AIT Campus Bulletin

In this issue:

A. Announcements 

B. Events 

C. Classifieds (jobs)

A. Announcements 

1) Preparation for AIT’s Participation in THE Impact Rankings 2022

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

We would like to inform you that the data portal for universities submissions to the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings for 2022 is now open. The AIT Impact Rankings Task Force is currently reviewing various documents against the updated methodology and working on the data that would be needed for AIT’s submission this year. AIT took part in the 2020 and 2021 surveys and we have improved upon our overall performance and in several of the SDGs over the past two years. These achievements would not have been possible without your support.

We would like to thank you for your valuable inputs for our earlier Impact Rankings submission process as well as the AIT Sustainability Reports. This year also we will be reaching out to you for advice and inputs in support of the SDGs which we will be taking part in. We would like to share with you the below key resources and information provided by THE for this year’s survey:

Taking advantages of the updated methodology for 2022, the Task Force is requesting you to provide evidences (covering the years 2019-2020) for specific SDGs, which were not featured in our Sustainability Reports, not later than Monday, 18 October 2021.  We can also organize separate sessions with you as needed to go over the methodology and specific SDGs where you can contribute and have any questions.

We look forward to your kind cooperation and support.

Nophea Sasaki

Chair, AIT Impact Rankings Task Force

2) Flooding Situation in Thailand and AIT

Email from the Director of OFAM on 30 September 2021

Dear AIT Community,

I hope this email finds you all well and safe!

With the ongoing rainy season and the news about the flooding situation in many places in the Northern part of Thailand, I would like to inform the whole community that I keep monitoring the water situation every day from the National Hydroinformatics and Climate Data Center (www.thaiwater.net). I am very confident that AIT will not have the big flooding problem like what happened in 2011 as per the following reasons:

1. Even though we have heavy rainfalls during these days, all dams in Northern Thailand only contain a total quantity of 48% of its total storage capacity as of today (30 September 2021). Therefore, there will be no huge volume of water from the North to flood Pathum Thani or Bangkok.

2. By the heavy rains behind the dam, the water can flood some areas locally in the upper Central Thailand, e.g. Chaiyaphum province, Sukhothai province, Lop Buri province and other nearby areas. However, The Chao Phraya River that flows through Pathum Thani and Bangkok needs a volume exceeding 3,500 cms (cu.m.per second) at Bang Sai station in Ayutthaya to overflow the river bank and flood the inbound areas. Today, the flow is only 2,600 cms. Next week the Thai Official expects that the flow may reach 3,000-3,200 cms., but it is still in the range that they can handle. In addition, AIT is about 5 kms. far from the river and we have a dike surrounding us, so no need to be worried about this overbank flow too.

3. The only concern at this time is from the surrounding AIT canals. Due to the daily heavy rains, our canals will be filled with water and it might flood some low lying areas. We have pumps at the front gate that drain water from our canal to Khlong Nueng (a canal at eastern side of AIT) through the big pipe underlying the highway. Anyhow, we are monitoring these pumps regularly to ensure its performance.

In this regard, I would like to assure the community that the flooding will not affect AIT with the current situation. Rest assured that OFAM will observe, monitor as well as prepare if the situation becomes alarming and we will inform the community immediately.

3) Revised Quarantine Periods and Other Updates from the AIT COVID-19 TF

Email from the Director, Office of Academic Administration on 30 September 2021

Dear AIT Family,

The COVID-19 situation in Thailand is very slowly improving, though vigilance continues to be necessary.  The Government of Thailand has relaxed some measures starting 1 October, so the AIT COVID-19 Task Force is pleased to share the following AIT updates based on the revised regulations of the Government of Thailand. 

Updated Requirement on Quarantine – From 1 October 2021, the Government of Thailand has updated the regulations on the quarantine period for those travelling into the country.  The AIT quarantine requirements will be adjusted as follows:

For arrivals from all countries

The quarantine period will be reduced to 7 days for those who have been fully vaccinated with vaccines duly approved by the Thai authorities.  Those who stay in the AIT OQ will still need to undergo their Phase 2, i.e., 7-day Self-Isolation (SI) after completing their OQ. For those who choose to undergo their mandatory quarantine period at an Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel, they would need to undergo their Phase 2 either at AIT or off-campus.

