AIT Campus Bulletin

In this issue:

A. Announcements 

B. Workshops/ Conferences

C. Visitors/ MoU/ Agreement Signing 

D. Faculty & Staff Travel

 

1) PyAEZ Launch and Training

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) will launch the 2nd version of the PyAEZ Python package on 28th November 2022. 

Click here for more event detail

Click here to register for the launch.

Click here to register for the training.

2)  The Art of Pitching – Pitch day

We would like to invite you to join the Art of Pitching – Pitch day on Monday and Tuesday open to all groups or individuals.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3gC8A9zPreliminary RoundDate: 28th of November (Monday)Time: 5 PM Venue: AIT EC

Rules: You have 2 minutes to pitch your idea and 2 minutes for Q&A. You can talk about any topic. You could talk about the problem, the potential solutions you will provide, and why you are the right person to go about and solve the problem. The presentation slide is optional. Not all members need to present. 

Final Pitch DayDate: 29th of November (Tuesday)Time: 3:30 PM Venue: RBB Auditorium, AITCC

Rule: You need to present the same topic but this time it needs to be more comprehensive. You have 4 minutes to pitch your idea and 3 minutes for Q&A. Only the top 8 teams from the preliminary round will pitch in the final round.

Hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please email supresident@aitwebmaster

 

3. The Bridge Between Business and Environmental Aspirations

Register

Tuesday, 29 November 2022 at 1:00 PM ICT Thailand

Mr. Yash Lohia will address how to bridge the gap between traditional business models and net zero aspirations of the future in his Keynote speech – sharing his personal story of how he became a bridge between the hopes of the next generation and the business models of the past.

Born in New Delhi, and raised in Thailand, Yash is the oldest son of Aloke Lohia, Founder of Indorama Ventures PCL (IVL), a sustainable chemical company with a consolidated 2021 revenue of US$14.6 billion. Headquartered in Thailand, the firm has more than 26,000 employees in more than 35 countries. 

Yash’s career started in IVL’s Packaging division, overseeing the company’s operations across seven countries. Later setting up the first Philippines Packaging division in 2013, followed by working in the Fibers business in 2018. During this time, Yash built a personal passion for sustainability and wanted to make an impact on the chemicals industry and beyond. So, in 2019, he became IVL’s first-ever Chief Recycling Officer, and later IVL’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Since then, his vision has been instrumental in defining IVL's path to Sustainability, including the ambition to recycle 50 billion polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles per year by 2025, and a US $1.5 billion investment to build the recycling infrastructure needed to divert waste from the marine environment. 

Yash believes recycling will be a growth engine to drive industry and sustainability goals forward. And he will share his insights into how businesses can align sustainability performance with traditional metrics, like revenue and growth. 

 

4.   The NERPS Conference 2023: The deadline for abstract and optional full paper submissions is November 30, 2022

Following the success of the first Hiroshima International Conference on Peace and Sustainability (HICPS 2022), the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS) at Hiroshima University and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) will jointly host the NERPS Conference 2023 February 28 to March 3, 2023 at the AIT campus in Thailand.

The NERPS Conference 2023 is a platform to facilitate continued inter- and trans-disciplinary research and policy conversations among students, researchers, and practitioners working on issues related to peace, sustainability, or their nexus. The conceptual and empirical linkages between peace and sustainability are widely recognized in academic and policy circles. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development confirms this recognition. However, much of the initiatives on peace and sustainability operate in silos, undermining the positive and mutually-reinforcing relationship between them. An enhanced integration of peace and sustainability component is imperative for addressing complex challenges that come with global transformations that are manifested environmentally, socially, politically, and economically across levels. It is, therefore, crucial to identify the pathways that enhance the peace-promoting potential of sustainability and the sustainability-promoting potential of peace. The theme of this conference, “Bridging Peace and Sustainability amidst Global Transformations,” will focus on various pathways that bridge peace promotion and sustainable development. At the time of submission, authors will be required to choose one of the three main topics (i.e., peace, sustainability, or their nexus) and one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) most relevant to their abstracts.

