Mr. Kan Trakulhoon, President and CEO of SCG, had pledged the 10
million THB to AIT President, Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, on 13
January 2015 during the meeting at SCG Headquarters arranged by Mr.
Chavalit Ekabut, Vice President – Finance and Investment & CFO of
SCG, and also former President of the AIT Alumni Association. On the
AIT side were Chairman of AIT’s Executive Committee, Dr. Sahas
Bunditkul, AIT President Prof. Worsak, and Dean of School of
Engineering and Technology, Prof. Voratas Kacitvichyanukul.
“AIT is focusing on cementing ties with the private sector,
particularly where AIT alumni have risen to the upper echelons,” Prof.
Worsak remarked as he thanked SCG for its gesture. It is indicative of
the path that AIT wishes to traverse, not only in raising resources,
but also in bringing corporates closer to the Institute, President
Worsak added.
President Kan expressed his admiration of the strategic role played by
AIT in the development of human capital in the region, and especially
in Thailand during its 55 years of existence. “SCG has conducted
business following sustainable development principles and good
corporate governance. We believe in the value of the individuals as
stated in one of its four business philosophies and we have witnessed
that human capital development is the key of the Group’s success over
the past 100 years. We are committed to develop individuals especially
of the younger generation, who will be a key driving force for
prosperity of Thailand and ASEAN region in particular. SCG is extremely
happy to support the AIT library modernization campaign, and we hope
that this 10 million THB will act a good starting point, and the
modernization of the AIT library will become a reality this year in
order to leverage the better condition of learning and studying for
Asian students,” he said. The President and CEO of SCG added that he
was delighted to learn from Vice President Chaovalit that SCG has so
far employed the most number of AIT alumni among all private
organizations in Thailand, and perhaps in the world.
AIT and SCG have been strategic partners since 2007, when the two
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at strengthening
human capital development in Thailand and the region. Under President
Kan’s leadership, SCG has operated with a strong sense of societal
responsibility, with an emphasis on education.
In the meeting, President Worsak reported that the AIT Campus was
inundated by the great Thailand flood in October 2011 for over two
months which caused tremendous damage to the campus including the AIT
Library. In order to revive the facilities of the library, AIT has
planned to renovate as well as modernize the library with
state-of-the-art facilities. With this planned modernization, AIT would
create a full-fledged contemporary library for its international
students, which will act as a showpiece in the region as a world-class
learning facility. In the 21st century, libraries are no longer mere
places to refer to books or to complete assignments, but they are also
meeting and learning spaces with multimedia centers, digital
repositories, and wonders of modern architecture, design and
technology, Prof. Worsak added.
In order to achieve the above objective, Dr. Subin Pinkayan, AIT’s
Board Chair, advised that AIT needs to improve its infrastructure by
incorporating impeccable services and technology, and also create
spaces for students to study and meet. Integrated Technology will be
used to equip the multimedia stations as well as the online
repositories containing e-books, subscription to online databases,
online journals, and open-access publications. In this regard, AIT
invited SCG to be one of the supporters to AIT’s library modernization
campaign which aims to raise the required fund of 50 million THB.
Dr. Sahas thanked Mr. Kan for his generous support. “This would help
strengthen the important role of AIT in the globalization age,” Dr.
Sahas remarked. He also praised the business philosophy of SCG which is
based on its strong belief that human capital being its most valuable
asset. This philosophy has been proven correct courtesy of the
competence of its employees which has propelled the rapid growth of SCG
in the international arena in recent years.
For further inquiries about the AIT Library Modernization Project and
offer to donate, please contact:
Ms. Chalita Lertwinyu, Assistant to the President.
Email: chalita@ait.asia or
Call 081-813-0535, or Visit www.modernlibrary.ait.asia
From left: Prof. Voratas
Kacitvichyanukul, Dr. Sahas Bunditkul, Mr. Kan Trakulhoon, Prof. Worsak
Kanok-Nukulchai, and Mr. Chavalit Ekabut.