A total of 425 students from 25 countries in Asia, Africa,
Europe, and North America were conferred with postgraduate degrees at
the ceremony held at the National Science and Technology Development
Agency’s (NSTDA) Convention Center at Thailand Science Park, adjacent
to the AIT campus, in Pathumthani province.
The newest graduating class
increased AIT’s postgraduate-level alumni to more than 19,000.
AIT’s alumni now hail from 88 countries. They live and work in 108
countries and territories, or more than half the world’s countries.
Overall, ninety-eight percent of the new AIT graduates originated from
developing or least developed countries in Asia. A total of 28
Doctoral degrees and 397 Master’s degrees were awarded by the
AIT President.
AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust delivered the Graduation Message.
Offering his heartfelt congratulations to the latest batch of graduates
who had coped so well in the aftermath of the recent flood disaster, he
said their resilience to the natural disaster should be a source of
inspiration.
The president remarked that
it was an auspicious year for the institute, as it transformed itself
into an international intergovernmental organization. After more than
five decades working to develop human resources in Asia and beyond, he
said AIT’s new status would enable it to take on an even larger role of
working for the sustainable development of the continent.
Before a richly adorned,
cavernous hall filled with graduates’ families, well-wishers, faculty
and staff, the president offered the compelling story of an Australian
potato farmer named Cliff Young as a study of how willpower and
perseverance can lead to success. In 1983, the unlikely 61-year-old
marathoner won the grueling Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon, against
all odds.
“Never stop until you have
achieved your goals,” the president opined, as he urged the new grads
to do their alma mater proud and to make their mark on the world by
making it a better place.
Former President and CEO of
Government Savings Bank (2004-2007), Thailand, Mr. Goanpot Asvinvichit,
delivered the Graduation Address.
Mr. Asvinvichit is now
Advisor to the Board of Trade of Thailand, Board of Directors of Thai
Oil Public Company Limited, Chairman of the Board of Directors of
CIMB-Principle Asset Management Company Limited, Chairman of MFC Energy
Fund and Advisor to the Board of Directors of MFC Asset Management
Public Company Limited.
Read Mr. Goanpot’s Graduation Address HERE.
The late Mr. Sandeep Kalita, a student of School of Management (SOM)
who passed away in a road accident at Hua Hin, Thailand, on 5 January
2012, was conferred a posthumous MBA degree in an emotional
tribute.
Sandeep’s father, H.E. Mr.
Bhubaneswar Kalita, MP, Chairman, House Committee, Rajya Sabha, India,
joined the graduation ceremony from India to receive the MBA degree for
his son.
Mr. Kalita received a
standing ovation from the entire body. He then presented the
inaugural Sandeep Kalita Memorial Prize, awarded in his son’s memory to
the Most Helpful and Supportive Graduate in SOM, to Mr. Barun
Ghimire.
Mr. Kalita was accompanied
to AIT by H.E. Shri Bhupen Bora, the Honorable, Parliamentary
Secretary, Government of Assam.
From Left: H.E. Shri Bhupen
Bora and H.E. Mr. Bhubaneswar Kalita
Prominent alumnus Mr. Herbert Vongpusanachai, General Manager, DHL
Express Singapore, who graduated from AIT’s School of Management,
addressed the new AIT graduates and welcomed them as members of the
19,000-strong alumni.
Ms. Shruti, a graduate of the Food Engineering and Bioprocess
Technology field of study, School of Environment, Resources and
Development (SERD), and recipient of the Hisamatsu Prize and the Yoh
Kurosawa Prize, delivered the Most Outstanding Student Address on
behalf of the 117th Graduating Class.
Read Ms. Shruti’s Speech HERE
All told, Thailand made up the largest number of graduates by
nationality, with 141 earning Master’s and Doctoral degrees across
almost all of AIT’s 32 fields of study. The host country was followed
by 107 graduates from Vietnam, with 55 graduating from the Executive
MBA program at AIT Vietnam. Nepal, Bangladesh and India rounded out the
top five countries.
Thailand’s neighbor Myanmar made up the sixth largest group as 18 of
its citizens earned advanced degrees in various engineering and
technology fields of study.
AIT’s mission to advance engineering, science and technology and
management for the development of professional human resources of
developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region was underscored by a
number of graduates from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Timor-Leste, Mongolia,
Lao PDR, and Cambodia.
The event was also graced by ambassadors of the AIT Council. Members
of the diplomatic corps in Thailand, high ranking public and private
sector officials, and other special dignitaries also joined the
proceedings.The former President of the AIT Alumni Association Mother
Chapter, Dr. Chainarong Na Lamphun, also attended.
Dignitaries attending the the 117th AIT Graduation Ceremony
were:
Mr. Goanpot Asvinvichit, Advisor, Board of Thailand; Mr. Herbert
Vongpusanachai, Managing Director, DHL Express (Singapore) Pte.
Limited, Prominent Alumni; H.E. Mr. Sohail Mahmood, Ambassador, The
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; H.E. Mr. Anil Wadhwa,
Ambassador & Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, The Embassy of
India; H.E. Mr. Joao Freitas de Camara, Ambassador , The Embassy of the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste; Mr. Dornath Aryal, Charge
d’Affaires, The Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal;
Honorable Curtis S. Chin, Former US Ambassador to Asian
Development Bank (ADB); H.E. Shri Bhubaneswar Kalita, MP, Chairman,
House Committee, Rajya Sabha; H.E. Shri Bhupen Bora, the Honorable,
Parliamentary Secretary, Government of Assam; Mr. Mir Nusrat Alikhan,
Regional Representative, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar,
Organization of Islamic Countries, World Trade, Advisor to AIT
Administration; Pol. Gen. Dato’ Prung Boonpadung, Advisor to AIT
Administration; Dr. Sanya Niumpradit; Dr. Chumnarn Pongsri,
Secretary-General and Chief of the Training Department, Southeast
Asian Fisheries Development Center; Mr. Craig M. Steffensen, Country
Director, Asian Development Bank; Mr. Nitat
Poovatanakul, Director General, Department of Mineral Resources; Mr.
Abderrazaq NABIL, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, The
Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco; Dr. Jaideep Nair, Counsellor ,
Press, Information & Culture, Embassy of India; Mrs. Annette
Severy, Counselor, Head of Press & Cultural Affairs, German
Embassy; Mrs. Rounak Ara Amin, First Secretary, Embassy of Bangladesh;
Mr. Tetsuo Hasegawa, First Secretary, Embassy of Japan; Dr. Somsak
Poothongchairit, Asst. Governor, Human Resource Management,
Metropolitan Waterworks Authority; Mr. Mads Korn, Programme Officer,
Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand; Mr. Nguyen Kim Hiep,
Vice Director of Dongnai Home Affairs; Mr. Noorhaizamdin Abdullah,
Deputy Director for Programme and Development, SEAMEO Secretariat; Dr.
Chainarong Na Lamphun, President & CEO, Index International Group;
Mr. Mikkelsen Bard, CEO of Stratkraft; Mr. Soegaard, Ragnar, Managing
Director (CEO) in Clean; Energy Invest AS, Oslo, Norway; Prof. Dr. M.
Imtiyaz, Director, Directorate of Intenational Education and Training,
SHIATS; Dr. Jonathan Shaw, Deputy Director, UNEP; Mr. Sarakul
Sukortprommee, Lecturer, Faculty of Business Administration,
Rajamangala University of Technology, Thanyaburi; Mrs.
Bhargavi Chandrashekhar; Ms. Huynh Thi Nguyet Anh, Local Coordinator of
IEMBA, Vietnam Program.