Above: Provincial Electric Authority
Governor Mr. Adisorn Kiatchokewiwat (fourth from left) and AIT
President Prof. Said Irandoust (fifth from left) formalized
the MoA at the headquarters of PEA in Bangkok.
In a multi-million baht deal, the Asian Institute of Technology has
partnered with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to offer
master’s degree level scholarship opportunities for up to 40 PEA staff
over the next four years. The education and research partnership was
formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at a
ceremony on June 16th at the headquarters of PEA in Bangkok.
According to the agreement signed by the Provincial Electric Authority
Governor Mr. Adisorn Kiatchokewiwat, and AIT President Prof. Said
Irandoust, PEA will provide 27,374,000 Baht for up to 10 members of its
staff per year to study in the Energy Field of Study at AIT's School of
Environment, Resources and Development. The government enterprise under
the Thai Ministry of Interior will also cooperate in an alliance with
AIT for research and technology development for practical applications
and transfer spin-offs. PEA staff selected for scholarships will study
for 22 months at AIT.
For its part, the Asian Institute of Technology will also support
partial tuition fees of up to 13,440,000 Baht for PEA staff to enroll
at AIT, starting with the initial batch in the August 2008 semester.
The institute located north of Bangkok agreed to liaise with its
partner universities and research institutes in Europe and North
America to find opportunities for PEA students to conduct research
during inter-semester breaks. PEA will fund international research
field visits for staff scholarship recipients.
Officials expressed confidence this innovative partnership will
benefit both parties. For PEA, the tie-up with AIT forms a major part
of its effort to develop the skill and capacity of its employees to
improve the implementation of its energy services, and to work in
international environments by engaging in high-level research and
development. PEA will get all students’ research outputs, officials
said.
At the ceremony, Governor Adisorn Kiatechokvivat called the
partnership with AIT a key investment for the long term development of
PEA’s professional human resources, especially in the field of energy
engineering education and research. AIT President Irandoust echoed
these sentiments, telling a large delegation of 25 senior PEA
executives that AIT was impressed by PEA’s ambition in terms of its
commitment to increasing the professional, experiential and technical
skills of it staff, and of its desire to increase the quality of its
service to Thailand and the region. Calling its energy program a key
academic strength of AIT, President Irandoust added that the institute
looked forward to translating its research outputs into viable
practical applications for use by PEA, via this partnership
agreement.
Established in 1960, the Provincial Electricity Authority is primarily
concerned with the generation, distribution, sales and provision of
electric energy services to the business and industrial sectors as well
as to the general public in provincial areas of Thailand. The authority
has expanded electricity supply to 73 provinces of Thailand, covering
99% of the country’s geographical land area.
