The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is an international institution for higher education in engineering, advanced technologies, and management and planning. It "promotes technological change and sustainable development" in the Asian-Pacific region, through higher education, research and outreach.
History, mission
Founded in 1959 as SEATO Graduate School of Engineering, with a mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy, it receives funding from organizations and governments around the world (initially from SEATO members).
In 2006, AIT claimed that it "has become a leading regional post-graduate institute and is actively working with public and private sector partners throughout the region and with some of the top universities in the world". (See note presented at the Asia Commons conference, Bangkok, June 2006.)
It also sees itself as being "recognized for its multinational, multi-cultural ethos".
Location
This institute operates as a self-contained international community at its campus located some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Bangkok, Thailand.
The school was hosted by Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, before it became the AIT, an independent institution, in November 1967. While its main campus is located in Thailand, there is a remote campus in Vietnam called AIT Center in Vietnam. Another two centers have been authorized to be setup in Indonesia and Pakistan.
Academic Structure
AIT consists of three schools, the AIT Extension, the AIT centre in Vietnam and the AIT centre in Indonesia.
The three schools are
School of Engineering and Technology (SET)
School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)
School of Management (SOM)
Athletics
AIT prides itself in the athletic diversity offered within the campus. Sports such as badminton, takraw, table tennis, tennis, basketball, cricket, volleyball, swimming, slow bicycle, and running enable students the chance to not only exercise but share valuable experiences with such a diverse student body.
Rival competitions with competing universities makes for a great athletic atmosphere. After six straight losing seasons to rival NIDA, the basketball team, led by talent brought in from countries such as Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United States sent the NIDA team home with a loss. The final score read 72-46. Next year's game is expecting larger crowds with participants from all over the Asian continent.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
In 1989, it received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding, "... for shaping a new generation of engineers and managers committed to Asia , in an atmosphere of academic excellence and regional camaraderie.".
Students, faculty
Hosted 1,949 students from 50 countries, and 104 faculty from 22 countries (August 2006), its main campus in Pathum Thani, Thailand, is situated just next to Thailand Science Park and Rangsit Center of Thammasat University. The campus is approximately 42 kilometers north of Bangkok, the capital of the country.
Memberships
The institute is a member of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network, and LAOTSE – an international network of leading universities in Europe and Asia.
Asian Institute of Technology
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Asian Institute of Technology
Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority signs multi-million Baht deal for 40 staff scholarships and research at AIT
Thailand’s Provincial Electricity Authority signs multi-million Baht deal for 40 staff scholarships and research at AIT
In a multi-million baht deal, the Asian Institute of Technology has partnered with the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to offer master’s degree level scholarship opportunities for up to 40 PEA staff over the next four years. The education and research partnership was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) at a ceremony on June 16th at the headquarters of PEA in Bangkok.
According to the agreement signed by the Provincial Electric Authority Governor Mr. Adisorn Kiatchokewiwat, and AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust, PEA will provide 27,374,000 Baht for up to 10 members of its staff per year to study in the Energy Field of Study at AIT's School of Environment, Resources and Development. The government enterprise under the Thai Ministry of Interior will also cooperate in an alliance with AIT for research and technology development for practical applications and transfer spin-offs. PEA staff selected for scholarships will study for 22 months at AIT.
For its part, the Asian Institute of Technology will also support partial tuition fees of up to 13,440,000 Baht for PEA staff to enroll at AIT, starting with the initial batch in the August 2008 semester. The institute located north of Bangkok agreed to liaise with its partner universities and research institutes in Europe and North America to find opportunities for PEA students to conduct research during inter-semester breaks. PEA will fund international research field visits for staff scholarship recipients.
Officials expressed confidence this innovative partnership will benefit both parties. For PEA, the tie-up with AIT forms a major part of its effort to develop the skill and capacity of its employees to improve the implementation of its energy services, and to work in international environments by engaging in high-level research and development. PEA will get all students’ research outputs, officials said.
At the ceremony, Governor Adisorn Kiatechokvivat called the partnership with AIT a key investment for the long term development of PEA’s professional human resources, especially in the field of energy engineering education and research. AIT President Irandoust echoed these sentiments, telling a large delegation of 25 senior PEA executives that AIT was impressed by PEA’s ambition in terms of its commitment to increasing the professional, experiential and technical skills of it staff, and of its desire to increase the quality of its service to Thailand and the region. Calling its energy program a key academic strength of AIT, President Irandoust added that the institute looked forward to translating its research outputs into viable practical applications for use by PEA, via this partnership agreement.
Established in 1960, the Provincial Electricity Authority is primarily concerned with the generation, distribution, sales and provision of electric energy services to the business and industrial sectors as well as to the general public in provincial areas of Thailand. The authority has expanded electricity supply to 73 provinces of Thailand, covering 99% of the country’s geographical land area.
