AIT Campus Bulletin

WEEK 27, 30 June - 6 July 202

In this issue:

A. Announcements

B. Workshops/ Conferences

C. Visitors/ MoU/ Agreement Signing

D. Faculty & Staff Travel

E. Classified (Job)

A. Announcement

1) Appointment of Professor Siddharth K. Jabade as Vice President for Administration and Development (VPAD)

Email from AIT President on 30 May 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I am pleased to announce that the AIT Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Professor Siddharth K. Jabade as Vice President for Administration and Development (VPAD), effective 1 July 2025.

Professor Jabade holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay and is currently the Founding Vice Chancellor of Vishwakarma University (VU), Pune. With over two decades of leadership in innovation, intellectual property, higher education policy, and institution building, he has transformed VU into a globally recognized university. Under his guidance, VU received the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2023 for Leadership and Management and achieved top rankings in the WURI global innovation index. His success in resource mobilization includes attracting support from organizations such as the WILO Foundation (Germany), Tata Autocomp, and a Singapore-based fund to Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He has led strategic partnerships with leading global universities including Penn State, SUNY Binghamton, NTU Singapore, Stanford, KAIST, and Harvard. Notably, he spearheaded the establishment of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Energy-Smart Electronic Systems Centre with SUNY, which led to successful technology spin-offs.

Professor Jabade also has a long-standing relationship with AIT, having served as Director of Innovation and IPR at AIT Consulting (now AIT Solutions), and as Affiliated Faculty and Visiting Faculty during 2009–2018, where he taught the flagship course “Intellectual Property Rights for Technology Development.”

A detailed CV of Professor Jabade is enclosed for your reference.

The search process for the VPAD position began with a call for applications on 28 October 2024, closing on 31 December 2024. A Selection Committee was formed in January 2025 to oversee the process. After a rigorous review and interviews with shortlisted candidates, who presented their vision, implementation strategies for the AIT Blueprint, KPIs, and financing plans, the Committee recommended Professor Jabade for the role. His appointment was subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees via postal ballot.

I look forward to working closely with Professor Jabade and am confident that he will bring energy, insight, and strategic direction to this important role. I trust that you will join me in extending your full support as he assumes his new responsibilities.

I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr. Russell B. Rein for his dedication and valuable contributions to the Institute during his tenure as Vice President for Administration.

2) Free English Workshop for Admin Staff

Email from AIT Language Center on 25 June 2025

Dear Admin Staff,

To thank you for all that you do, the Language Center would like to invite you to a free English language workshop led by the director, Dr. Kathy. Details are below. This workshop is for elementary and intermediate levels. Please note that seats are limited, so register early!

May be a graphic of text

3) Join the AIT Library Photo & Video Contests 2025 – Win up to 5,000 THB!

Email from AIT Library on 27 June 2025

The AIT Library is delighted to invite all students, faculty, and staff to take part in the Library Photo & Video Contests 2025. These contests are a great opportunity to share your creativity, express your experience with the library, and win exciting prizes!

Photo Contest – “Library Through My Eyes”

Capture a moment, space, or story that reflects your view of the AIT Library.

Eligibility: Open to all AIT members (individual entries only).

Photo Guidelines:

Maximum of 3 photo entries per person.
File format: JPEG or PNG, high resolution.
Image size: at least 2,000 pixels on the longest side.
No watermarks or signatures on the image.
The photo must be original and must not infringe any copyrights.
Basic editing (cropping, color correction, brightness/contrast adjustment) is allowed, but photo manipulation (adding/removing elements) is not permitted.
Submission must include a short caption or title (max. 30 words).

Video Contest – Introduce the AIT Library

Eligibility: Open to students to all AIT members (individual or team entries)

Content and Guidelines:

Video length: up to 7 minutes.
Content should focus on introducing and promoting the library, such as:

Key library services and facilities.
Learning spaces and digital resources.
Tools and services that support research and innovation.
Innovative technologies are used in the library.
Inspiring stories, tips, or personal experiences related to library use.

Format: Any creative style is welcome (e.g., talking-head, vlog, storytelling, animation, motion graphics, etc.).

All videos must be original and must not infringe any copyrights.

English only.

Application form: Download

How to Submit (for both contests):
Send the application form and your photo(s) or video via email or shared drive to: watcharin@ait.ac.th

Prizes for Each Contest:

First Prize: 5,000 THB
Second Prize: 3,000 THB
Third Prize: 2,000 THB

*All winners will receive certificate.

Should you need more information to support your video content, please feel free to contact us at watcharin@ait.ac.th.

We look forward to receiving your creative entries and having you as part of our library community.

4) Doctoral Final Examination- Mr. Naris Muankaew (122116)

Mr. Naris Muankaew (122116), a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Management, will have his final examination on 3 July 2025 (Thursday) at 14:00 hrs (Bangkok Time) by Zoom. His dissertation title is " Digital Strategy Implementation: A Contingent Resource-Based Theory in Strategic Digital Alignment in Life Insurance Firms."

The members of his Program Committee members are as follows:

Dr. Roger Levermore (Chairperson)

Dr. Tobias Endress (Member)

Dr. Chutiporn Anutariya (Member)

All those who are interested in the topic are invited to join.

Join Zoom Meeting https://ait-ac-th.zoom.us/j/96455615512?pwd=x12OLxwBN7aaYxrsabJuLPbnwOCN...

Meeting ID: 964 5561 5512

Passcode: 421729

5) Doctoral Final Examination- Ms. Meheri Tamanna (119963)

Ms. Meheri Tamanna (119963), a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Gender and Development Studies, Department of Development and Sustainability, School of Environment, Resources and Development, will have her final examination on 4 July 2025 (Friday) at 13:30 hrs by Zoom. Her dissertation title is "Exploring Resistance of Street Vendors: A Gender Analysis in Dhaka, Bangladesh."

The members of her Program Committee members are as follows:

Prof. Kyoko Kusakabe (Chairperson)

Dr. Joyee S. Chatterjee (Member)

Prof. Vilas Nitivattananon (Member)

All those who are interested in the topic are invited to join.

https://ait.-ac-th.zoom.us/j/2302335171?omn=97470473074

Meeting ID: 230 233 5171

6) Registration Open: Thai Language Courses

Dear AIT Community,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Thai Reading and Writing Course.

Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdK7SX2So0WCgIoksUOj6iqPZMxeH_k...

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or interest in the program.

7) Introducing our New Employees

We are glad to welcome the newest members of the AIT family! Let's all wish them a successful journey with us. Welcome aboard!

8) Invitation for Scopus Workshop Series

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming Scopus Workshop Series, presented by Lucia Shoombie, Senior Customer Success Consultant at Elsevier.

This series is designed to deepen your understanding and enhance your use of Scopus, covering a wide range of topics—from core functionalities to advanced research tools. These webinars are open to all users interested in maximizing the benefits of Scopus for their academic and research activities.

Each workshop is designed to be both informative and interactive, equipping you with practical knowledge and skills that you can immediately apply to your research work.

Please find the schedule and topics for the workshop series below:

Scopus Essentials: A Refresher on Core Features and Recent Enhancements

Date: April 16, 2025