strong network in the region, help in obtaining faculty secondments and
student scholarships, besides helping strengthen the AIT brand, Prof.
Yamamoto said.
AGS is an international partnership between four of the world’s leading
science and technology universities – ETH Zurich, MIT, The University
of Tokyo, and Chalmers University of Technology. Since its creation in
1997, the AGS has drawn on the strength of its partners to develop
capacity and new models for integrated research, education and
outreach.
Prof. Yamamoto stated that AGS Asia) will link with AGS, but it will be
based in AIT and it will network with Asian academic and research
institutions, governments and industry. Prof. Yamamoto, who has worked
as the Secretary of AGS when it was established, added that he was in
consultation with his colleagues at the University of Tokyo about AGS
Asia, and that they had agreed to extend the concept to AIT.
AGS Asia will complement the existing strengths of AIT in education and
research. Stating that existing programs, disciplines and centers would
continue to flourish as usual, the VPRD said that AGS would focus on
the keyword of “sustainability.” It syncs very well with the concepts
of green campus, and the Center of Sustainable Development in the
context of Climate Change (SDCC), he said. On the other hand, it will
not disturb the existing programs, disciplines and centers, he
added.
AGS Asia will have a soft structure, which will make it attractive for
faculty, researchers and professionals to volunteer. It will create a
system where both young and senior faculty can work together.
Having identified over two-dozen MoUs and MoA’s that AIT has signed
with various universities and institutions in Japan, Prof. Yamamoto
said another task of AGS (Asia) would be to synthesize these together
under a common umbrella.
The kickoff meeting for the launch is proposed in June 2014, and this
should set the ball rolling for a more practical outcome, which covers
faculty secondments, scholarships, summer schools, along with an
education and research networks, Prof. Yamamoto said.
More details about AGS are available at this link: http://theags.org