AIT Campus Bulletin

Charoen Jatusaril, Managing Director of POSTEN and an AIT alumnus (SEC ’86), made a formal donation of 1 million Thai Baht towards the AIT Library Modernization Campaign on 2 March 2015.
Former AITAA President Dr. Chainarong Na Lamphun donated 1 Million Baht to AIT Library Modernization Campaign on 3 March 2015.
Pakistan Student Association donated 15,000 Thai Baht (THB) to the AIT Library Modernization Campaign on 5 March 2015.

Message from the AIT President to the Community on Campus Development

1 March 2015

Dear Members of the AIT Community,

I write this short note to inform you about the current state of AIT campus development after the meeting of the Board of Trustees on 26 February 2015.

As you may know, when the Board of Trustees decided to appoint me as President in July 2014, I had the determination to deal urgently with 3 issues under the so-called survival mode: (1) plugging the leaks that deflated AIT’s General Reserve in the last 3 years; (2) regularization of AIT’s relation with the host country after the row on the AIT’s New Charter and; (3) rehabilitation and rejuvenation of the campus after the big flood.

I am pleased to report to you that we have now accomplished the first 2 tasks while making a good progress on the third.

On finance, AIT is able to generate a year-end surplus for the first time in the last 5 years, after applying various measures to stop the leaks. The net surplus in 2014 as reported by our Finance Office is 66.7 million Baht compared with -9, -201, -84, and -39 million Baht in 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 respectively. The AIT Administration recognizes that stopping the leaks alone is not sufficient, but new sources of income must be generated.

On AIT’s relationship with the host country, the decision to re-adopt the original AIT-Charter on 12 December 2012 made it legitimate for AIT to receive Thailand’s national budget for King’s, Queen’s and GMS Scholarships, and the RTG Fellowships. On August 5, 2014, our proposal for the new 5-year AIT-RTG Cooperation Plan was approved by the Royal Thai Government for an annual budget of about 160 million Baht in the form of Scholarships and Fellowships for the next 5 years.

Lastly on the rehabilitation and rejuvenation of the campus, it should be noted that the AIT campus was almost 40 years old and needed rejuvenation even before the flood. To me, the occurrence of the flood is a blessing in disguise if we are able to turn the crisis into opportunities.

Due to the financial crisis in 2011-2013, we needed to prioritize the disbursement of our limited resources. With the proper planning and the cooperation of my faculty and staff, everything seems to be moving forward, precisely and efficiently. Up to now, I have the confidence that the entire campus will become brand new again by 2016. After reinstalling the infrastructure and environment that meets international standards, AIT should be ready to invest in state-of-the-art equipment and world-class faculty in selected niche areas that AIT wants to excel.

After the campus inundation, the AIT President then set up an "AIT Campus Rebuilding and Upgrade Committee (ARUC)" to manage the renovation of the campus. AIT has received a lump-sum compensation of 440 million Baht out of the insured value of around 1,300 million Baht. The amount was broken into 2 parts: Phase One 308 million Baht for quick restoration of campus life without any stopgap; and Phase Two 132 million Baht to be reserved for long-term upgrading of the campus.

The first phase was pursued continuously while campus life resumed in operation. While there were intermittent complaints out of the many inconveniences, we must be thankful to the great majority of AIT Community, who seemed to understand as they have been extremely patient and cooperative.

Today the campus has returned to life, at least to the level before the flood. However, we will not be satisfied with the present conditions. It is very clear to me that upgrading the campus environment to an international standard is a prerequisite to elevating AIT to the next level, both academically and financially.

As our financial crisis is over, it is time to invest the remaining insurance money of 132 million Baht to completely revamp the 40 year old infrastructure backbone. Though this time-worn infrastructure have been restored in the last 2 years through patch work repairs in order to quickly resume the campus life, the campus still suffers from intermittent power shut down, low water pressure due to underground leaks, and continued failure of the very old chiller plant. This situation is unfit for a reputed international academic institute like ours.

Thus, on 26 February 2015, the Board of Trustees has approved my proposal to replace, rejuvenate, and upgrade the entire backbone of (1) the air-conditioning system, (2) the electrical system, (3) the water supply system, (4) the waste water system, and (5) the ground and pavement system. Together with the AIT library modernization, the Phase 2 will cost around 193 million Baht. Thus, I needed to commit to the Board to raise the rest of the budget from alumni and friends to fund the Library Modernization, without dipping into the meagre general reserve.

With this message, I have enclosed the full set of photos taken by the Student Union for you to understand the current conditions of the campus. Many situations portrayed in the photos were results of campus failing infrastructure and the land subsidence that occurred long before the flood. Some of us who have been with AIT long enough should still recall that Profs Balasubramanium, Prinya Nutalaya, Dennes Bergado and Dr. Noppadol Phienwej have tried on various occasions to find a permanent solution to the land subsidence in the campus, for rcample Bergado, D. T., and A. S. Balasubramaniam. “Effect and Investigations of Land Subsidence in AIT Campus.” Specialty sessions on land subsidence and flooding, 1984: 65). All these problems will be resolved once and for all, following our plan to revamp our infrastructure, including pavement and landscape. I am indeed thankful to the President of AITAA for having earlier circulated these photos to members of the Board of Trustees. It helped reinforce my justification to request AIT’s Board of Trustees to release the remaining insurance money for the Phase 2 renovation.

