China in early August and met with senior officials from the
government, universities, research institutions and international
organizations during a week-long visit. “The agreements also lay the
basis for the possibility of getting support from UNESCO to establish
“Regional Center for Open Educational Resources (RCOER)” at AIT,
increase student intake from China, and open the way for the launch of
both professional and integrated programs,” Prof. Worsak said.Four agreements were signed by Prof. Worsak with Guizhou Provincial
Education Department, Guizhou Vocational and Technical College (GVTC),
Guizhou Institute of Technology (GIT), and the Nanjing Institute of
Rail Technology (NIRT) respectively.The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Guizhou Provincial
Education Department, which was signed by its Deputy Director Zhou
Baoying, opens a gateway for Chinese students to apply the Guizhou
Provincial Scholarships Fund to study at AIT as well as lay the basis
of a visiting faculty program with support from the China Scholarship
Council (CSC), while the agreement with GVTC, which was signed by its
President Prof Chen Guizhou, focusses on on high-speed rail transit
collaboration.
The MOU with GIT signed by its Vice President Prof. Song Jianbo, seeks
to launch an Integrated Bachelor's and Master's Degrees Program, as
well as lay the basis of a visiting faculty program with support from
the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The agreement with NIRT, which was
signed by its President Qian Ji Kui, is targeted on human resources
development in rail transport system.
Besides the agreements, the AIT team also participated in the Regional
Expert Meeting on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Higher
Education at Chengdu, Sichuan Province, as special guests of Dr. Du
Yue, Secretary-General of China's National Commission of UNESCO; Prof
Wang Li, Deputy Director of UNESCO International Research and Training
Center for Rural Education (INRULED); and Mr. Wang Libing, UNESCO's
Asia-Pacific Programme of Educational Education for Development
(APEID). Deliberations with UNESCO included the proposal to establish
RCOER, which will serve as a regional platform for promoting a better
use of MOOC in Asia and the Pacific.
Prof. Worsak also presented a keynote speech on "A Possible
China-ASEAN Talent Cultivation Platform at AIT" at the China-ASEAN Rail
Transit Talent Cultivation and the Future Development of City Forum.
Dr. Surachet Pravinvongvuth of SET presented the details of a possible
professional master program with collaboration with interested
universities in China. The proposal is to launch a “Professional
Master’s Degree Program on Rail System Engineering and Management,”
which will be beneficial in light of Thailand’s plans to embark
high-speed train technology from China and Japan, Prof. Worsak
added.
Accompanying Prof Worsak to China were Prof. Voratas
Kachitvichyanukul, Dean, School of Engineering and Technology (AIT);
Prof. Nazrul Islam, Interim Dean, School of Management; Prof. Rajendra
Shrestha, Academic Senate Chair; Dr. Surachet Pravinvongvuth of SET;
Dr. Gabrielle Groves Punyaratabandhu, Head, External Relations and
Communications Office (ERCO), and Ms. Wannapa Pliansri, Coordinator,
Royal Thai Government (RTG), ERCO.
AIT team at the MoU signing agreement
with Guizhou Institute of Technology (GIT).