The Minister stated that ever since he undertook a month-long program
on project evaluation and monitoring at AIT in 1997, the Institute has
never ceased to amaze him. “The Institute is very close to my heart,
and I am a great lover of this Institute” he said. As Minister of Human
Resources, I have a huge interest in education, and we look forward
towards cooperation with AIT, he added.
The Minister was accompanied by H.E. Mr. Kesang Wangdi, Ambassador of
Bhutan to Thailand; Mr. Karma Tshering, Director, RIM; and Mr. Dhanapti
Mishra, Head, Department of Management Development, RIM.
The AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust expressed his gratitude to the
delegation and added that AIT will do everything to fulfill their
expectations. Prof. Irandoust informed them about the latest
developments and initiatives of AIT. He stated that since January 2012,
AIT has been reestablished as an Intergovernmental Institute. AIT has
laid great emphasis on professional programs, and it has launched
professional engineering programs in partnership with institutes in
Vietnam and Sri Lanka, the President said. He mentioned the ASEAN
Regional Center of Excellence for Millennium Development Goals
(ARCMDG), Yunus Center at AIT, Wetlands Alliance and AIT Consulting as
key initiatives of the Institute.
Mr. Karma Tshering, Director, RIM and Prof. Irandoust also signed a
MoU aimed at developing academic and research programs . Mr. Tshering
stated that RIM was interested in Management Development Programs with
a focus on supervisory, managerial and executive levels. He also
expressed keen interest in student and faculty exchange.
H.E. Mr. Wangdi also stated that RIM is one of the two Institutes
which are governed by a Royal Charter, and it has been running Master’s
programs in the fields of business and public administration.
Prof. I.M.Pandey, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Barbara
Igel, Dean, School of Management; Dr. Anil Kumar Anal, Associate Dean,
School of Environment, Resources and Development; Dr. Gyanendra R.
Sthapit, Interim Director, Habitech Center, School of Engineering and
Technology; Mr. Ahmed Amjad Ali, Head, External Relations and
Communications Office (ERCO); and Mr. Tenzin Rabgyal, Senior Program
Officer, ERCO also participated in the meeting.