New arrivals, who have not yet been fully vaccinated (or did not receive the required doses of the relevant approved vaccination), would need to undergo a 10-day quarantine at the AIT OQ, followed by the Phase 2, i.e., 7-day Self-Isolation (SI).  Those who choose to undergo their mandatory quarantine period at an Alternative State Quarantine (ASQ) hotel, would need to undergo their Phase 2 either at AIT or off-campus. 

Please note the below important information issued by the Thai Government on the updated quarantine regulations.  It is important that you regularly check with the Thai Embassy or Consulate in your respective countries for any updates:

Travelers must be fully vaccinated for more than 14 days before the traveling date.

Travelers must present the vaccine certificate at the port of arrival.

The quarantine period will be determined by the Health Control officers upon arriving in Thailand.

Travelers entering Thailand from 1 October 2021 onwards who received a Certificate of Entry (COE) before 28 September 2021 may use their current COE to enter Thailand.  The Health Control officers will review the vaccine certificate and determine the quarantine period based on the regulations at that time.

Easing of Certain Restrictions by Thai Government and Implications for AIT – The emergency decree has been extended until 30 November 2021, and the color-coding system for COVID-19 control remains in place and Pathum Thani, where AIT is located, is still classified as a “Maximum and Strict Controlled Area or Dark-red Zone”.  The night-time curfew in the dark-red zone provinces is now between 2200 to 0400 hours (10pm to 4am).

Based on our interpretation of the measures and in consultation with the Department of Disease Control (DDC), we would like to announce the following further relaxation of measures on the AIT campus:

Sporting Activities – The swimming pool is now open.  Users are urged to strictly follow the measures posted for guidance, such as advance registration (ext. 5250), with not more than five (5) users at a time, and not more than an hour of use per user.  Wednesdays are reserved for women users as practiced earlier.  The SU Gym is also now allowed to open subject to compliance with strict safety and hygiene measures.  The China Center and squash court will also be open.

Online Classes and Work-from-Home (WFH) – As of now online classes and WFH still apply until 15 October 2021.  We will be monitoring the situation closely and let you know if there is any change.

It is of utmost importance that despite the relaxation of certain measures we must still have a vigilant mindset and continue to adhere to good practices.  Please keep abreast of the news, and continue with D-M-H-T-T-A precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19: D – Distancing, M – Mask wearing, H – Handwashing, T– Temperature check, T– Testing for COVID-19, and A– alert application.

Please check with the Task Force if you have any queries and also visit the Intranet page where all COVID-19 related information and updates from the Task Force are available.

Thank you for your cooperation.

4) Trial of Wiley Online Journals (1 October - 15 November 2021)

Email from AIT Library on 1 October 2021

We are pleased to inform you that the Library Committee at its 3rd meeting on 30 August 2021 considered feedbacks from the students, faculty on the need for subscribing to the Wiley Online Journals for high-quality research and education and approved for such subscription, which will be available from 2022. However, Wiley has kindly accepted our request to grant access to its journals from now until 15 November 2021. Please take this kind offer to search more articles of your choices. 

With this offer, you can access more than 400 journals from Science and Technology Collection. The title list is attached herewith for your information with the direct links to the individual titles. Altogether, 30 titles with high access and downloads will be selected to subscribe for 2022.

To access Wiley Online Journals, please click on this link  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Off-campus users, please access this database through AIT VPN. (Prefer Firefox web browser)

How to set up AIT VPN, please follow the steps from the link below.

how to install OpenVPN on Windows: https://helpdesk.ait.ac.th/services/ait-vpn/vpn-windows

how to install OpenVPN on Mac: https://helpdesk.ait.ac.th/services/ait-vpn/vpn-mac

how to install OpenVPN on iOS:  https://helpdesk.ait.ac.th/services/ait-vpn/vpn-ios

how to install OpenVPN on Androids: https://helpdesk.ait.ac.th/services/ait-vpn/vpn-android

Wiley Online Library Quiz

To help you familiar to the Wiley platform, Wiley has also provided the quiz that you can join at

https://bit.ly/AITtrial2021

We hope you will enjoy discovering through Wiley Online Journals.

