Thailand’s first Professional Master’s in Software Engineering to begin at AIT

Thailand’s first Professional Master’s in Software Engineering to begin at AIT

The MoA was signed by Prof. Dr. Chananat Thebtaranonth, Vice President
and Director of Technology Management Center (TMC), National Science
and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and Prof. Dr. Worsak
Kanok-Nukulchai, Vice President for Resources Development and Dean of
School of Engineering and Technology.

Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai revealed that this will be the first
professional educational program of its kind offered in Thailand. The
program includes innovative aspects such as a Software Development
Studio drawn from a postgraduate program developed at the U.S.’s
leading Carnegie Mellon University and tailored to the Thai IT
industry. Speaking at the signing ceremony of the MOA, Prof Worsak said
classes would begin from September 7, 2009.

Professor Chachanat Thebtaranonth stated that the aim of the PMSE
program is to prepare skilled workforce which could serve not just
Thailand but also the entire region and contribute towards development
of software all over the world. So far the Software Park Thailand (SWP)
has only been providing short courses to build this high-level
workforce, and this course is a landmark next step to serve as a bridge
among academic units to create programs to build this workforce.

The new degree targets large pools of IT professionals lacking
traditional academic backgrounds in software engineering who would like
to improve their qualifications, especially related to software
architecture, so as to move into managerial, architectural, and senior
analyst positions in software development organizations.

UNIQUENESS OF PROGRAM:

PMSE offered by AIT in collaboration with Software Park is very unique
compared to other programs in a number of key ways. 100 per cent of the
instruction is in English, taught by accomplished professors from one
of the most international engineering institutes in Asia. Students
study alongside experienced professional peers, and gain experience on
practical projects with expert industry mentors.

Students can complete the full master’s degree from AIT in one year.
Partial load students have three years to complete the degree. Students
can also apply for fulltime course or register for individual courses.
All weekday classes are taught in downtown Bangkok during the evenings,
allowing for no disruption to students’ regular hours work
commitments.

The deal paves the way for some selected modules from the professional
program to be taught as 3-day short courses at Software Park. AIT’s
School of Engineering will also accept up to 6 credits of transfers for
students who have taken selected Software Park courses in the past,
with no credit transfer fees.

While AIT has designed the PMSE program, SWP will provide the advice
and feedback, including indicating problems and solutions, to best
tailor this program for the Thai IT industry. SWP will let the program
use its facilities especially tools used in advanced software. SWP will
also help in contacting experts in the industry as the program requests
and also support the program through every channels of SWP, nonetheless
e-channels and databases apart from others.

ABOUT AIT:

As an independent, international institute of advanced technology and
higher learning, AIT promotes technological change and sustainable
development in the Asian-Pacific region through higher education,
research and outreach. Established in Bangkok in 1959, AIT has become a
leading regional postgraduate institution and is actively working with
public and private sector partners throughout the region and with some
of the top universities in the world. A unique multicultural and
international institute, AIT operates as a self-contained international
community at its campus located 40 km (25 miles) north of Bangkok,
Thailand.

ABOUT NTSDA and SWP:

Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
was created by the Science and Technology Development Act of 1991 and
officially commenced its operations in 1992. It focuses on research and
development to strengthen Thailand's sustainable competitiveness,
complemented by technology transfer and the development of human
resources and science and technology infrastructure, with outcomes that
have positive impacts on society and the economy.
A semi-government operation, Software Park Thailand is dedicated to
quality improvement, technology transfer, capacity building,
international promotion, and entrepreneurship incubation for the
domestic software industry. For further details http://www.nstda.or.th

COURSE DETAILS:

Further course details are available here

http://www.cs.ait.ac.th/~chokchai/pmse/brochure/pmse_brochure.pdf

From Left to right. Dr. Mongkol
Ekpanyapong, Assistant Professor of SET, Dr. Vatcharaporn Esichaikul,
Assoc. Prof. of SET, Chalermpol Tuchinda, Deputy Director Software
Park, Prof. Dr. Chananat Thebtaranonth, Vice President and Director of
Technology Management Center (TMC),NSTDA, Prof. Dr. Worsak
Kanok-Nukulchai, Vice President for Resources Development, Dr. Matthew
N Dailey, Assistant Professor, SET, and Kanchana Kanchanasut, Director,
Internet Education and Research Laboratory