In this issue:

A. Announcements 

B. Events 

C. Classifieds (jobs)

A. Announcements 

1) Updates from the AIT COVID-19 Task Force

Email from the Director, Office of Academic Administration on 17 April 2021.

Dear AIT Family,

The new wave of the COVID-19 has now spread to almost every province of Thailand, and the daily numbers continue to rise.  The Government has announced that to effectively curb the spread, mobility must be reduced, risky places must be closed and crowded activities must be prohibited.  They have set up field hospitals and quarantine facilities all across the country to cope with the rising cases.  According to the Thai Government, most of the new cases are family members and those in contact with previous cases linked to crowded places, including entertainment places, parties, etc.

Positive Case of an AIT Student — An AIT student who resides off-campus tested positive for COVID-19 on April 11 and is being hospitalized.  But it has been determined that he has had no impact on AIT because the student last visited our campus on 1 April, after which he has been studying online and never returned to campus.  However, as a precaution, the TF has asked students in his 1 April class to self-monitor themselves for a few more days.

Case of an AIT Student Who Went to Phuket — In our 10 April message, we had reported that an AIT student had participated in the Kolour Parties in Phuket on 2-4 April, where quite a large number of positive cases occurred.  Once the TF found out, he was placed in the AIT OQ quarters for strict quarantine.  This student took the first COVID-19 test on 10 April which was negative and a second test on 16 April which was also negative.  We wish to thank all those who had to put themselves in self-isolation for their kind cooperation and support, which is greatly appreciated.  All of them, including the subject student, have now resumed their normal activities without restrictions in movement.

Cleaning and Lockdown Protocols on Campus — We would like to inform you that the AIT COVID-19 Task Force has in place quarantining / self-isolation and cleaning / lockdown protocols in the event that a student or employee or dependent residing on campus tests positive for COVID-19.  All steps are in accordance with the Department of Disease Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health of Thailand guidelines.  The details are published in the Intranet COVID-19 site, and we urge you to read them to familiarize yourself with the steps that AIT will take in case of a positive COVID-19 case on campus.  Note that these protocols are for students and employees and dependents residing on campus.  Those living outside AIT will also need to strictly adhere to the same guidelines off-campus.

Contact Tracing and Logging Overnight Stay — For contact tracing purposes, anyone who becomes a person of risk must quickly divulge their timelines and movements and their contacts.  Otherwise they are jeopardizing the health of others within our AIT Community.  And if you had contact with anyone with risk, you must come forward immediately and voluntarily.  Contact Tracing is of critical importance to “limiting the impact” and keeping the campus safe.  With the current work-from-home and online class arrangements, it is even more important that AIT community members provide information on their whereabouts if they will be spending overnight away from their homes or the AIT campus through this Google Form.  The information collected will be handled by the Task Force in strict confidence and will only be used if and when necessary for contact tracing purposes.  We must all do our part to keep the community safe and this is based on trust and self-declaration.

AIT members Returning to Campus from Songkran Holidays — If you were away overnight on holiday outside Bangkok, you are strongly encouraged to stay away from AIT public or office facilities for a week after your travel back to campus.  Those residing off-campus should stay away from AIT during this week.  All should avoid meeting other individuals during this first 7-day period upon return, and work from home or study online.

Contact AIT Medical Center if feeling Unwell — Please contact the AIT Medical Center (025245286) or visit the Medical Center if you feel unwell.  If the Medical Center assesses that your symptoms might be COVID-19 related they will immediately inform the AIT COVID-19 Task Force and appropriate steps will be taken.

We urge you to continue to maintain a high level of safety and hygiene measures, like regularly washing your hands, wearing masks in public places and when in the company of people, maintaining social distancing and avoiding large crowds.  All of us need to be very vigilant and cooperative to keep our community and our campus safe during this new wave of infections.  We thank you for your cooperation.

Please take care and stay safe.

AIT COVID-19 Task Force

 

2) The Facebook Live on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL)

Date: Thursday, 19th April 2021

Time: 15.00 - 16.00 hours (Thailand time)

For registration: Please visit our website https://extension.ait.ac.th/course/1166

 

 

3) Special Seminar: Financing Forest Landscape Restoration

Special Seminar: Financing Forest Landscape Restoration
When: 19 April 2021 from 5-6 PM Bangkok Time
where: ait-ac-th.zoom.us/j/947
Organizer: NRM

Abstract
Sustainable financing is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources in tropical countries in the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 12 (sustainable production and consumption) and SDG 15 (life on land). Forest landscape restoration has the potential to generate benefits for climate and biodiversity and create sustainable livelihoods for local communities. This presentation is intended to help address the following types of questions in forest restoration: What are we trying to accomplish?; How much will it cost?; What are the sources of financing?; and What are needed for successful forest restoration?

