Supporting AIT Overseas Students during COVID-19: From Lockdown to Hybrid Instruction to Quarantine to Vaccine

Supporting AIT Students Stranded Abroad by the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic presents distinct challenges for the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), an independent, international postgraduate institution in Bangkok with 70% of its 1400 students from countries outside Thailand.

In January 2020, AIT immediately formed a Coronavirus Task Force. All through the past 24 months, COVID lockdown measures were devised and adjusted continuously by the Task Force to protect the campus, enduring two waves—one still ongoing--in 2021. Ever-changing COVID policies were posted instantaneously on our Intranet, alerted by frequent messages by the Task Force. Thanks to this communication and community cooperation, the campus has remained relatively safe, with cases mostly “imported” from outside residents.

A Country Mentorship Programme was set up to take care of the mental stress of on-campus students during COVID. The Office of Student Affairs also set up in 2021 a mental wellness unit to take care of students’ stress counseling needs. This was in heavy demand during a time of frequent isolation on campus and long separation from families.

AIT set up the first Thai Government authorized university quarantine facility in September 2020, partnering with neighboring Thammasat Hospital. By December 2021, almost 400 AIT overseas students have utilized our OQ. We even receive overseas students of Thammasat University. Our Office of Government Affairs worked with Thai embassies and overseas students to handle the complex Thailand COVID entry procedures. Our OQ, with dedicated government-trained staff, hosted them for 7- or 14-day quarantines in designated and separated campus dormitories. AIT also subsidized students’ mandatory COVID insurance, and together with the low cost of our OQ as compared with hotels off-campus, this OQ programme allowed our overseas students to attend AIT at a difficult time.
All through 2021, Hybrid Instruction at AIT were delivered in state-of-the-art Smart Modified Classrooms donated by AIT Alumni. Active student participation in webinars were encouraged. At the end of 2021, a comprehensive campus WIFI upgrade contract was signed to enhance WIFI accessibility for future instruction. Laboratories were carefully opened and monitored and observed strict social-distance and personal hygiene requirements. Faculty were trained and welcomed the ability to educate our students continuously.

After the successful implementation of OQ and hybrid instruction, in Spring 2021 AIT worked hard on providing vaccines to the community. Thailand’s initial vaccine availability was to Thai citizens only, but AIT successfully worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—our host in Thailand—and our partner Thammasat Hospital to repeatedly obtain vaccines for all the AIT community, including overseas students. This effort evolved in Fall 2021 into obtaining boosters. To date, 100% of AIT students are vaccinated, and many have had boosters, allowing mandatory vaccination whenever in-person classes resume in early 2022.
AIT has been far-sighted, nimble, caring, and proactive in helping our students during the pandemic, so that they are to pursue their education on campus “without missing a beat”. This reputation has allowed our enrollment to actually steadily increase since two years ago.

AIT Closure and AIT Moves to Interactive Online Learning for Remainder of Spring Semester

The Asian Institute of Technology is closely monitoring the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The health, safety and well-being of our AIT community is our top priority, while pursuing our education mission. Given the deteriorating world situation with the virus and in view of the Royal Thai Government’s announcement of March 17 requiring the closure of all schools across the country for two weeks, AIT has decided to take the following measures at this unprecedented time. Read More

Innovative Hybrid Instruction at AIT – ‘Without Missing a Beat’

AIT launched the new Hybrid Instruction since August semester 2020. We are welcoming students to our campus, and at the same time deliver quality education through the innovative Hybrid Mode for students who are unable to join us in person due to travel restrictions and/or if physical distancing measures remain in place following government guidelines during this Covid-19 pandemic. Read More

AIT Town Hall: Organization Quarantine Presentation

On November 2020 AIT Town Hall, Head of Office of Facilities and Assets Management, and AIT Quarantine Facility Manager, Mr. Wanchai Sophonsakulrat presented the latest updates on the AIT OQ Facility. Click to View the Report.

National Media Exposure

AIT Website News

Facts and Figures

As of 20 February 2021, AIT OQ continues to run smoothly and receive overseas international students. A total of 197 AIT students from overseas will have entered our OQ, broken down as follows:

  • Continuing Students (36)
  • New Students - Fall 2020 (115)
  • New Students - Spring 2021 (46)

To date, 181 of the OQ students have successfully gone through the OQ, with 9 of them in SI. Thirteen others are currently still in the OQ. Eleven of our OQ students have so far tested positive for COVID-19. Seven of them are now healthy after treatment in Thammasat University Hospital (TUH) and completely free in their movement, with one to be discharged from OQ on Monday, 22 February. Three of them are unfortunately still undergoing treatment at TUH. As you are aware, AIT has also been accommodating some of Thammasat University's overseas students, as a friendly gesture to our hospital partner and neighbour. To date, a total of 59 Thammasat University students have gone through our OQ, and we currently have one TU student at the OQ.

Student Forum

Fall Semester Overseas Students Forum: In Solidarity with AIT’s International Students
On July 29, an online audience of more than 250 students from many countries in Asia and Africa tuned into the Fall Semester Overseas Students Forum focused on addressing the concerns of AIT’s new and continuing overseas students about the entry process into Thailand for the Fall Semester. Read More

Intranet

AIT also maintains an internal information portal that is updated every month with the latest updates of the situation to the AIT Community. Access AIT Intranet(For AIT Community Only)

Latest Update on AIT during Global Coronavirus Crisis Jan 2021

Since January of 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has spread across the world. The situation in Thailand was very stable for several months in Summer and Fall, but new outbreaks started in late December. The Government and the entire country is now fighting hard to limit this outbreak, with some success showing. Meanwhile, many places around the world, including several of the countries where our AIT students, faculty, and staff come from, are still heavily affected. Read More

Photo Gallery of AIT Organizational Quarantine