The AIT team in traditional Afghani robes.
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) took a major step forward today (11 March 2008) with its plan to assist the development of higher education in Afghanistan, inaugurating a branch office at Balkh University (BU) to manage its recently signed US$ 1.5 million University Partnership Program to assist the Faculty of Engineering at Balkh University.
The newly launched outreach initiative is the first ever for AIT in the middle-eastern country. The overall goal of the two-year program, which is financially supported by the World Bank, is to upgrade the teaching capability of Balkh University’s Faculty of Engineering as a way to elevate the overall quality of its undergraduate engineering programs.
At the BU Chancellor's Office, from left: AIT President Said Irandoust, Representative of the Governor of Balkh, and the Chancellor of Balkh University.
The new AIT project office in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif was officially opened at a ceremony attended by a delegation led by AIT President Professor Said Irandoust, who noted the significance of AIT taking a leading role to assist higher education in Afghanistan. “The Asian Institute of Technology is extremely proud and pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education Strengthening of Higher Education Program, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to strengthen the overall capacity of the Faculty of Engineering of Balkh University,” he said.
Balkh University is one of 6 universities in Afghanistan receiving World Bank financial aid to strengthen higher education in the conflicted nation. The univerisity, which started off as a polytechnic university, now boasts of 6000 students - 1000 of those are studying engineering. The Faculty of Engineering is comprised of three departments; geology & mining, building construction & design and chemical technology.
The initiative aims to lift BU's current curriculum to the standard of which AIT has achieved. Emphasis will be given to the capacity building of the current faculty members which includes strengthening the geology & mining, building construction & design and chemical technology fields of study. Information and communication technology (ICT) will also be in focus. Projects include assisting BU’s physical infrastructure related to information technology and the internet, and enhancing faculty members’ skills in internet communications, online information search, and use of electronic library resources to conduct teaching, information retrieval and administration. An English-language enhancement program will also be developed and implemented.
Dr. Naveed Anwar, Associate Director for ACECOMS, SET and project coordinator for the AIT-BU Partnership Project, added that the parnership came at the right time as the construction of Balkh University's engineering faculty is set to finish at the end of 2008. As part of the capacity building initiative, approximately 20 junior and senior faculty members from Balkh Univeristy will be arriving in August to take their master's and doctoral degrees at AIT. More are expected to attend other professional training programs such as seminars and workshops throughout the span of the project.
Other future plans include a team up to create a computer science undergraduate program as well as possibly upgrading the some general education courses such as Math and Physics to full blown degrees. The AIT team will be looking into the three departments as well as those shared with the math & physics departments and the general technical subjects.
The overarching aim of the landmark project is to improve the engineering curriculum of Balkh University to an international level quality, AIT officials said. Achieving this macro-result will involve enhancing the overall skills and knowledge of BU’s engineering professors by improving their teaching and evaluation methodologies; elevating networking and partnerships with domestic and foreign universities for academic and research work; and improving the overall administration and management of the university’s Faculty of Engineering.
AIT’s physical presence in Afghanistan signals its intention to take a leading role in assisting the development of tertiary education in partnership with the Afghani Ministry of Education.
Located just north of Bangkok, the Asian Institute of Technology is an autonomous international institute of higher learning that promotes technological change and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region through higher education research and outreach. Home to 2000 graduate students and 130 highly qualified and experienced faculty advisors, AIT currently boasts 200-plus sponsored research projects supported by 800 research and support personnel from 30 countries.
Research at AIT is oriented towards sustainable development and reflects its commitment to strengthening the knowledge, development and business capacity of the region. Through its education and outreach programs, AIT supports communities and their economic development and integration into the global economy.
AIT officials believe the Thai-based postgraduate institute can also play a very significant role in helping Balkh University in identifying areas of research and also assist in identifying relevant industries that would be interested to be involved and help in those research areas.
Personifying AIT’s commitment to support the improvement of higher education and the development of human resources in Afghanistan, the University Partnership Program to assist the Faculty of Engineering at Balkh University is currently managed by an AIT master’s level student from Afghanistan. The newly appointed Project Manager for the AIT-BU partnership Project is Mohammad Qaasim, 35, who will complete a master’s degree in structural engineering in May 2008. The Asian Institute of Technology has 19 alumni from Afghanistan, and is currently home to 8 Afghani students pursuing higher education.
Please see the following reports published in the Afghanistan media:
http://www.outlookafghanistan.net/news.html
http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=51504
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=an&nid=296