Survival of the Best Adaptable is President Worsak's Mantra for Graduating Students

AIT President Designate Dr Eden Y Woon

AIT alumnus appointed Minister in Viet Nam

Prof ATM Nurul Amin felicitated with Emeritus Professor honor at Graduation

Partner agreements signed with five institutions in China

Photo Gallery

AIT to renew cooperation with HEC

AIT Develops Framework for River Health Assessment in the Mekong River Basin

Dr Mongkol Ekpanyapong receives TRF 2017 Prominent Research Award

SATEL and DNWP Advanced Telecommunications Laboratory to be established at AIT

Workshops and Conferences

Social Media

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Credits

Survival of the Best Adaptable is President Worsak's Mantra for Graduating Students

Four hundred and sixty students hailing from 21 countries received their degrees at the 129th graduation of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). The largest cohort of graduating students came from Sri Lanka (128), followed by Thailand (93), and Myanmar (80). Three continents, Asia, Africa and Europe were represented by the graduating students. Graduates came from Viet Nam (41), India (30), Nepal (21), Afghanistan (17), Bangladesh (9), Pakistan (8), Indonesia (7), Cambodia (6), Bhutan (5), Philippines (4), China, France, and Japan (2 each), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lao PDR and Maldives (1 each).

Graduation speeches were delivered by Professor Gautam Dasgupta of Columbia University, and Dr. Sumet Tantivejkul, Secretary General, Chaipattana Foundation;while the prominent alumnus speeches were delivered by Professor Soe W. Myint of Arizona State University and Ms. Areewan Haorangsi, Secretary General, Asia- Pacific Telecommunity (APT).

Delivering his graduation address, President Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai spoke about the cataclysmic changes that have never been witnessed before, stating that these changes pose a threat to our present educational system. Rapidity of technological changes, which is referred as “technological singularity,” is resulting in a situation where in order to survive, universities must prepare themselves for a new world. In this scenario, the Darwinian adage of “Survival of the fittest” may well give way to “Survival of the Best Adaptable,” Prof. Worsak remarked.

AIT President Designate Dr Eden Y Woon

The AIT Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the recommendation of the AIT Presidential Search Committee (PSC) to appoint Dr. Eden Y Woon as the next AIT President, effective 1 September 2018.

Dr. Woon is currently Vice Chairman of Alba Group (Asia). He is also Special Advisor to the Shaw Foun-dation, a Hong Kong-based charity organization. Dr. Woon has served as Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at the Hong Kong University of Scienceand Technology (HKUST) from 2010-2017. He has been on the Council of the Open University of Hong Kong for the past six years, and has served as member of the Advisory Board of the University of Iowa Business School. In the late-’70s and early-’80s, he was on the Mathematics faculty of the US Air Force Academy for six years, becoming an Associate Professor. Dr. Woon received his BA degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Iowa, and his MA, MS, and PhD degrees, all in Mathematics, from the University of Washington in Seattle. Dr. Woon has also served as Vice President for Starbucks Coffee Company in China, Managing Director of Toys R Us (China), and Managing Director of Li & Fung Group Office in China. He was the CEO of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce from 1997-2006. Prior to that Dr. Woon was Executive Director of the Seattle-based Washington State China Relations Council (1994-1997).

AIT alumnus appointed Minister in Viet Nam

Dang Hoang An, an AIT alumnus has been appointed as Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade in Viet Nam. Prior to his elevation as Minister, he was serving as General Director of Electricity Viet Nam (EVN). He was appointed by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, and his elevation became effective from 15 May 2018. Dang Hoang An (spelt Đặng Hoàng An in Vietnamese) graduated with a Master’s in Electric Power System Management from AIT in 1997, and an MBA under the International Executive MBA Program in 2004. He obtained his Bachelor’s in Electrical System Engineering from the University of Electrical Machines Plzen (Czech Republic) in 1988.