The deadline for abstract and optional full paper submissions is November 30, 2022. Visit the conference page formore information: https://nerps.org/thailand_nerps2023/

 

5. Join Video/poster contest with prize up to 5000B / Topic : Reduce Food Waste and/or Conserve Energy in your daily life / last date: 30 Nov 2022

Sent on behalf of the Office of Sustainable Campus on 14 November 2022

Dear AIT Community,

With reference to our earlier email, we are extending the contest submission date to 30 November 2022. Most importantly we are not limiting the contest topic to reducing food waste only, but we included the topic of energy conservation as well now, to give more flexibility and more participation. You can submit both the video and poster or just a video or a poster on either of the topics. The Office of Sustainable Campus organizes this contest as part of the awareness program to reduce food waste and conserve energy. 

Hurry up and submit before the exams start to win the prize!

•Grand Prize: 5000 baht 

Video Contest (Reducing Food or Energy Waste)

•First Prize: 2000 baht

•Second Prize: 1000 baht 

•General Prizes

Poster Contest (Reducing Food or Energy Waste)

•First Prize: 2000 baht

•Second Prize: 1000 baht 

•General Prizes 

Who are eligible to participate:

Students, Staff, Faculty, Residents, any AIT associates, and Children

Looking for Ideas on what to create:

Click on the link here for sample Videos and Posters

Last date of submission: 30 November 2022

Topic: Reduce food waste / Conserve Energy

 

6. December 31, 2022 closing announcement

Email from Finance Department on 16 November 2022

To ensure that there will be no overlapping of transactions between 2022 and 2023, please strictly adhere to the following guidelines:

1)      2022 Payments cut off

●        All “approved” 2022 Payment Requests/ Cash Payment Summary with attached supplier invoices/receipts (dated within 2022) should be received by Finance Office by 22nd December 2022

●        Please avoid any delay in submission of the above documents since Finance has a deadline to close the annual account. Delay in submission means your request for payment will not be able to charge to the 2022 budget.

2)      Payroll

●        Overtime cut off is 13th December.

●        Actual overtime up to the cut-off date plus estimation of overtime for the remaining weeks up to 31st December 2022 must reach the Finance Office by 13th of December 2022 for accrual in 2022 account.

●        Failure to submit estimated overtime within the deadline means there will be no budget to pay the overtime.

●        All completed documents for reimbursement/refund through salary should reach Finance before 13 December; if not, it will be paid together with January’s salary.

3)      Purchase Requisition (PR) and Purchase Orders (PO)

Before issuing Purchase Requisition and Purchase Order in December 2022, please check whether works/services can be delivered/completed within the year 2022 or not.  If yes, Purchase Requisition must be approved before 13th December 2022 and all Purchase Orders must be approved before 16th December 2022.

Work/service/Goods which cannot be completed/delivered by Suppliers/Contractors within 2022 will be charged to 2023 budget, even if Purchase Requisitions/Purchase Orders are issued in 2022. The external Auditor will not accept to record goods /services delivered in 2023 as transactions of 2022.

For materials/ services to be delivered in 2022, please request suppliers to submit their Suppliers’ invoices to the Finance Office by December 31 for recording in the 2022 account.

Note: There is a common misunderstanding that by simply placing Purchase Requisition (PR) or Purchase Order (PO) in 2022, it is sufficient to utilize the 2022 budget.

4)      Settlement of outstanding Promissory Note and RTA

     Please settle your Promissory note and RTA within 22nd December 2022.                                                                                       

5)      Invoicing Income

●        Schools/Units are requested to submit Requests pertaining to work/services performed for third parties in 2022 (e.g. fees recoverable from donors, income due from project sponsors) to the Finance Office by 22nd December 2022.

6)      Internal Charges

●        All Units which have authority to update Internal Charges through ERP must ensure that the charges of 2022 have been completely updated by 22nd December 2022. Units which do not have the authority must submit the Internal Charge Form to the Finance Office by 22nd December 2022.

Other issues

7)      Sponsored Projects under Fund 30

Schools/Cost centers must ensure that Form E has been completely issued for all closing projects in 2022. Please also provide the list of the completed projects (both Academic and non-Academic projects) to the Finance office. Khun Vandee, Administrative Staff, will contact schools/units for the list.

