AIT’s 109th Graduation

Graduation day at AIT! For the hundreds of students awarded
graduate degrees at the 109^th Graduation Ceremony of the
Asian Institute of Technology, the above remark by AIT
President Prof. Said Irandoust, spoken in his official
graduation address, was but one example of the many words of wisdom
they will always remember on such an auspicious day in their
lives.

AIT’s internationality was clearly evident as students from
twenty-seven countries received master and doctoral degrees at the
ceremony held on May 22^nd at the AIT campus in Pathumthani,
Thailand. Indeed, President Prof. Said Irandoust
conferred degrees on 433 new graduates who hailed from 22 countries in
Asia, 4 countries in Europe and one country in Africa.

The Institute was graced for first time by the new president of its
AIT Alumni Association (AITAA), Mr. Somprasong
Boonyachai  (above), CEO of Shin Corporation Plc., and
Executive Chairman of Advanced Info Service Plc, (AIS), who offered
valuable messages of advice to the May 2008 graduating class, in
morning and afternoon ceremonies. A Thai citizen, Mr.
Somprasong Boonyachai, graduated from AIT in 1981 with a
Master of Engineering degree. He assumed his position as President of
the AITAA on January 1^st of this year.

Owing to the large number of graduates, two separate graduation
ceremonies were held on the same day. The graduation ceremony for
School of Environment, Resources and Management and the School of
Management took place in the morning while the ceremony for the School
of Engineering and Technology took place in the afternoon.

Addressing the graduates of the School of Management and School of
Environment, Resources and Development in the morning ceremony was
Mr. S. Srinivasan (above), President and Director (SEA
& China), Thai Carbon Black Public Co., Ltd. Mr. S.
Srinivasan is Chairman of the AIT Extension Board and
member of the Institute-level Advisory Board. Mr. S.
Srinivasan is an honorary trade advisor to the Ministry of
Commerce, Government of Thailand, and was listed by Personnel
Management Association of Thailand (PMAT) as being amongst the top
twelve private sector Chief Executive Officers of Thailand in
2004.

Dr. Jean D’ Cunha (above),
Regional Programme Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM), East and South-East Asia, was the special guest speaker for
the graduation ceremony held students of the School of Engineering and
Technology. A highly influential international figure, Dr.
D’Cunha was formerly Regional Advisor/Manager of UNIFEM’s
Asia–Pacific and Arab States Regional Programme on
Migration. 

At both commencement exercises, President Irandoust welcomed all
guests to AIT, saying that the Institute joined all families and
friends of the graduates in celebrating this momentous day.

Above from left: Dr. S. Srinivasan, Mr. Somprasong Boonyachai,
Prof. Said Irandoust and Dr. Tej Bunnag.

In the
morning, he extended the Institute’s sincerest gratitude to the many
attending honored guests, which included: Dr. Tej Bunnag, Chairman of
the AIT Board of Trustees; members of the AIT Board of Trustees,
Executive Committee and School and AIT Extension Board; Graduation
Speaker, Dr. S. Srinivasan, President and  Director of the Thai
Carbon Black Public Co., Ltd. for Southeast Asia and China,
 Chairman of the AIT Extension Board and member of the
Institute-level Advisory Board; members of the AIT alumni,
faculty and staff.

In welcoming all to the special event, President Irandoust made
special mention of the ambassadors and representatives from the
embassies of Lao PDR, Hungary, Argentina, Romania, Nigeria, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Iran; the President of the AIT
Alumni Association and Presidents of the AIT Alumni Association
Chapters from Bangladesh, Cambodia and Thailand; the Deputy
Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
(SEAMEO) Secretariat; the Senior Advisor from the Norwegian
Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD); the Founder and
Chancellor of the Asian University of Science and Technology; the
President of the Thai Aerodynamics Company Limited; the
Member of the AIT School of Management Board; and Emeritus
Professors and former AIT Faculty Members.

As part of the afternoon graduation ceremony, President Irandoust
welcomed members of the AIT Board of Trustees, Executive Committee and
School and AIT Extension Board; Graduation Speaker Dr. Jean D’Cunha;
Regional Programme Director, United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM), East and South-East Asia; the Ambassador and representatives
from Nepal, France, Vietnam, European Commission; the President
of the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA);
the Deputy Director of the Southeast Asian Ministers
of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Secretariat; the Council
of Governors and Representatives of Fairview International
School; the President and Representative from the AIT
Alumni Association Chapters from Bangladesh and Cambodia.

Address
by AIT President Said Irandoust

•   Dr.
  Tej Bunnag, Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees

• Members of the AIT Board of Trustees, Executive Committee and
  School and AIT Extension Board

• Our Graduation Speaker Dr. S. Srinivasan, President &
  Director of the Thai Carbon Black Public Co., Ltd. for Southeast Asia
  and China. Dr. Srinivasan is also Chairman of the AIT Extension
  Board and member of the Institute-level Advisory Board

• Excellencies and honored guests,

• Members of the AIT alumni, faculty, staff,

• Our dear graduands, family members,

• The Ambassadors and representatives
  from the embassies of Laos, Hungary, Argentina, Romania, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Iran, and
  France

• President of the AIT Alumni
  Association and Presidents of the AIT Alumni Association Chapters
  from Bangladesh,  Cambodia and Thailand

• Deputy Director of the Southeast
  Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO)
  Secretariat

• Senior Advisor from the Norwegian
  Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

• Founder and Chancellor of the
  Asian University of Science and Technology

• President of the Thai Aerodynamics
  Company Limited

• Member of the AIT School of
  Management Board

• Emeritus Professors and
  former AIT Faculty Members

I wish to extend our sincere gratitude
to Your Excellencies and honored guests for your presence which means a
lot to AIT and our graduands.

I encourage all graduands to reflect on what you have gained as a
person, the values you have come to appreciate and realizations that
changed some of your perspectives through your learning and living at
AIT. I believe that your interaction with close to fifty different
nationalities within the AIT community has deepened your understanding
of yourself and of others.

I challenge you to bring back with you, to your respective countries -
not only your knowledge and skills - but also the great spirit of
international understanding and friendship. For if you do, you
will have contributed to the promotion of peace and understanding in
this region and beyond.

You will walk out of here today with only one thing that no one else
has. There will be hundreds of people out there with similar degrees;
there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a
living. A university degree is by no means a guarantee of success in
life. It is all too easy to fall prey to the notion that social
status and occupational position derives from the academic degrees
accumulated. It is not the degree, but what you do with it, that
counts.