with the first stage
conducted in Vietnam and the second at AIT’s main campus in
Thailand.
The Center also offers one-stage Master’s programs in Vietnam (Master
of Administration Program for Executives; Professional Master’s
Programs); International Master’s of Advanced Studies; short-term
training courses specialized in many fields, including Management and
Business, Environment and Development, Language and Training, and
Advanced Technologies. Customized training courses, seminars, and
consultancy services are also conducted at AIT -VN.
The University of Transport and Communications (UTC) was established
in 1945 as a great technological university for Vietnam to train
specialized transport engineers. It is a highly reputed center for
training, scientific research and new applied technology in the fields
of transport and communications. In the last few years, it has
developed new disciplines with the intention to meeting the human
resources needs for the development of Vietnam.
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| From left: Prof. Said Irandoust, AIT President; Dr. Amrit Bart, Director of AIT-VN; Mr. Tran Ba Viet Dung, Director of the International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam; Prof. Tran Dac Su, Rector of the University of Transportation and Communications; H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees; and Professor Nguyen Thien Nhan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training, Vietnam. |
Media reports from Vietnam:
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/education/2009/04/842628/
http://moet.gov.vn/?page=16.1&view=1100
http://www.mofahcm.gov.vn/vi/tintuc_sk/nr060102204304/nr090102171448/ns09041
7083143
http://www.aitcv.ac.vn/fo/prospectivestudent_sub.php?ID=55
http://giaothongvantai.com.vn/Desktop.aspx/News/tin-tuc-su-kien/Khai_truong_van_phong_AIT_Viet_Nam_tai_Dai_hoc_GTVT/