Kanok-Nukulchai, in his capacity as Interim AIT President, along with
AIT Vice President for Research Prof. Kanchana Kanchanasut, Dr.
Weerakorn Ongsakul and Ms. Wannapa Pliansri, together with a group of
officials from the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA),
was granted a Royal Audience with Her Royal Highness at the Dusitdalai
Pavillion, Chitrlada Palace in Bangkok.
The AIT delegation took the opportunity to donate a part of the
proceeds from the 2nd AIT-PEA International Conference & Utility
Exhibition on Power and Energy Systems: Issues and Prospects for Asia
(ICUE 2011) to the Chaipattana Foundation.
through its Energy Field of Study in collaboration with PEA, was held
in Pattaya, Thailand on 28-30 September 2011. ICUE 2011 was part of the
celebrations for HM King Bhumibol’s 7th Cycle Birthday Anniversary in
2011. Dr. Sumet Tantivejakul, Secretary General, Chaipattana
Foundation, was also the plenary speaker at the
event.
A total donation of 200,000 THB was presented to the Chaipattana
Foundation, which was initiated by His Majesty the King of Thailand in
1988. Chaipattana Foundation works to assist Thai people through
various development activities. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha
Chakri Sirindhorn is the Executive Chairwoman of the
Foundation.
receive a Royal Audience at the palace event. Her Royal Highness spent
a particularly long time interacting with the AIT representatives,
speaking with the visitors for approximately 10-15 minutes.
After President Worsak read out the objectives of the visit, and Dr.
Weerakorn presented the donated funds, HRH asked about the meaning of
“Interim President.” President Worsak informed HRH that the term refers
to the post of the president during the period in which the formal
selection process of the new president is taking
place.
Watch national coverage of AIT's Royal Audience on Thai Television
Channel 7
Asked about the status of post-flood rebuilding work at AIT, President
Worsak informed HRH that while the academic buildings have been
renovated the residential facilities still required
renovation.
on campus were in-fact rather old and appeared so even before the flood
that devastated the campus in October 2011. President Worsak informed
HRH that campus buildings are now more than 40 years old, and agreed
that they were not in the best condition prior to the
disaster.
to HRH the Princess that AIT would take the opportunity to
conduct a complete renovation, and may need to ask for a budget of 2 to
3 hundred million baht from the Royal Thai Government to complete this
renovation task.
time as an AIT student of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information
Systems in the 1980s. HRH said her field of study also relied on
donations for equipment. HRH spoke of her experiences visiting
various parts of Thailand, explaining how faculty members would
sometimes take the students on field trips to very remote
areas.
that she would like to have a geographic map detailing the
potential for various forms of natural energy found in the
Kingdom. For example, some areas may be better suited for wind energy,
whereas in other areas, solar energy may have a greater potential, she
said. President Worsak informed HRH that the Institute’s experts
would certainly provide her with this type of geographic
map.
