By Carla Gonzales
The end of the Fall Semester at AIT is fast approaching and many new students have been attending classes online via Hybrid Mode of Instruction from countries overseas.
To connect all students together, the Office of Student Affairs, in partnership with the Interim Student Representatives team, designed a series of virtual activities this semester to join our new AIT students who have not yet arrived in Thailand with their fellow students now on campus.
The “Friday TikTalk Series” became a regular fixture on the weekly calendar for all students in August and September. Every Friday evening from 5-6 pm in Bangkok, students engaged with each other online on a series of topics via specialized smart modified classrooms set up across AIT.
At the first interactive Friday TikTalk held on August 14, over 90 overseas students tuned in from abroad to become acquainted with overall campus life. Vice President for Administration Mr. Russell Rein entertained a raft of questions with the support of Interim Student Representatives Mr. Natthanan Promsuk, Ms. Arlene Gonzales and Ms. Deepsa Maharjan.
Residential student representatives presented their own personalized V-log to their classmates living overseas which featured an aerial drone tour of the campus, highlighting dormitories, restaurants, coffee shops, academic buildings, sports facilities, landmarks and other interesting places of note. Some students even volunteered to show their dormitory rooms to those tuning in online.
The weekly interactive activities included Friday TikTalk 2: “Ways to Study Effectively” on August 21, with resource person Dr. Chutiporn Anutariya, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Engineering and Technology. Three doctoral students took the lead at Friday TikTalk 3 on August 28 by taking students through an interactive session titled “Making your Research Unique, Interesting and Relevant.” AIT’s host country was the focus at Friday TikTalk 5 held on September 25. Representatives from the Thailand Student Association (TASA) explained their country to those studying from abroad in a session “Knowing more about the Land of Smiles—Thailand.”
AT Friday TikTalk 4 on September 18, six country Student Associations organized an event called “Meet Your Country Mentor and Community at AIT.” The well-attended hybrid sessions were facilitated by student leaders from India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. New students joining online met their AIT country mentors, AIT Student Association country heads and fellow student country mates currently on campus on joining online. The students gained useful tips from continuing students on what to expect once they get to the campus and how to navigate AIT’s multi-cultural environment.
Following the successful Friday TikTalk Series, the Interim Student Representative team, through their various committees, organized other interactive academic activities and workshops in the month of October.
Coming up next is the AIT Career Fair and Research Exhibition on 4 November 2020. The Career Fair slated for the AIT Conference Center Auditorium will be attended by virtually and in person by companies looking to recruit talent at AIT. The event will also include a Research Exhibition to showcase research being conducted by AIT students.