The president, who chairs the AIT Rebuilding and Upgrade Committee,
disclosed full details of AIT’s ongoing efforts to secure flood-aid
from the Royal Thai Government (RTG), as well as actions regarding
flood-damage compensation claims with its insurance company.
Hold-ups on both fronts are the primary reasons for the delay in
refurbishing damaged facilities on campus, President Irandoust
explained.
A detailed FAQ can be read at this link.
Students voiced their concerns about communication of the overall
plan, weak engagement by their student representative with the
Rebuilding and Upgrade Committee, as well as critical day-to-day
problems they face while living on campus.
Serious action was needed to improve street lights, internet
connectivity in dormitories, pest control, and campus drinking water,
they said. They also requested the President to create a study lounge
for doctoral students at the School of Environment, Resources and
Development (SERD)
The students pressed for more information about AIT's comprehensive
rebuilding efforts, time-lines and plans to safeguard the campus and
its residents against any flood in the future.
Despite the delays in receiving financial assistance, AIT is now
initiating work projects totaling 129.2 MB by availing of AIT Reserves,
the president said. (See Rebuilding and Upgrading Plan
Presentation below)
President Irandoust explained: “We are now planning to strengthen and
upgrade the AIT dykes at a cost of 60.5 MB. The AIT Rebuilding and
Upgrade Committee has also decided to move forward with work to
rehabilitate the AIT International School, the library and the medical
clinic to pre-flood conditions. The open tender for these projects
ended on March 16th and AIT has received bids. AIT will also allocate
63 MB to rebuild the AIT Extension building into a lecture hall theatre
complex (Knowledge Center) as one of the center-pieces of our larger
plan to rebuild the campus.”
The president and Sodexo representative Stephen Andrews also responded
to a number of specific concerns from the students. The following are
some key information highlights:
Street lights: Work has been ongoing, but hampered by
a lack of parts which must be imported. Most work to restore street
lights has been completed. All lamps on campus will be operational by
the first week of April.
Internet Connectivity at Dorms: AIT’s Prof. Kanchana and her
IT team have done an excellent job to restore internet connection to
almost all dormitories on campus. Work will be completed soon to
restore 100% connection to all dorms. AIT is also following up on
issues that need to be addressed with Netlink.
Drinking Water: According to Sodexo’s Stephen
Andrews, all filtered drinking water was deemed safe to drink as of
Friday, 16 March 2012.
Doctoral Students’ Study Room: The Rebuilding and
Upgrade Committee will review and consider this request.
Next Student Forum: Another forum will be called in
2-3 weeks’ time, in the evening, so that more students are able to
attend. The Student Union President is highly requested to
attend.
Campus Air Quality: Professor Louis Hornyak, Director
of CLIQ, briefed the students on the latest findings of the Phase-2 air
quality testing report for the campus released to the AIT Community on
March 21. Overall, air quality at AIT has improved significantly since
dewatering in early December.
Prof. Hornyak said: “We are doing pretty well. We have achieved 'good'
air quality if measured by the Hong Kong standard of less than 1000
CFU/m3 (viable colony forming units per cubic meter of air). Our goal
is to achieve the excellent rating of less than 500 CFU/m3. I am
confident that we will achieve this level during our Phase-3 testing
cycle upcoming in April.”
Mr. Curtis S. Chin, former Ambassador of the United States of America
to the ADB, and Senior Fellow and inaugural Executive-in-Residence,
also attended the forum and briefly addressed the students. AIT alumnus
Mr. Jan Dharmabandu, General Manager, Mawson West Limited and Advisor
to the President for Africa, was also present and interacted with the
students.
The President's Rebuilding and Upgrading Plan Presentation is
available at this link.
