By Mae Thiwari
December 14, 2021 – The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) co-hosted the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) Campus Live Asia, where our President delivered welcome remarks, followed by the institute participating in several discussions at the widely-attended global forum on the most pressing issues affecting higher education. Among academic and professional staff and leaders from universities across Asia, the only students joining were from AIT – highlighting “Sustainability Strategies for the Next Generation” of the institute.
THE Campus Live Asia is part of THE Campus Live series that provides a platform for discussions, debates, workshops, and roundtables on the pressing issues that are challenging academic and professional staff and leaders at universities around the world. It is where the latest news and trends – from experts and key influencers in the sector, as well as decision-makers across higher education, government, and NGOs – are shared. THE—Times Higher Education, of course, is one of the top two university ranking and education agencies in the world.
This year’s focus of the event is on identifying challenges and highlighting strengths in the region’s university strategy, promoting positive exchange of ideas and new opportunities for collaboration. AIT’s faculty Professor Kyoko Kusakabe moderated the opening session on “How can a more diverse and creative university leadership be nurtured,” followed by a session moderated by Professor Shobhakar Dhakal on “Are universities doing enough to ensure climate resilience?”
The third session of the day featured President Woon as a panelist, on “Enhancing institutional reputation: Strategies for success” where he shared that keeping up with current issues of sustainability is what keeps the Asian Institute of Technology at the forefront of the higher education. In his remarks, he noted that despite the pandemic, the number of enrollments at AIT has been increasing because “our traditional focus on sustainability is more critical than ever for our planet.”
A highlight of the forum was the session with AIT students participating on the platform for exchanges between academic and professional staff and decisionmakers, on the subject of “Teaching and learning: Sustainability strategies for the next generation”. Panelists of this session included AIT’s leadership, faculty and students: Russell Rein, Vice-president for Administration (VPA); Maria Eugênia Fernandes Freita, a Master’s student in Marine Plastic Abatement; Pongpatchara Klinsukont, President of the AIT Student Union and a Master’s student in Development and Sustainability; Aujaswi Kumar Maurya, a Master’s student in Nanotechnology; Nophea Sasaki, Professor and Head of the AIT Department of Development and Sustainability; and Wenchao Xue, AIT Assistant Professor of Energy, Environment and Climate Change.
The session discussed sustainability strategy of AIT where collaborations among different stakeholders and the AIT experience play a key role. “Our AIT identity is strongly rooted in the concept of sustainability,” the VPA explained. Research that tackles global problems and extracurricular activities initiated by the Student Union and Faculty, such as the Sustainability Hackathon were some of the examples highlighted in the session.
Through the institute’s participation in various sessions, its strengths in sustainable development, in addition to its sustainability strategies for the next generation, have been showcased and shared with the global audience and peers in higher education. This kind of prestigious conference enhances the global reputation of AIT, and reputation is, after all, crucial to university’s strategy for success.
Watch all the sessions on-demand via the agenda page.
Universities participating THE Campus Live 2021 included Asian Institute of Technology; Chengdu University; Chitkara University; Hokkaido University; James Cook University, Singapore; Jiangsu University; Jilin University; Macau University of Science and Technology; Monash University; Nanyang Technological University; O.P. Jindal Global University; Padjadjaran University; Presidency University Bangalore; St. Dominic College of Asia; St. Paul University Philippines; Sultan Agung Islamic University; Symbiosis International University; TERI School of Advanced Studies; Tribhuvan University; Universiti Brunei Darussalam; University of Colombo; Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS; Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University; and Zhejiang University.