On the progress of the AIT Library Modernization, within two months of official launching the campaign, the initiative has raised 35.62 million Baht (over 1 million USD) as of 1 March 2015, which is over two-thirds of the 50 million Baht target. You may also watch the campaign video for details of the project from this YouTube clip: HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60efhMt7o4

Also, the progress of the library modernization project from this official website: HERE: http://www.modernlibrary.ait.asia/construction-progress

In conclusion, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all AIT stakeholders for joining hands to “Add New Life to Our AIT Library.” It is not the amount, but the spirit of participation that matters. To end this note, I wish to urge each and every member of the board, present and former faculty and staff, alumni, students and friends to participate in this endeavour, as a testament of our motto - “Unity in Diversity.”

With kind regards,

Sincerely,

Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai

AIT President

New Campus Infrastructure Renovation Committee constituted

Dear members of the AIT community,

As I have reported in my 1 March 2015 message to the AIT community on Campus Development, the 26 February 2015 meeting of the Board of Trustees approved my proposal to replace, rejuvenate, and upgrade the entire backbone of (1) the air-conditioning system, (2) the electrical system, (3) the water supply system, (4) the waste water system, and (5) the ground and pavement system. Together with the AIT library modernization, the Phase 2 will cost around 193 million Baht (see attached details).

In this regard, I formed the Campus Infrastructure Renovation Committee, which I will be chairing, and invited the following to serve as members:

Dr. Noppadol Phien-Wej (Vice Chair)

Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul

Dr. Jonathan Shaw

Dr. Anwar Naveed

Dr. Djoen Santoso

Ms Izel Ann Mojado-Dante (Secretary)

Mr. Noppadon Rittipongshusit

Ms. Thitima Olarikabutr

Ms. Pakkamol Dherapongsthada

Ms. Bantu Sireesha

Mr. Teerachart Jatninlapant

Mr. Shawn Kelly

Dr. Sun Sayamipuk (Associate Member, SN Engineering)

Mr. Chana Promdej (Associate Member, Landscape Outsource)

Ms. Phagawan Suwanmala (Associate Member, AITCC Outsource)

The Campus Infrastructure Renovation Committee shall have the following Terms of Reference until all works are fully completed:

1. To oversee the plan and the design of the Infrastructure Renovation (Electricity, Supply Water, Waste Water, Air-conditioning, landscape & pavement).

2. To supervise the allocation of Phase II budget for all infrastructure renovation projects.

3. To monitor the progress of the infrastructure renovation works with reference to budgeting, scheduling, and quality of works.

4. Others as necessary to ensure that the works can be completed in time.

Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai

AIT President

Thailand National Scopus Quiz

You are invited to take part in the Thailand National Scopus Quiz organized by Elsevier and answer a set of questions correctly to stand a chance to be a lucky winner. There will be monthly prizes and grand prize. Monthly prizes include the following.

March - 300B Starbucks Card

April - Elsevier 10mAh Powerbank

May - Elsevier Watch & Organizer

June - Elsevier Baghanger & Organizer

The grand prize is iPad Mini 3 Wifi 16GB.

To join the quiz, please click this link- http://asia.elsevier.com/ThaiScopus . The Closing date is 30 June 2015.

2014 Annual Personal Income Tax Filing

For annual 2014 personal income tax filing, AIT faculty and staff are encouraged to file the tax return on-line yourself at:

https://epit.rd.go.th/EFILING/jsp/register/FrmPit_EntryLogin.jsp?Formcode=P9091&loginType=L&lang=T

The tax refund, if any, will be much faster than paper filing. Unfortunately, there is no English on-line, so you may need to ask assistance from your Thai colleague/friend.

For non-Thai faculty/staff who choose to declare by paper form, you can drop your form at Payroll office on 13 March as the latest. Payroll officer will have to file other taxes at the Revenue Department on Monday morning, 16 March and will help you submitting the forms.

Those who need to pay additional tax, please contact the Revenue Department directly. We do not accept any forms with cash to carry for additional tax payment.

You need to submit the forms yourself after 13 March at the Revenue Department.

