The delegation of AIT Alumni Association Thailand Chapter
(AITAA-Thailand), was led by its Vice President Mr. Supachai
Rakpanitmanee , Managing Director Panya Consultants Co., Ltd. Speaking
on behalf of Thai alumni, Mr. Supachai offered his sincere
congratulations and expressed his extreme delight at the appointment of
Prof. Worsak. He mentioned that their visit coincided with the
appointment of Mr. Chusak Gaywee, President of AITAA-Thailand, as the
new Director General of Thailand's Department of Highways. Mr. Chusak,
was scheduled to attend the meeting, but had sent his apologies due to
an urgent matter arising out of his new responsibility.
Prof. Worsak expressed his appreciation for the continued support of
AITAA (Thailand), and stated that his priority during the preceding
year as Interim President had been to solve the financial crisis, and
to normalize the relationship with the Royal Thai Government.
“Now that the above two crucial goals seem to have been achieved, the
next step is to conduct a 'health check' to understand the weakness in
the system, in order to ensure that the same mistakes are not
repeated,” Prof. Worsak said. The Institute has engaged an external
consultant to conduct a complete audit of AIT’s financial and
administrative system. This clinical exercise will take six months, and
the results can be followed by a major restructuring of the
Administration, President Worsak remarked.
Prof. Worsak also spoke about the ranking of AIT’s academic programs.
He reiterated that AIT was not included in major world ranking systems
since it is not a full-fledged university, and as it is not affiliated
with any particular country. To ensure better communication with the
public regarding AIT’s stature and position in postgraduate education,
AIT has accepted the invitation of QS Stars, headquartered in London, a
global enterprise affiliated with the QS ranking system, who will
conduct an academic audit of AIT.
“It is a hard fact that the flood of October 2011 severely hurt AIT,
damaging the ground level offices, laboratories, library and
facilities,” Prof. Worsak told members of the visiting delegation. He
confirmed that most of damage caused by the flood on the ground floors
of all academic buildings had been repaired and restored, and some had
even been upgraded.
Many laboratories, such as the civil engineering lab became fully
operational within a few months after the flood waters receded.
However, the President admitted that existing equipments in some of the
laboratories had become outdated even prior to the flood, particularly
due to recent advances in digital and sensor technologies. The
termination of the Japanese equipment grant two decades ago also
adversely affected AIT. The AIT President assured that his
administration will consider this issue a priority, once the finance
situation improves in a few years.
Prof. Worsak also shared his thoughts and plans on the renovation and
modernization of the AIT Library. The Library ground floor was
completely damaged during the flood, and President Worsak informed the
delegates that the library was allocated 10 million Baht for repair of
the damaged ground floor. This could have been undertaken if AIT wanted
to maintain the library in the same form and format. However, with
changing times, the way faculty, researchers and students access,
process, and use information is totally different from 40 years ago
when the AIT library was designed and built.
The President pointed out that modern libraries are no longer a place
to merely consult books; but they are also meeting places, media
centers, digital repositories, and they are a wonder of modern
architecture and design. Thus, it is a good opportunity for AIT to
modernize its library, add cutting-edge services and technology, and
create spaces for students to study and meet.
The President presented to the delegates the Modernization Plan of the
AIT Library, which is expected to cost 40 million Baht inclusive of
furniture and equipment. In the new design, all books, print materials,
theses and special collections will be shelved on the upper floor. The
ground floor will become an open learning space, equipped with modern
on-line workstations, multimedia stations, a teleconference studio, one
modern class room for MOOC, and 15 group discussion rooms. It will also
house a modern lounge, exhibition area, and designated meeting rooms
for alumni and visitors. Faculty and students will be able to enjoy
available resources through vast online repositories containing
e-books, subscriptions to online databases, online journals, and
open-access publications.
The President informed the delegates that a “Support AIT Library
Modernization Campaign” will be kicked off to engage alumni and friends
in this process. He noted that prior to the launch of this campaign, a
soft campaign has already resulted in the AITAA Myanmar and China
Chapters, the KMUTT‘s AIT Club, and several individuals coming forward
with cash contributions in order to be a part of this modern library.
The President encouraged the AITAA Thailand Chapter to join force in
this effort.
Mr. Supachai, who graduated from AIT in Water Resources Engineering in
1993, was accompanied by Mr. Anuthep Chaovanalikit (SEC’ 82), Executive
Director of Panya Consultants Co., Ltd.; Dr. Suthi Panpanit (ETM’
2001), Director, Innovation Park Project and Vice President, PTT
Research and Technology Institute, PTT Public Company Limited; and Dr.
Danai Ruengsorn (TE’ 97 & 2002), Director of Bangkok Highway
District, Department of Highways. Dr. Surachet Pravinvongvuth (IPM’
2001) of Transportation Engineering, School of Engineering and
Technology (SET), AIT; Dr. Mongkol Mongkol Ekpanyapong (CS’ 2000) of
Microelectronics and Embedded Systems, SET, AIT; Dr. Thammarat
Koottatep (EE ’93 &WWE’ 99) of Environmental Engineering and
Management (EEM), School of Environment, Resources and Development,
AIT; Dr. Atitaya Panuvatvanich (ETTM’ 2003 & EEM’ 2010), EEM, AIT;
Dr. Yuttachai Sarathai (EEM’ 2010), Pollution Control Department,
Thailand; and Mr. Janjit Iamchaturapatr (WWE’ 2002), Faculty , KMUTNB
also joined the deliberations.
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