Ait.newsletter.june.2012

1 Asian Institute of Technology JUNE 2012 Prof. Muhammad Yunus at the Social Business Symposium.Nobel laureate at Social Business SymposiumN obel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus delivered the keynote address at the SocialBusiness Symposium organized jointly by the system, the Nobel laureate remarked that the Yunus Center at AIT could be a hub for everyone interested in social business.Yunus Center at AIT, Thai Health PromotionFoundation, Thai Management Association “It is a good start today, and I hope that this(TMA), Thai Social Enterprise Office and AIT continues,” Prof. Yunus said, adding that theon 8 May 2012. Center could bring business leaders and youngsters together at one platform. Prof.Yunus had launchedRaising questions about the unfair economic the Yunus Center at AIT in August 2009. INS I DE I S S UE . . . Recent News / Happenings at AIT................................................. 2-5 People........................................................................................... 4 Backpage....................................................................................... 6

RECENT NEWS / HAPPENINGS AT AITJUNE 2012 2FAO to strengthen engagement with AIT The Food and Agricul- and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, re- ture Organization (FAO) marked that AIT has a history of collaboration with FAO, is interested in strength- and both should explore ways of greater engagement. ening its commitment with AIT, particularly Mr. Konuma stated that another important policy initiative after its announcement of FAO is to build consensus on food security. As a first of new policy directions step, both AIT and FAO should build on existing collabora- of promoting research tion, and involve more students in the process. RemarkingMr. Hiroyuki Konuma, in academic institutions that food security is also related to peace and overall secu-Assistant Director General and building human re- rity, Mr. Konuma stated that the younger generation needsand Regional Representative sources. Stating this, Mr. to be sensitized to the importance of food and agriculture.for Asia and the Pacific. Hiroyuki Konuma, As- “I have been visiting AIT earlier, and now look forward sistant Director General towards working very closely with AIT,” he said.Nakornnayok Governor courts AIT for creating a smart provinceGovernor of Thailand’s province of Nakornnayok, Dr. ergy as key areas of interest. “We will concentrate onSurachai Srisarakham sought AIT’s help and support innovation and improving the quality of life of people,”for transforming Nakornnayok into a “smart province,” Dr. Surachai said.and welcomed AIT’s presence by offering 100 rai (16hectares) of land to AIT free of cost.Visiting AIT on 10 May 2012, the Governor stated thatAIT could use Nakornnayok as a model for research ap-plications for the benefit of the people. Nakornnayok canbe an AIT base for transferring technology; establishinga department of Information and Communication Tech-nology (ICT); creating a center; or using the provinceas a practical laboratory for experiments, the Governorsuggested. He identified agriculture and food quality, Dr. Surachai Srisarakham receiving the AIT-Thailand badgeaquaculture, ICT, disaster management, and clean en- from Prof. Said Irandoust.TSF chief visits AIT May 2012, Mr. Cazanave said TSF was very happy with the partnership with AIT, and was keen to continue its President of Télécoms Sans Frontières, Mr. Jean-Fran- engagement. çois Cazanave has assured AIT of support and sought stronger ties with the Institute. In a visit to AIT on 16 The TSF President stated that AIT has provided many volunteers to TSF, and in return these students had ac- quired real-life experience in disaster conditions. TSF, whose office and facilities were inundated during the October 2011 flood, also expressed its interest to return to the AIT campus. He added that TSF will be hosting a major European Commission funded training camp at AIT in 2013. TSF delegation at AIT.

