President Said Irandoust, along with Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director
of Fundraising, on June 26 visited AIT’s partner institution in Sri
Lanka, the South Asian Institute of
Technology Management (SAITM), and signed a Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) which enables AIT to offer its first four-year collaborative
International Bachelor Degree Program in Information and Communications
Technology to Sri Lankan students as well as prospective students from
the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.
After the initial field of study offering, it is envisaged that
course offerings could include Electronics Engineering and
Mechatronics, depending on demand. AIT will offer the AIT Bachelor of
Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degree initially in the three fields of
study.. The first two years of the four-year program will be conducted
at SAITM's campus and the 3rd and 4th year will be at AIT in Thailand.
The first intake is expected to start in September 2009.
The MOA was signed by the President of SAITM, Dr. Neville Fernando,
and AIT President Said Irandoust in the presence of the Minister
Counselor (Deputy Head of Mission), of the Royal Thai Embassy in
Colombo, Mr Wijayane Surapolbhichet, at SAITM’s brand new campus. The
school, which is described as the first private sector “green
campus”, in Sri Lanka, is situated in a spacious landscaped 4-acre
compound. At the MOA signing ceremony, a speech
by the Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka, H.E. Mr.
Thinakorn Kanasuta, was read by the Minister Counselor.
A two day 'AIT Open' event was conducted on June 27-28th to enable
prospective students and parents to ask questions about the program.
Dr. Nandana Rajatheva, Field of Study Coordinator for ICT, and
Associate Professor in the telecommunications program, was also present
to meet with the prospective students and families.
The MOA was well covered by both TV and print media in Sri
Lanka. President Said Irandoust interacted with the media,
highlighting AIT's new strategies in line with the new
“AIT Strategy 2013” document. AIT Trustee H.E. Professor J.B.
Disanayaka, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, played an important
role in promoting this collaborative agreement, as did Ms.
Geetha Karandawala of UNESCAP, and AIT's Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe.
From left: Minister Counselor
(Deputy Head of Mission), of the Royal Thai
Embassy in Colombo, Mr Wijayane Surapolbhichet; President of
SAITM
Dr. Neville Fernando; and AIT President Said Irandoust.
President of SAITM Dr. Neville
Fernando (left) is seen receiving a gift from
AIT President Said Irandoust.
Articles on the AIT-SAITM partnership for the International Bachelor
Degree have been featured in Sri Lanka’s mainstream news
publications:
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/29/bus02.asp
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=53177