Prof ATM Nurul Amin felicitated with Emeritus Professor honor at Graduation

Professor ATM Nurul Amin was honored at AIT’s 129th Graduation following the conferment of the title of Emeritus Professor. Earlier, the AIT Board of Trustees had approved the award of the title of Emeritus Professor to Professor Amin at its meeting held on 11 January 2018. Professor Amin was honored with the Emeritus Professor Certificate at the Graduation by AIT President Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai and H.E. Mr. Pradap Pibulsonggram, Vice Chairperson of AIT Executive Committee. Professor Amin had obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,

Canada, in 1982; and he joined AIT as an Assistant Professor in 1987. He was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1998, and served as a Professor at AIT for 10 years, and

as a full-time faculty member for 21 years.

Partner Agreements Signed with Five Institutions in China

The month of May 2018 saw the signing of partnership agreements with five universities and institutions in China. The agreements were an outcome of the visit of AIT President Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai to China from 6-13 May 2018. Agreements were signed with Shanghai Ocean University, Zhejiang Institute of Fresh Water Fisheries, Beijing Normal University (Extension), Huzhou University, and College of Education, Zhejiang University.

The agreement signed with Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU) by President Worsak and SHOU President Professor.Cheng Yudong, aims to launch a Unified Program of five years duration, joint research between faculty members of SHOU and AIT, and exchange of students and student mobility.

The second agreement was signed with the Zhejiang Institute of Freshwater Fisheries (ZIFF). The MoU, signed by Gu Zhimin, General Director, ZIFF, and Professor Worsak, provides for mutual exchange of researchers for short-term study, joint research on cooperation, and joint training of international graduate students in the field of fisheries resource management, genetics and breeding, fish nutrition, freshwater ecology, and environmental sciences.

The MoU with Huzhou University follows a meeting with their Vice President Professor Ye Jinyun. Professor Worsak expressed his interest in establishing up a China-AIT Center to organize workshops, training courses for learners & researchers from ASEAN countries at AIT.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed by President Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai with Professor GU Jianmin, Dean, College of Education, ZJU, for facilitating a student exchange program. “We also would like to invite the faculty and students of AIT to visit us some time to get a better understanding of each other and promote the cooperation in the future,” said Zhou Lijun, Deputy Dean of College of Education.

The fifth agreement was formalized with Beijing Normal University, where the AIT delegation met with Professor Zhou Zuoyu, Vice President of BNU.

The AIT delegation was led by President Worsak and included  Professor Voratas Kajitvichyanukul, Dean, School of Engineering; Dr. Salin Krishna, Associate Professor in the School of Environment, Resources, and Development; Mrs. Wanna Pliansri, Consultant, Office of President; Mr. Qi Jinxian, Manager, IFERT Office; and Mrs. Chotiros Mongkolchotiras, Director, Office of President.

The AIT delegation also visited the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for a meeting with the Deputy Secretary-General of CSC, Mr. Wang Shenggang, who represented the CSC Director who was away on the trip. Ms. Zhou Jian, Deputy Director, Division of Asian & African Affairs, CSC, and Mr. Yu Xinyu, Project Officer, Division of Asian & African Affairs, CSC also attended the meeting. In the meeting, CSC has reconfirmed its commitment to provide 10 scholarships for Chinese students to study at AIT.

Graduation Photo Gallery

AIT to renew cooperation with HEC

File photo: AIT delegation with H.E. Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman.

AIT will renew its cooperation agreement with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, and it will also help the country in internationalization of its faculty members. The renewal of partnership will enable HEC to resume scholarships for qualified Pakistani students to enroll at AIT, especially for doctoral degrees. Following a visit of a high-powered delegation led by President Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai to Pakistan, where he proposed a three-pronged game changing relationship between HEC and AIT, HEC has already included AIT in its list of institutions eligible for scholarships. Prof. Worsak had proposed a renewal of relationship between the two, as well as exploration of joint research activities between AIT and select universities in Pakistan. Significantly, the AIT President also proposed that Pakistan could depute its faculty members to AIT, which could provide them with global exposure and help in internationalization of academic institutions in Pakistan. The AIT delegation held wide ranging meetings with the H.E. Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman, Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, and HEC officials, including the then HEC Chairman,

Professor Mukhtar Ahmed.