For further enquiries, please contact:

●        Ms. Orawan Kosaipolkul, Senior Accounting Manager Ext # 6346

●        Ms. Duangdao, Finance Manager Ext # 6342 (for Payment)

●        Ms Sureeporn, Deputy Director, Procurement, Inventory and Assets Ext # 5029 (for Purchase Requisition and Purchase Order

7) AIT Official Public Holidays and Year-End Break for the Year 2023

In line with Institute policies, the following are the 14 designated official public holidays, and 6-day year-end break, for the year 2023. 

Date	Month	Day	Holiday
2	January	Monday	New Year’s Day (substitute)
6	April	Thursday	Chakri Memorial Day
13	April	Thursday	Songkran Festival
14	April	Friday	Songkran Festival
17	April	Monday	Songkran Festival (substitute)
1	May	Monday	Labor Day
4	May	Thursday	Coronation Day
5	June	Monday	H.M. Queen Suthida's Birthday (substitute)
28	July	Friday	H.M. The King’s Birthday
1	August	Tuesday	Asarnha Bucha Day
14	August	Monday	H.M. The Queen Mother’s Birthday (substitute)
13	October	Friday	H.M. Late King Bhumibol Memorial Day
23	October	Monday	Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
5	December	Tuesday	Birthday Anniversary of H.M. the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej/Father’s Day
22	December	Friday	Year-End-Break
25	December	Monday	Year-End-Break
26	December	Tuesday	Year-End-Break
27	December	Wednesday	Year-End-Break
28	December	Thursday	Year-End-Break
29	December	Friday	Year-End-Break

Please be guided accordingly.

Office of Human Resources Services 

 

8) Performance Evaluation Phase 3 is Now Open

To all Immediate Supervisors, Unit Directors of Centrally-Funded Staff Members and Centrally-Funded Staff Members,

The third phase of our Performance Management System 2022 is now open.  The online system can be accessed through HRIS (https://hris.ait.ac.th) until 30 November 2022.

Phase 3 is an “Employee Self-Assessment and Immediate Supervisor Feedback”.  This is the time where the immediate supervisor and the employee meet at the end of the performance cycle to discuss the employees’ overall performance and the competencies demonstrated in achieving the work plan and goals. These are discussed, along with any changes or comments from the informal progress review, to assess achievements throughout the year.

Please follow these steps below to successfully complete the Performance Evaluation process online for PHASE 3

A. For Employees   

To help you prepare for your self-assessment, please refer to the  “Employee Preparation” and “Preparing for a Performance Review – Checklist for Employee Self-Assessment” on pages 14-16 of our Guide to AIT Performance Management for Staff.

1.  Click "Employee Evaluation" then follow the following steps.

1.1  Click the “PE Cover Form”

1.2.  Set the date of your meeting with your immediate supervisor.

1.3.  Write your additional comments if you wish at the box provided.  

1.4.  And click "SUBMIT". 

2.  Click the “Employee Reflection”. In this section, you can reflect on your own performance, review what was accomplished in the work plan.  Your self-assessment should be brief and highlight the major accomplishments of the reporting cycle. After completing the Self-Reflection form, click "SUBMIT”.

3.  However, if you are not confident to submit your self-assessment yet and you need more time to finalize it, you can click “SAVE” first and return to this page later to complete it. Make sure you complete this task before your meeting.

4.  A notice on top of the page will inform you if you have successfully submitted your form. Watch out for this notice!

5. Click “Comments and Sign Off”. This will ONLY be done after your immediate supervisor had completed the competency assessment and performance evaluation rating and had a discussion with you.

6.  Write your general comments on the box provided and click “SUBMIT”. This is the end of your performance cycle process.

B. For Immediate Supervisors (Evaluators)

The immediate supervisor rates the employee based on the performance factors that best describe the employee’s performance during the period under review. The immediate supervisor provides an overall recommendation based on the performance factors.

To help you prepare for your meeting with your subordinates, please read  “Immediate Supervisor Preparation” on page 15  and the rating guidelines on pages 17-19 of our Guide to AIT Performance Management for Staff. 