RECENT NEWS / HAPPENINGS AT AITJUNE 2012 3Japanese Ambassador honors scholarship recipientsAmbassador of Japan to Thailand, 22 (out of total of 29 awardees) AIT’s reputation as an importantH.E. Mr. Seiji Kojima honored at a function organized on 25 contributor to regional develop- May 2012. Hosting a function for ment through human resources Japanese Government Scholar- development. ship Recipients at AIT on 25 May 2012, the ambassador said AIT The ambassador congratulated Master and Doctoral level gradu- AIT Japanese Government Schol- ates from around Asia have been arship recipients from Cambodia, playing an active role in various Pakistan, Vietnam, Thailand, In- fields in their home countries for dia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indone-H.E. Mr. Seiji Kojima years. These activities have raised sia and Myanmar.LC Bridging Program readies professionals merses the trainees in interactive skills-based class instruction infor Mekong River Commission reading, grammar, speaking, andAIT’s Language Center (LC) was The batch arrived at AIT from Lao writing and vocabulary develop-host to a group of Southeast Asian PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, Viet- ment, while injecting necessarystudents who honed their presenta- nam and Thailand to attend the real-world assignments into thetion skills at a special tailor-made Bridging Program. The capacity curriculum.program for the Mekong River building program for the MRC,Commission (MRC). The Com- however, also assists the JRP se-mission had selected young pro- lectees in the professional skillsfessionals for its Junior Riparian and competencies they need toProfessional (JRP) program, who work. Designed by Mr. Tylor Bur-were at AIT for capacity develop- rows of AIT’s LC for client MRC,ment. the JRP Bridging Program im- MRC participants at AIT.AIT hosts Alternative University Appraisal meetingUniversity rankings are a hot tions University Institute of Ad- Center of Excellence on Sustain-topic across the hallowed halls vanced Studies, TERI Univer- able Development in the Contextof academia worldwide. Reject- sity, United Nations University of Climate Change (SDCC) anding traditional university rank- Institute for Software Technol- funded by Hokkaido University.ings as too homogenous and as ogy, and Universiti Sains Ma-serving a “survival of the fittest” laysia, the project recognizes thementality, academics attached to vast diversity existing in higherthe Alternative University Ap- education, and varying missionspraisal (AUA) project have a pro- across a very complex sustain-foundly different model in mind. able development milieu in Asia.For AUA core members AIT, The 9th AUA Core Members’Yonsei University, United Na- Meeting was hosted by AIT’s AUA delegates.

RECENT NEWS / HAPPENINGS AT AIT/PEOPLE JUNE 2012 4Energy, Environment Sri Lankan alumni raise US $7500 for AITand Cooperation in Alumni from Sri Lanka have raised US $7500 as aGreater Mekong contribution for providingSub-region books lost during the Oc- tober 2011 flood. Led by Mr. Sunimal Weerasooriya, President of the Sri Lanka chapter of AIT Alumni As- sociation (AITAA), the fun- Sri Lankan alumni handing over books to draising is to purchase text- Dr. Mathew Dailey. books for the AIT undergraduate program. A list of books that could be beneficial to undergraduate students has been provided by Dr. Mathew Dailey, Associate Professor,Prof. I.M. Pandey welcomed the GMSdelegates. School of Engineering and Technology (AIT). According to Mr. Sanjeev Jayasinghe, Director, Fundraising, AIT, while the firstThe intersection of energy and the envi- batch of books has already been handed over, the remainingronment is one of the most pressing issues books will arrive at AIT before September 2012.The handoverfacing countries in the Greater Mekong ceremony witnessed participation from AITAA (Sri Lanka chap-Sub-region (GMS). To evaluate these ter) office bearers, Mr.Palitha Gamage, Vice President and Mr.challenges, AIT played host on 21 May Dharmasiri Wickramatilake, Treasurer.2012 to delegates attending the Interna-tional Conference on “Energy and Envi-ronment Sector Cooperation of the GMS SU Research Poster ShowcaseCountries.” exhibits AIT students’ workAIT alumna appointed AIT is a research-fo-Deputy Res Rep, UNDP, cused institute brimming with students eager toMyanmar present their latest work to the public. At the in- The AIT Alumni Affairs augural SU Research Office reported that Poster Showcase on 29 AIT alumna Ms. To Thi May 2012 young AIT SU Research Poster Showcase 2012 Thuy Hang, a Vietnam- researchers did just that, ese national who re- catching the eye of the AIT Community with engaging posters. ceived a Master of Sci-Ms. To Thi Thuy ence in Environmental In just two hours of open viewing, over 200 visitors reviewedHang Engineering from AIT the 20 research posters exhibited at the Korea House Building in in 1991, has been ap- the center of the campus. School of Engineering and Technolo-pointed as Deputy Resident Representa- gy students displayed 14 posters while students from the Schooltive (Operations), UNDP Myanmar. Prior of Environment, Resources and Development displayed six.to taking up her new position, Ms. Hangworked as an Operations Specialist at the Opening and closing the event as the honored guest, Prof. I.M.Evaluation Office of the United Nations Pandey, Vice President for Academic Affairs, described it asDevelopment Programme, New York, “an example of our finest students seeking to distinguish them-from 2006-2012. selves.”