About the speaker
Dr. Hwan-ok Ma is Senior Project Manager, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), an intergovernmental organization based in Yokohama, Japan, promoting sustainable forest management (SFM) in the tropics. He has followed the capacity building of SFM, forest-based climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity conservation in production forests in tropical countries. He is currently Adjunct Professor at AIT. After studying forestry at Agriculture College, Korea University, he received an MS in forest product marketing and PhD in forest resource economics from the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

Contact

Nophea Sasaki
Organizer
Natural Resources Management & Technovation
Department of Development and Sustainability
Asian Institute of Technology
E-mail: nopheas@ait.ac.th

 

4) Launch of GO4SDGs in Asia and the Pacific

Dear AIT Community,

We are pleased to invite you to the Global Opportunities for SDGs (GO4SDGs) Regional Launch in Asia and the Pacific: Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production for an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery on Wednesday 21 April 2021 at 14:00-17:00 Bangkok Time GMT+7 (Virtual).

The objectives of this Online Regional launch are as follows: 

Present the initiative “Global Opportunities for SDGs” (GO4SDGs) including its menu of services, capacity building activities and the regional activities and roadmap.

Promote dialogue about the importance and co-benefits of resource efficiency -including sustainable consumption and circularity- in the region for climate ambition and to achieve an inclusive and resilient economic recovery post-pandemic COVID-19.

Identify synergies and build cooperation with other relevant regional initiatives and partners, such as ESCAP, SWITCH Asia, PAGE, among others, to have a more coherent delivery and create a bigger impact.

The launch event will have interesting panels:

High-level launching panel “Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production for an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery”, with the participation of Dechen Tsering, Regional Director, UNEP-ROAP; Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary, Sustainable Development, ESCAP, a representative from Germany BMU and with Janez Potocnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel and Partner at SYSTEMIQ, as a keynote speaker.

The second panel will look at “Advancing Innovation and Circularity for SMEs” with the participation of Mirko Zurker, Head of SEED Asia, Co-Lead Policy, Adi R. Nugroho, CEO & Co-Founder, Mycotech, Indonesia, and Helen Burdett, Lead, Circular Economy Innovation, World Economic Forum.

Please register using the following link:

https://forms.gle/iJZqPQqCWS361NcJ9

We encourage you to share this invitation with colleagues who may be interested in participating.

 

 

5) Meet the Expert by Engr. Antonino Clodoaldo Santos Aligaen

Dear AIT Community,

We are pleased to invite you to the Meet the Expert by Engr. Antonino Clodoaldo Santos Aligaen, Head - Project Execution Group, Ortigas Land Inc. on 22nd April 2021 (14:00 hrs Bangkok time).

Topic - Construction Project Management during the Pandemic - Don't Work Hard.. Work Smart !

About the Speaker

Engr. Antonino Clodoaldo Santos Aligaen is a licensed Civil Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Construction Engineering and Management from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and a Diploma in Urban and Regional Planning from University of the Philippines. Engr. Aligaen has over 35 years of experience in construction project management, 14 years of which was a Project Director handling hospitality projects with the biggest real estate developer in the Philippines – Ayala Land, Inc., and currently handling concurrent projects with a combined construction value of over US$ 800M.

To join, please register here:

bit.ly/39OPo1w

 

 6) The CEO Talk Series on Paytm Money and Wealth Management for all

Thu Apr 22nd 8:00pm - 9:30pm
The Professional Masters (PM) Program @ School of Management – AIT is proud to invite you to its CEO Talk Series.
The 9th CEO Talk will feature Mr. Varun Sridhar, CEO of The Paytm Money, India.

Register in advance for this CEO Talk:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nUM0ZyT6R8utOTaPI5Q94w

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the CEO Talk Series.

 

7) AIT TechTalks focusing on Advance Robotics: from Laboratories to Real Applications

You are welcome to join online on 29 April 2021, Thursday (09:00 - 16:00 hrs, Bangkok Time) for the next AIT TechTalks focusing on Advance Robotics: from Laboratories to Real Applications

Event highlights:
- Keynote presentations from experts in AIT and from the Industry
- Technical talks by AIT faculty and experts
- Interaction with AIT Researchers (showcase of the bots)

AIT has contributed to the field of robotics, automation, and industrial advancement through research, education, and working with enterprises and industry partners supporting their path of industrial competitiveness and innovation. Join this event to learn more!

