Academic buildings (except ground floor) will be declared open for the
AIT community from 15 January 2012. Similarly residential buildings
(except ground floor) will be declared open from 15 February 2012 for
accommodation. Academic classes will resume at the AIT mother campus in
Pathumthani from 15-31 March 2012.
Along with this, partial cafeteria services will be available by 15
February onwards, which will be enhanced by 1 March 2012. The AIT
International School will also resume operations in the mother campus
by 15 March 2012.
These decisions were taken by the AIT Rehabilitation and Upgradation
Committee, chaired by the AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust on 29
December 2011. The decisions were arrived at after considering the
interests of the AIT community (particularly the students), examining
the current state of repairs and cleaning, and in light of the proposed
upgrading of the AIT campus.
While the committee decided that access and use of the AIT
infrastructure will be allowed according to the due announced dates, it
also stated that for some time the AIT community will have to do with
very basic minimal services. Electricity will be available at all
places when the community returns on campus, while a provision is being
made to provide wireless internet in the academic buildings. Medical
clinic facilities will also resume before the AIT community relocates
to the campus. Central air conditioning will be available by 1 March
2012.
Services will be restored one by one on a priority basis, and hence
the community should not expect restoration of all facilities on their
return, the President remarked in a message to the AIT community on 30
December 2011.
In the meanwhile the AIT Task Force members will continue to
facilitate the restoration of other facilities. AIT will initiate
discussions with partner institutes to help students gain access to
additional library facilities, since the ground floor of the AIT
library has suffered considerable damage. Similarly AIT will initiate
talks with external providers to obtain accommodation for all ground
floor residents who wish to return. This accommodation will be in AIT's
vicinity.
A time frame of 15-31 March 2012 is being provided for resumption of
classes, so that all those who are currently based at temporary
locations need not rush back to the mother campus in a single day.
Classes will resume on the second floor of the SET (School of
Engineering and Technology), SERD (School of Environment, Resources and
Development) and SOM (School of Management) buildings. AIT will also
utilise classrooms on the second floor of the AIT Conference Center.
During this time, the ground floor of these buildings may have to be
sealed (except for accessing upper level).
Meanwhile, a modern environment friendly lecture-theatre complex will
be created by remodelling the AIT Extension Building. This
lecture-theatre complex will house classrooms for all AIT students and
will act as a central pivot of academic activities. AIT has held
preliminary discussions on this issue, and by the time the AIT
community returns to the campus, some work on this project would have
already started. It is hoped that this lecture-theatre complex will be
ready before the May graduation. As soon as the complex is ready, some
students will be able o avail this facility in the January semester
itself.
Certain other steps are being taken in light of the deadlines, and
necessary instructions are being issued to ensure that clearance and
cleaning activities are completed before the respective deadlines.
However, the implementation of the above decisions would require that
certain conditions are fulfilled, such as a certificate from a
professional company that the campus is clean and safe for people to
return.
Masters and doctoral students pursuing their thesis work who wish to
return to the campus earlier than the dates indicated can do so. But
this will be at their own risk, especially if they do so before AIT
secures a certification from a professional company that the campus is
clean and safe for people to return.
Prof. Irandoust in his message to the AIT community, while announcing
these decisions stated that while the year 2011 is ending on a
positive and promising note of returning to our beloved campus,
the community can look forward towards not only restoration but
also an upgrade of AIT's campus facilities in the new year.