Engineers from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Energy and Water begin two-week program

Engineers from the Ministry of Energy and Water of Afghanistan began a training program on “Feasibility studies for irrigation projects” at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on 13 August 2015. Led by Mr. Ghulam Masoud Masoud, National Team Leader, UNFAO/IRDP, Kunduz, Afghanistan, the 10-member team ofengineers will studying at AIT for two weeks.

AIT’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, welcomed the Afghan engineers and introduced them to the Institute. “Since 1959, AIT has been serving the needs of the region, and AIT has been engaged with Afghanistan in numerous programs,” Prof. Kumar said. He cited AIT’s partnership with universities in Balkh, Kabul, and Kandahar as examples of AIT’s commitment to capacity building in Afghanistan.

Dr. Sangam Shrestha of Water Engineering and Management (WEM) delineated the outlines and objectives of the program, adding that this was the first batch of engineers coming from Afghanistan. Two more batches will follow in the following weeks, he added. Dr. Sangam, who is also the course coordinator, added that the course focuses on feasibility studies for irrigation projects, project identification, topographic surveys, mapping, geology, hydrology, hydrogeology, agronomy, drainage and irrigation investigations.

Prof. Tawatchai Tingsanchali, adjunct Faculty at WEM, who is a resource person in the program, also joined the welcome ceremony.

Earlier in July, 30 engineers hailing from the Western Basins regions of Afghanistan  had arrived at AIT under an ADB program funded by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Since then, 18 of them have enrolled in the WEM field of study to pursue their Master’s, while the remaining are enrolled in Agricultural Systems and Engineering (ASE), Mechatronics, Computer Science, and the School of Management.