The students participated in the K-water Global
Internship Program 2015, which was organized from June 22
– July 24, 2015. The program also attracted international
student interns representing their home countries from a number of
Korean universities. K-water is a governmental agency for comprehensive
water resource development in South Korea.
AIT’s international contingent was made up of
Siwaporn Suwanate (Environmental Engineering and Management, EEM) from
Thailand, Wutyi Naing (Environmental Engineering and Management, EEM)
from Myanmar, Tith Nhim (Water Engineering and Management, WEM) from
Cambodia, Raihan Sharif (MBA) from Bangladesh, Nguyen Vu Minh (Water
Engineering and Management, WEM) from Vietnam, Niraj Bhujel
(Information and Communications Technologies, ICT) from Nepal, and
Muhammad Shafiq (Industrial Systems Engineering) from Pakistan.
On arrival at K-water headquarters, the group was
welcomed by the corporation’s CEO and other high ranking staff members.
Each intern met their mentor and was assigned their work place. All
were assigned to complete a series of reports, including a group
project.
Teaming up with three students from universities in
Korea, AIT students Mr. Muhammad Shafiq and Mr. Raihan Sharif Jewell
won the award for Best Group Project for their report titled
‘Assessment of Business Opportunities in Lao PDR for K-water.’
Mr. Shafiq said: “We focused on introducing the
country, its culture, hydropower opportunities, laws and regulations,
competitors, planned and in-process projects, situation analysis,
industry analysis, competitor analysis, SWOT analysis, limitations, and
recommendations. We tried to be objective, precise and brief, which
might be the reason why we won the award.”
“Right from our first meeting, all the interns were
motivated to do their best to maintain the high repute and prestige of
AIT. Everyone tried their best and completed the tasks. It was really a
proud moment for us to represent AIT in receiving the award,” he
said.
On a study tour, the interns learned about bottling
drinking water, water treatment and filtration technologies, and
management of the Daecheong dam. They also experienced traditional
Korean culture, such as pottery making and visiting a model traditional
village.
During farewell and awards ceremony, Mr. Shafiq
communicated a message of thanks on behalf of AIT and his fellow
interns. He urged for the continuity of collaboration between the Asian
Institute of Technology and K-water.
