The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has signed a joint research agreement with the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IUE-CAS). The MoU was signed by Prof. Yong-Guan Zhu, Director General, IUE-CAS and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, President, AIT.
The MoU exchange took place at the kick-off meeting of joint projects between the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) at Xiamen, People’s Republic of China, on 8 May 2017. Presiding over the ceremony were Prof. Liu Congqiang, Vice President of NSFC, and Prof. Sirirurg Songsivilai, Secretary General of NRCT.
The event was a part of the China-Thailand collaboration on Watershed Sciences and Sustainable Development Management in the Context of the “Future Earth” program. Under the agreement, IUE-CAS and AIT will conduct joint projects in China and Thailand, including field investigations, laboratory analysis, and land use and land cover interpretation. The two institutes will also exchange and train staff and graduate students, and work towards standardisation of field investigation, laboratory analysis and land use, and approaches to land cover interpretation.
AIT was represented at Xiamen by Dr. Thammarat Koottatep, Dr. Vilas Nitivattananon, and Dr. Saroj Kumar Chapagain. While Dr. Vilas will work with Prof. Shenghui Cui on the project “Comparative risk assessment of hydrologic hazards and adaption policy in Jiulong River and Chao Phraya Watershed,”; Dr. Thammarat will collaborate with Prof. Shen Yu on “Biochemical changes and adaptation mechanisms in response to anthropogenic impacts in watersheds: A comparative study between Jinlong River (China) and Chao Phraya River (Thailand).