1.  You will be notified once your subordinates have set the date of your meeting. Please make yourself available on that date and be prepared to discuss the self-assessment of your subordinates

2.  Employee Self-Assessment should be discussed with your subordinates on the scheduled date. However, if for some reason the scheduled date is not followed, the date of the meeting should be changed to the actual date that the meeting takes place. To set a new meeting date, please follow the instructions described in points 6 and 7 below.

3.  To view your subordinates' self-reflection, click "Supervisor Evaluation” and follow the following steps.

3.1 Click “Employee Self Assessment”  

3.2 Click “APR” to view your subordinates' "Employee Reflection".

3.3 Write your comments in the designated space and click “SUBMIT”.  Remember you can only "submit" after you have written your comments.

3.4 A notice on top of the page will inform you if you have successfully submitted your form. Watch out for this notice!

4. Click “Immediate Supervisor Assessment”

4.1. Click “APR” to complete your performance rating. Review the rating guidelines if needed.

4.2. Click “SUBMIT”. At this point, you have already completed the assessment in your capacity as the immediate supervisor. If you are also the Unit Director or Department Head, you may want to immediately complete your feedback on the “Recommendation from the Department Head/Dean” and click “SUBMIT.”

5. Click “Comments and Sign Off”. This will follow after the employee has signed off.  This section should be completed by the Unit Director or Department Head.  Click “SUBMIT” to complete the performance evaluation cycle.

6. To reset the meeting date or employee reflection or supervisor feedback, click "Click to Reset".

7. A new page will open and click the “Reset” which corresponds to the activity you would like to reset.

Important Reminders:

1.  A rating of “Exceeds Expectations” or “Does not Meet Expectations” should be supported by evidence (anecdotal or documented).

2.  Any rating of “Does Not Meet Expectations” requires an agreed-upon and monitored improvement plan or PIP.  To access the PIP Form, click on “Performance Improvement Plan”. Complete the form and click “SUBMIT”.

PIP is implemented, at the discretion of the supervisor, when it becomes necessary to help an employee improve their performance. The supervisor, with input from the affected employee, develops an improvement plan; the purpose of the activities outlined is to help the individual to attain the desired level of performance. Please refer to page 11 of our guide for more details.

Please complete Phase 3 by November 30, 2022. 

Should you encounter technical problems, please report them to Helpdesk (helpdesk@ait.asia).  Please convey other feedback to OHRS (director-ohrs@ait.asia). 

 

B. Workshops/ Conferences  

1) The Water Security and Climate Change Conferences

Date: 1-3 December 2022

Venue: Hybrid (with physical sessions at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand)

Organizers: CNRD (TH Köln), SWINDON (TU Braunschweig), FSC (Univ. Hohenheim),

SDG Network (Univ. Gießen), ABCD Centre (TU Dresden), & the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).

The Water Security and Climate Change (WSCC) series of conferences have been held on an annual basis since 2016. The first edition of the conference was organized in Bangkok (2016), and subsequently in Cologne (2017), Nairobi (2018), San Luis Potosí (2019), and Hanoi (2021). The overarching objective of these conferences is to proliferate the exchange of knowledge and practical know-how on the intrinsic relationship between water security and climate change, with a view to advance fundamental and action research in this domain that will help humankind address one of the greatest challenges of our times.

The WSCC conferences have become a notable academic platform for scientific, technical discourses, and policy-oriented discourses and discussions, evidenced by the increased number of participants each year. Furthermore, the conference has also contributed to the strengthening of the EXCEED by connecting member networks as well as raising awareness on the topic of water security and climate change. The conference additionally broadens its organization committee in 2022 by including the DAAD-funded organizations SDG nexus Network and ABCD-Center.

This year, the WSCC will be held from 01–03 December 2022 in Bangkok. The conference will be organized in a hybrid format, with a selected number of participants invited to Bangkok to present their work in person, while some sessions organized online for a wider audience.

Conference website: https://watersecurity.info

Call for abstract submission:  https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=wscc2022

 

2) International Symposium in Pattaya, 8-10 Dec 2022

Email was sent on behalf of the School of Engineering and Technolog on 24 August 2022.

