The delegation led by Dr. Sriram Bhagut Mathe, Chairman, Nepal
Education Foundation, and Former Dean, Institute of Engineering,
Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal,
submitted their proposal for establishing the proposed center. The
proposal was presented to the AIT President, Prof. Said Irandoust at a
meeting held at AIT. It has been submitted by Nepal Education
Foundation (NEF) in collaboration with Consortium of Colleges, Nepal
(CCN).
The AIT President welcomed the initiative and stated that AIT will be
inviting proposals from various countries which will be referred to a
reference group. The strongest proposal would be accepted, he said. He
emphasized that internationality was a significant component of AIT’s
branding, and all AIT centers should not only have international
students, but also international faculty and staff.
Dr. Mathe stated that they were keen to initiate a collaborative
program with AIT at the earliest. The President welcomed the initiate
stating that the collaborative program can be launched earlier, while
the issue of establishment of a separate AIT campus at Nepal will be
deliberated in conjunction with other similar proposals. Dr. Mathe
revealed that they had formed a consortium of three colleges and had
pooled their resources.He added that their proposal required no capital
investment from AIT.
Mr. Umesh Shrestha, Chairman, LA College of Higher Studies (LACHS),
added that they had already acquired some land for launching such a
venture. Mr. Pramod S. S. Pradhan, former President of the Nepal
Chapter of the AIT Alumni Association, and Chairperson of NITI and
SAIT, described Kathmandu as an ideal location for hosting an AIT
Center. “We are happy that we are the first alumni to come up with such
a proposal," he remarked.
Later the delegation held discussions with Prof. Dennes T. Bergado,
Director (Unified Programs) regarding a unified Bachelor's-Master's
program. They also discussed the possibility of an undergraduate
program with the School of Engineering and Technology (SET).
The delegation from Nepal also included Dr. Madan Manandhar, Director,
LACHS and Principal, LA College of Management and former Director,
Nepal Administrative Staff College; Rajesh Shrestha, Chief Financial
Controller, LACHS; and Ms. Shristi Limbu, Corporate Director,
LACHS.
Apart from the Prof. Irandoust, the AIT team which met the delegation
included Prof. Joydeep Dutta, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr.
Pritam. K. Shrestha, Head, External Relations and Communications Office
(ERCO); Mr. Karma Rana, Institute Secretary and Ms. Sumana Shrestha,
Program Officer, ERCO.