Please register here: https://bit.ly/2RJ4MXr
Visit Website:
http://www.aea.ait.ac.th/events/tech-talk-series-2/

8) Library closure : 17 April 2021 - 1 May 2021

Email from AIT Library on 16 April 2021

Due to the new wave of Covid-19 pandemic, AIT Library will be closed from 17 April - 1 May 2021. Please find below for more information about the Library services during the closure.

To search for Library resources, please find the links below.

Online journal databases and e-books databases: http://library.ait.ac.th or go to direct link of each database.

Library books: https://libopac.ait.ac.th/

e-Theses databases: http://203.159.12.58/ait-thesis

Please note that to download e-resources off-campus, you will be required to access the databases through AIT VPN. For more information about AIT VPN, please click on this link http://library.ait.ac.th/2019/04/20/off-campus-access-to-e-resources/.

For book loans, please send your request to library@ait.ac.th. Library staff will prepare the books for you. You can come to the Library for a loan. (The Book Loan Ride Thru Service is available from 8.00 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.)

For book return, please return books at the Automatic Books Drop at the side of the Library.

To request articles, e-Books, or past examination papers, please send an e-mail to library@ait.ac.th. The Library staff will find, scan and send you back the e-files.

To request printing at the Library, please send your request to library@ait.ac.th. You can come to use the photocopiers at the Library during 8 a.m. - 4.30 p.m.

For Library clearance, please send your request to libraryclearance@ait.ac.th. The library staff will check and process the library clearance online.

Library users who have borrowed books, your books will be automatically extended to 5 May 2021. The overdue book fines will not be incurred during the Library closure. 

The Library will keep you on new library resources and services on the Library website, Library Facebook, and e-mail. If you have any problem with accessing the online databases or require any further assistance, please feel free to contact the Library. 

Website: http://library.ait.ac.th

Facebook: https://bit.ly/3a2ScpZ

 

Training Courses/ Conferences/ Workshops

1) Online Professional Development Course on: Managing Organization change: Integrating Agile for Transformation (Batch 1 )

Online Professional Development Course on: Managing Organization change: Integrating Agile for Transformation (Batch 1 )

Date : 08 - 25 May 2021

https://extension.ait.ac.th/course/1158

 

2) Online training course on "Connect Learning with Monitoring and Evaluation: A Strategy for Project M&E in Current COVID-19 Pandemic"

Date: 10 - 28 May 2021
Time: 14:00 - 16:00 hrs. (Bangkok time)
Learn from practitioners on how to develop M & E pathways that foster measurement of results and respond to current changes of M&E contexts. Broadening perspectives for innovative ways to develop tools and reporting mechanisms that help to make decisions for project implementation. 

Aims of the program

Enhance practical knowledge and scope for M&E approach and practices during COVID-19.
Be acquainted with appropriate research design and data collection tools.

Apply M &E concept to create information sharing and reporting strategies.

For more information and registration pls. visit https://extension.ait.ac.th/course/1127

 

3) 2nd International  Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development (DRSD) 

We are happy to announce the "2nd International Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development” from 24 -25 June 2021 scheduled to be held at Asian Institute of Technology, THAILAND (In-person and Virtual) [www.disaster-sustainability.org]. The “2nd International Symposium on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development” organized by the Asian Institute of Technology brings together discussion on various dimensions of higher education systems in the Asia-Pacific region with a focus on Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development. The International Symposium will focus on various dimensions of existing and future risk scenarios and concerted efforts of the scientific communities to find new adaptation methods. 

The international symposium will be organized from 24 -25 June 2021 in hybrid mode. The program will include keynote speeches, panel discussions, technical sessions, poster presentations, and academic exhibitions. The Symposium is one of the initiatives of ProSPER.Net project “Disaster Education for integrating SFDRR and SDG in Asia” lead by the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand along with the partner universities in the Asia Pacific Region. 

The symposium will also provide an opportunity to develop a Higher Educational Institution Platform on DRR to address the cross-cutting issues on Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development and also understanding regional challenges that result from complex problems generated by natural hazards and human-induced threats.

On behalf of Organising Committee DRSD-2021, I would like to invite your valuable participation and interaction with Global Resilience and Sustainability Experts. 

CALL for ABSTRACT is open 

We will encourage you to circulate the announcement to your scientific and professional network.