I would like to invite you to participate in the 1st International Symposium on ONE HEALTH, ONE WORLD (OHOW). This is the first one in its series. The Symposium is initiated and organized by AIT and the University of Tokyo. 

The scope of the Symposium covers many subjects, which include, for example,

• Urban Safety & Disaster Mitigation,
• Pollution and environmental risk management,
• Climate change and water resources,
• Pandemic and public health issues,
• Biodiversity, wildlife and terrestrial ecosystems,
• Carbon emissions

You might be interested to share your work on these subjects in this Symposium. There will be many researchers from the University of Tokyo joining this Symposium.

Only an extended abstract is required (a full paper is not required), and the deadline is September 16th, 2022 (about 4- 5 weeks from now). The deadline is not rigid. All these abstracts will be open to the public after the symposium.

The venue is Pattaya. Most likely it will be a good hotel in Jomtien Beach. All participants and their family can enjoy it.

The registration fee is quite low: 150 US$ for domestic participants (Thai & non-Thai) and 50 US$ for domestic students (Thai & non-Thai).

It is a 2-day symposium followed by a one-day technical/cultural tour.

Please also help promote this symposium by distributing the attached symposium brochure to your colleagues and those who might be interested.

Thank you very much & looking forward to seeing you in the Symposium.

 

3) The 17th Asian Internet Engineering Conference

The 17th Asian Internet Engineering Conference (AINTEC), in cooperation with ACM SIGCOMM, provides an international technical forum for experts from industry and academia. AINTEC especially aims at addressing issues pertinent to the Asia and Pacific region, with vast diversities of socio-economic and networking conditions, while inviting high quality and recent research results from the Internet research community at large. AINTEC 2022 follows the previous sixteen successful editions. The conference is single-track and features a technical program with significant opportunities for individual and small-group discussions among a diverse set of participants. The technical sessions will include invited talks by leading experts, presentations of papers, demos, and posters.

For more details: https://interlab.ait.ac.th/aintec2022/

 

 

 

C. Visitors/ MoU/ Agreement Signing 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D. Faculty & Staff Travel

 

Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto, President / Kathmandu, Nepal/ 25-28 November 2022

Mr. Karma Rana / Kathmandu, Nepal/ 24-28 November 2022

Dr. Christopher J. Garnier/ Kathmandu, Nepal/ 25 - 28 November 2022

Mr. Jonathan Brenes Salazar, RRCC.AP/ San Jose, Costa Rica/ 11 Dec 2022 - 17 January 2023

Prof. Weerakorn Ongsakul/ Nakhonnayok, Thailand/ 29- 30 November 2022

Prof. Sangam Shrestha, SET / Chicago, USA/ 9 - 18 December 2022

Prof. Weerakorn Ongsakul, SERD/ Cha Am, Thailand/ 7 - 10 December 2022

Ms. Watcharathorn Chantinathorn/ Cha Am, Thailand/ 6 - 11 December 2022

Dr. Kuo Chieh Chao, SET/ Japan / 8 - 15 December 2022

Prof. Rajendra P. Shrestha, SERD / Chiang Mai, Thailand/ 2 - 4 December 2022

Dr. K. R. Salin, SERD/ Singapore/ 28 November - 4 December 2022

Ms. Nussarin Sudrohman/ Pattaya, Thailand/ 8 - 10 December 2022

Dr. Adisorn Lertsinsrubtavee, intERLab / Japan/ 18 - 21 December 2022

Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang/ Vietnam/ 28 November - 2 December 2022

Prof. Deepak Sharmar, CGC/ Vietnam/ 28 November - 2 December 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 E. Classifieds (jobs) 

 

Position: Assistant/ Associate Professor (SERD-EECC-ETM) 
Ref: 4/ 22
Deadline: 30 November 2022
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/798

Position: Assistant/ Associate Professor (SERD/ DDS/ UIS)
Ref: 2/ 22
Deadline: 15 December 2022
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/770

Position: Deputy Director, OPIA
Ref: 60/ 22
Deadline: 7 December 2022

http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/814