5) The Inaugural Regional Session of UNEP Science Policy Business Forum on the Environment for Asia and the Pacific (AP-SPBF)

The United Nations Environment Programm Invites you to join the conversation

At the First Asia-Pacific UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Held virtually in conjunction with the 4th Session of the Asia-Pacific Forum of Environment Authority and Ministers, 5-7 October 2021

REGISTER NOW

6) AIT Roadshow Live - Study in Thailand

Click to Register: https://bit.ly/3zoMhr2

 7) The Webinar Series on Big Earth Data for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

8) International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 

Join us to Celebrate International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 Oct, 2021 and share your thoughts on Climate Risk Reduction and Resilience.

Global communities are celebrating International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13 every year to advocate and promote global practices of risk awareness and risk reduction.

Commemorating this very important day, Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM) is organizing a special event on “Climate Risk Reduction and Resilience Pathways” corresponding to the quintessence and our stance in DRR and UN SDGs. The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is an opportunity to acknowledge the progress being made toward reducing disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods, and health. The special event will be co-organized with the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia Regional Policy Advocacy Component (RPAC) that is being implemented by UNEP to advocate the key global challenges.

Please feel free to circulate to your network.

Please register: https://bit.ly/2YAMD1s

 

 

9) Distinguished Institute Speakers Series by Mr. Jin Liquin

We are pleased to invite you to the Distinguished Institute Speakers Series jointly organized by AIT Belt & Road Research Center and AIT Centre for Global Challenges.

In this series, we would like to welcome our first speaker Mr. Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on 15 October 2021 at 2:00 PM (Bangkok Time GMT+7).

Topic: Promoting Economic Development through Multilateralism

Venue: Zoom (online)

Speaker’s Profile

Mr. Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Mr. Jin Liqun is the inaugural President and Chair of the Board of Directors. Before being elected as the Bank’s first President, he served as Secretary-General of the Multilateral Interim Secretariat tasked with establishing the Bank. President Jin has rich experience across the private and public sectors and with MDBs. He served as Chair of China International Capital Corporation Limited – China’s first joint-venture investment bank, Chair of the Supervisory Board of China Investment Corporation and Chair of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds. He previously served as Vice President and then Ranking Vice President of the Asian Development Bank and as Alternate Executive Director for China at the World Bank and at the Global Environment Facility. President Jin spent nearly two decades at the Chinese Ministry of Finance, reaching the rank of Vice Minister.

10)  The virtual 50th AITAA Governing Board Meeting and Global Reunion
The Asian Institute of Technology Alumni Association (AITAA) is inviting all AIT alumni and friends to join the virtual 50th AITAA Governing Board Meeting and Global Reunion with the 1st Global AITAA Symposium and Exhibition on 20-21 November 2021 to be hosted by AITAA Vietnam Chapter in partnership with AIT Extension. Please check all activities and register to reserve your slot by clicking this link AIT Extension (https://extension.ait.ac.th/page/50th-aitaa-governing-board-meeting-and-...) 

50th AITAA Governing Board Meeting and Global Reunion

1st Global AITAA Symposium and Exhibition 

Connect, Communicate, Collaborate, Contribute

… for a better tomorrow…

20-21 November 2021

Vietnam

The Asian Institute of Technology Alumni Association (AITAA) holds an annual Governing Board Meeting (GBM) for all its member chapters spread worldwide.  This year 2021, AITAA Vietnam Chapter hosts the 50th AITAA GBM for our AIT Family.  The 1st Global AITAA Symposium and Exhibition will be inaugurated to showcase solutions on key regional issues.  The Exhibition will be accessible globally 24x7 for 365 days.

B. Events

Training Courses/ Conferences/ Workshops

1) Certificate Course on Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

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