AIT Develops Framework for River Health Assessment in the Mekong River Basin

AIT has developed an “Operational Framework for River Health Assessment in the Mekong  River Basin.” The project was implemented over a period of three years and the final product was presented in the workshop at the Pollution Control Department of Thailand on 21 May 2018. Led by Prof. Mukand Singh Babel of AIT, the project was supported by CGIAR’s Water Land and Ecosystem (WLE) Greater Mekong Program. It provides a holistic river health assessment framework that is capable of addressing a wide variety of dimensions of river health. Two such assessment frameworks were developed, both at the community as well as basin level. The workshop was organized by AIT along with the “Pollution Control Department (PCD)” and Thai Water Partnership (TWP).

Dr Mongkol Ekpanyapong receives TRF 2017 Prominent Research Award

Dr. Mongkol (center) receiving the award.

Dr. Mongkol Ekpanyapong is among the 14 recipients of the Thailand Research Foundation (TRF) 2017 Prominent Research Award. He received the award from Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Air Chief

Marshall Prachin Chantong, , on 23 May 2018. Dr. Mongkol was felicitated for his research on “Smart Police Mannequin with the Automatic Traffic Violation Tickets Issuing,” where he designed a system for automatic generation of tickets for traffic violation. It incorporates Artificial Intelligence, image processing, and machine learning. The smart police mannequin has been placed at 19 locations in Bangkok and two locations in Phuket. The system has an accuracy of 80 per cent, and it has reduced the issuing time of traffic violation tickets from five to one minute.

SATEL and DNWP Advanced Telecommunications Laboratory to be established at AIT

Mr. Janne Kankaanpaa (left) with Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai.

A “SATEL and DNWP Advanced Telecommunications Laboratory” will be established at AIT. SATEL Oy and Dedicated Network Partners (DNWP) will sponsor radio technology and transmission equipment to establish this new laboratory in the Telecommunications Program in the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). A Memorandum of Understanding to establish the laboratory was signed by Mr. Janne Kankaanpaa, Sales Manager, SATEL Oy, and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, President, AIT, on 15 May 2018. AIT will also develop and new laboratory course along with SATEL and DNWP to help students gain experience in advanced standardized equipment.

Workshops and Conferences

TRAINING: Safety and Quality in Innovative Food Production Systems held on 20-26 May

Training InstructorsDr. Anil Kumar Anal (AIT), Dr. Gerhard Schleining (BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Science, Austria), and Dr. Nicolas Korsak (University of Liege, Belgium).

SEMINAR: Smart Buildings in a Smart City Connected Community on  25 May delivered by Prof. Saifur Rahman (Virginia Tech, USA)

WORKSHOP: Optimizing decentralized low-cost wastewater infrastructure by managing the microbes on  28-31 May jointly organized by AIT and University of Glasgow

CONFERENCE: Structural Engineering: Future Proofing our Infrastructure held on 31 May

Speakers included

Dr. Naveed Anwar (AIT)

Mr. Ashraf Habibullah (Computers and Structures Inc. USA)

Mr. Marshall Strabala (STRABALA+Architecture)

Prof. Pennung Warnitchai (AIT)

Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai (AIT)

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Credits

Editor: Bajinder Pal Singh bajinder@ait.ac.th

Photos: Paitoon Tinnapong, and  Samphat Semathong

Contact: Office of Media and Communications omco@ait.ac.th

Table of Contents

Survival of the Best Adaptable is President Worsak's Mantra for Graduating Students

AIT President Designate Dr Eden Y Woon

AIT alumnus appointed Minister in Viet Nam

Prof ATM Nurul Amin felicitated with Emeritus Professor honor at Graduation

Partner agreements signed with five institutions in China

Photo Gallery

AIT to renew cooperation with HEC

AIT Develops Framework for River Health Assessment in the Mekong River Basin

Dr Mongkol Ekpanyapong receives TRF 2017 Prominent Research Award

SATEL and DNWP Advanced Telecommunications Laboratory to be established at AIT

Workshops and Conferences

Social Media

QR for download

Credits