These were some of the revelations of consultants, Dr. Markku Oksanen
and Mr. Niclas Lindgren during a presentation at the Milton E. Bender
Jr. Auditorium at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). During a
presentation, they revealed that one third of the global investment in
higher education is occurring in Asia, and the two countries of China
and India have a pool of 40 million students. The top global exporters
of students continue to be China, India and Korea.
An interesting trend is the establishment of campus branches in Asia,
particularly in Singapore. This has been facilitated by the
establishment of mechanisms like credit transfer, joint academic
programs, and mobility as well as joint research programs.
Significantly, for AIT, many students had joined the institute courtesy
information from alumni. The internet had also emerged as a major
source of information for prospective AIT students.
Welcoming the consultants, AIT President Said Irandoust remarked that
the global landscape of higher learning is becoming very competitive.
He said he was happy that Dr Markku, who had been associated with AIT
for a very long time had agreed to prepare a report for the AIT.
Mr. Niclas Lindgren works as the Managing Director and Senior
Management Consultant at Cerion Solutions
Limited, and has special expertise on developing the public sector
and the higher education sector in particular in Scandinavia. Dr.
Markku works in Poyry plc as a director responsible for business
development in Asia in the environment and water engineering sector.
His co-operation with AIT has been extensive since 1990, when at that
time he worked in a consulting team to support AIT to establish the
first academic programs in telecommunication sector. Later he was in
charge of setting up the pulp and paper program at AIT. He was involved
in the capacity building of Asian Institute of Technology in Vietnam
(AITCV) for many years.
Dr. Markku Oksanen
(right) during a presentation at the Milton E.
Bender Jr. Auditorium at the Asian Institute of Technology
(AIT)