Events

Yunus Center AIT’s 5th YY Cocktail

AIT Extension cordially invites the AIT community to join Yunus Center AIT's 5th YY Cocktail, to be held on 11 March 2015, from 18:00 - 21:00 hrs. at Glowfish Co-Working Space (5-min walk from Petchaburi Station on the MRT)

If anyone is interested in social business, enterprise-led development, public health, pro-poor technology, and/or entrepreneurship, this event will be particularly interesting to meet like-minded individuals and learn about new projects. At the event, three following speakers from Thailand, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will showcase their business models with a brief demonstration of their tools and services: Dr. Poonchai Chitanuntavitaya with Social Health Enterprise (Thailand);

Dr. Rafiqul Islam Maruf with Portable Health Clinic (Bangladesh); Dr. Faiz Shah with SehatMobile (Pakistan). Two FREE vans will be provided from AIT to the venue and back. The vans leave at 16:30 sharp from AIT Center. Please reserve your seat when you register. Space is limited to 40 persons. Entrance Fee: THB 300 per person with 50% discount for students. Payment can be made at the door.

Workshop on ScienceDirect and Scopus

The AIT Library in collaboration with Elsevier is organizing two workshop on ScienceDirect and Scopus on 20 March 2015 from 10:00-12:30 hours at the Milton E. Bender Jr. Auditorium.

The workshop on “Empower your research with ScienceDirect” will be held from 10:00-11:00 hours followed by the workshop on “Using Scopus as a Research and Publishing Tool’ from 11:00-12:30 hours.

Further details are available at this link: http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2015/events/1aiteventlibraryfeb15.pdf

Visitors

Mr. Stephan Spazier, Commercial Attaché, Austrian Embassy in Thailand, and Ms. Sandra Schneider, International Business Development, Austrian Institute of Technology /10 Mar. 2015 / to learn more about AIT and to explore possible areas of collaboration.

Faculty and Staff Travel

Dr. Masahiko Nagai / Manila, Philippines / 1 – 7 Mar. 2015*

Dr. Firman Hadi Darodji / Bandung and Denpasar, Indonesia / 4 – 11 Mar. 2015

Mr. Faisal Alih / Lahore, Pakistan / 5 – 10 Mar. 2015

Prof. Mukand Singh Babel / Jaipur, India / 5 – 11 Mar. 2015

Dr. Thammarat Koottatep / Hanoi, Vietnam / 6 – 8 Mar. 2015

Dr. Jonathan Shaw / Yangon, Myanmar / 6 – 8 Mar. 2015

Dr. BHW Hadikusumo and Ms. Woranuch Chumchart / Vietnam / 6 – 9 Mar. 2015

Dr. Zakir Hossain / Yangon, Myanmar / 6 – 10 Mar. 2015

Dr. Djoen San Santoso / Myanmar / 6 – 10 Mar. 2015

Mr. Voravate Chonlasin / Jakarta, Indonesia / 8 – 11 Mar. 2015

Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh / Tokyo, Japan / 8 – 12 Mar. 2015

Dr. Supat Wangwongwatana / Tokyo, Japan / 8 – 12 Mar. 2015

Dr. Pradeep Kumar Dash / Kuala Lumpur and Malacca, Malaysia & Singapore / 8 – 15 Mar. 2015

Dr. Rajendra P. Shrestha / Khon Kaen and Mahasarakham, Thailand / 10 – 12 Mar. 2015

Dr. Lal Samarakoon / Sendai and Tokyo, Japan / 12 – 22 Mar. 2015

Mr. Arturo G. Roa / Lopburi, Thailand / 13 – 14 Mar. 2015

Dr. Faiz Shah / Sydney, Australia / 13 – 25 Mar. 2015

Mr. Faisal Alih / Sydney, Australia / 13 – 25 Mar. 2015

Ms. Wannapa Pliansri / China / 15 – 18 Mar. 2015

Ms. Parichad Nuntavong / Sydney and Melbourne, Australia / 15 – 22 Mar. 2015

*(Staff or faculty member travelled and returned to AIT prior to documentation received for publication)

Classifieds (Jobs)

Project Assistant (School of Environment, Resources & Development)

Ref. No.: 14/15

Deadline: 17 Mar. 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/300

Faculty Position in the Environmental Engineering and Management (School of Environment, Resources & Development)

Ref. No. Fac. 10/14

Deadline: 31 Mar. 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/280

Faculty Position Faculty Position in Agri-Business Management [ABM] (School of Environment, Resources & Development)

Ref. No. Fac. 12/14

Deadline: 31 Mar. 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/303

Assistant Financial Accountant (AIT Consulting)

Ref. No. 05/15

Deadline: 31 Mar. 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/287

Senior Project Engineer (AIT Consulting)

Ref. No. 07/15

Deadline: 31 Mar. 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/289

Faculty Position in Regional and Rural Development Planning (School of Environment, Resources & Development)

Ref No. Fac. 1/15

Deadline: 30 April 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/296

Faculty Position in Water Engineering and Management -Hydraulics (School of Engineering & Technology)

Ref. No. Fac. 2/15

Deadline: 1 May 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/213

Assistant/Associate Professor level (GTE) (School of Engineering & Technology)

Ref. No. Fac. 3/15

Deadline: 31 May 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/301

Laboratory Supervisor (ISE) (School of Engineering & Technology)

Ref. No. 4/14

Deadline: 31 May 2015

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/202

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WEEK #10, 9 – 15 March 2015

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