Prof. Samaddar stated that NIT, which has been
established by an Act of the Indian Parliament, is also establishing
centers of excellence, and it is keen to join hands with AIT. Research
areas of common interest include disaster mitigation and earthquake
engineering, he said.
Welcoming the delegation, Prof. Said Irandoust, President, AIT stated
that AIT’s School of Engineering and Technology (SET) can work with NIT
and even submit joint proposals. NIT can tie-up with AIT’s School of
Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) on community based
development; while it can partner with the School of Management (SOM)
in the fields of entrepreneurship and training.
Prof. Samaddar was accompanied by Mr. Taranjit Singh, President of JIS Education Group, which runs 17
educational institutes, primarily in eastern India. JIS Group also
expressed its interest in joint and dual degree programs with AIT. Mr.
Singh was accompanied by Ms. Shefalika Ghosh Samaddar, Academic and
Research Consultant, JIS Group.
Dr. Barbara Igel, Dean, SOM; Dr. Nitin Afzulpurkar, Dean, SET; Dr.
Weerakorn Ongsakul, Dean, SERD; Mr. Olivier Drean, Interim-Head,
External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO); Mr. Tenzin
Rabgyal, Senior Program Officer, ERCO; and Mr. Vickrant Gurung, Program
Officer, SOM also participated in the meeting.