RECENT NEWS / HAPPENINGS AT AIT JUNE 2012 5AIT student receives IPCC awardA doctoral student of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Ms. RizwanaSubhani, has received a grant from the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) for pursuing her research. She is one of the nine recipients forthe term 2011-2012.A total of nine young students and researchers have been awarded the scholar-ship for pursuing research. Seven of them were awarded a “Prince Albert II ofMonaco Foundation grant for IPCC,” within the framework of the collabora- Ms. Rizwana Subhani at the IPCCtion between the IPCC Scholarship Programme and the Prince Albert II of award ceremony.Monaco Foundation Young Researchers Scholarships Initiative. the two recipients under the theme ofThe award follows an open call by IPCC, which received nearly 5000 applica- “Adaptation and mitigation optionstions, out of which 1027 were shortlisted. Students and young researchers are for different sectors and assessmentrequired to submit their proposal under five different themes. Rizwana is one of of socio-economic implications.”Book by Dr. Sundar VenkateshDr. Sundar Venkatesh, Advisor, AIT Extension, has published a book on“Fundamental Accounting Principles.” Pubished by McGraw Hill, the bookcovers both financial accounting and managerial accounting. The book fo-cusses on key concepts of accounting and their role in business.According to the publishers, it helps students to develop good decision-makingby helping them analyze and apply accounting information. The contents are Dr. Sundar Venkateshdeveloped using the Conceptual-Analytical-Procedural (CAP) model that iden-tifies learning objectives, textual materials, assignments and test items so thatinstructors can easily customize their courses. The book includes decision in- and IFRS-reporting companies. Fi-sights as opening vignettes featuring successful Asian entrepreneurs. nancial reports of companies such as Nestle, Adidas, Puma, Apple andContents also focus on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Palm are used as examples.AIT Professor publishes book on air quality management Professor N. T. Kim Oanh of and it reports some of the major results of AIT research the Environmental Engineer- cooperation in Asia. AIT members from air quality re- ing and Management (EEM) search group serve as the first authors and co-authors of field of study, School of En- 11 out of 16 chapters. Prof. Oanh is the editor of the vironment Resources and book. Development (SERD), has published a book titled “In- According to Prof.Oanh, this publicaion presents an in- tegrated air quality manage- tegrated air quality management methodology that em- ment: Asian case studies.” ploys technical and policy tools to achieve air quality goals. It includes technical information and policy rec- The book has been published ommendations based on the outcomes of several multi- by the CRC Press (USA), year air quality research programs coordinated by AIT.

BACKPAGE JUNE 2012 6 AITIS Food and Fun Fair brings campus together The “Fun and Food Fair” organized by the AIT In- ternational School (AITIS) saw the entire campus come together on May 25 for a day of festivities. The event showcased a lively group dance by 100 students from the AITIS. Stalls from seven countries (India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand), be- sides AIT vendors, were set up and donated by par- ents and friends of AITIS. A lucky draw was held, with the first prize of a return air ticket, Bangkok – Colombo – Bangkok and a two-night, three-day stay AITIS Food and Fun Fair. at Hotel Catamaran Negambo, Colombo, sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines and LSR Lanka Sportreizen, the fair, totaling 150,000 THB will be utilized to re- respectively. According to Mr. Ashish Sitoula, Parent place the academic and extra-curricular equipment Teacher Association (PTA) Chair, the proceeds from that was lost during the flood. TODAY! News 117th Technology in Education: Graduat ion The ‘cloud’ ate their homework You 1st June Can There was a time when a student used to complain that the school assign- Use ments were inaccessible since the computer had broken down. Today what could be the excuse? Maybe someone would say that the “cloud” ate the assignment. As this report in the Vancouver Sun reveals that at Notre Dame, Chrome- Editor: Bajinder Pal Singh book is keeping the storage and applicable in the “cloud.” bajinder@ait.asia Designer: Read more at this link http://tiny.cc/nsdaew Nadhika Mendhaka Photos: Cloud based education services are clearly on the rise, with Internet2, now Paitoon Tinnapong offering cloud-based sercice from 16 technology vendors. For feedback, contactMedia and Communications Read more in Wired at http://www.wired.com/cloudline/2012/04/internet2/. Unit at AIT mcu@ait.asia Follow AIT at • Facebook www.facebook.com/aitasia • Twitter www.twitter.com/aitasia • Youtube www.youtube.com/aitasia

Ait.newsletter.june.2012

by Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) on May 31, 2012

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Ait.newsletter.june.2012 Document Transcript