WEEK #2: 9 – 15 January 2017
In this issue:
A. Announcements
(i) NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM AIT PRESIDENT
Email from President: 1 Jan. 2017
Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues
As we enter into 2017, please allow me to take this salient moment on behalf of the AIT Community to wish you and your families a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
We can confidently say that AIT has now completed its long journey toward normalcy, thanks to the solidarity and the hard work of faculty and staff. Thus, AIT is now preparing itself to cope with new challenges on the horizon in order to move into a new era.
While AIT in its early years was the only choice in Asia for international post-graduate studies, today the higher education landscape has totally changed. However, today's globalization process has provided AIT with blue-ocean opportunities, which AIT is ready to capitalize upon, based on its unique experiences in global engagement.
The international demand for globally responsible citizens in the globalization age has reinforced the important roles of AIT in the development of global citizens. Thus, AIT is ready to offer itself as a neutral platform to resolve many pressing global issues, such as climate change, urbanization, renewable energy, disaster preparedness, etc., for the sustainable future of mankind.
This year of 2017 will be a year of transformation and expansion of the Institute, following the consolidation of our academic programs and the decentralization of administrative powers to schools and responsibility centers. It is also the year that one can expect to enjoy the fruits of our campus investment. I shall briefly elaborate the three major changes that we are going to see at AIT in 2017.
I. First, the year will see the inception of a newly transformed "School of Management (SOM)" under the leadership of the new SOM Dean, Professor Lawrence S. Abeln.
SOM promises to transform itself into one of Asia's great international business schools, which no doubt will contribute to the overall reputation of AIT. Many of its planned revised programs, which include a Modular Executive MBA program and Part-time DBA, will provide the Institute with linkages in the future to the business community, alumni, international institutions and employers. I therefore, request the AIT Community to provide its full cooperation and support to this exciting transformative change in the 30-year history of SOM.
II. Based on the call for more integration, multidisciplinary learning and cross-cutting research, the old-fashioned administrative walls between fields have been removed. Thus, all administrative workloads at the ‘field of study’ level will be pooled to the ‘departmental’ level, freeing faculty members more time for teaching and research. After a year of careful refinement, the new departmental structure will come into effect for the first time in 2017.
Specifically, the School of Engineering and Technology (SET) will have 3 departments, namely, the (1) Department of Civil & Infrastructure Engineering;
(2) Department of Information & Communication Technologies; and (3) Department of Industrial Systems Engineering.
For the School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), there are 3 departments, namely, the (1) Department of Food, Agriculture & Bioresources; (2) Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Change; and (3) Department of Development & Sustainability.
III. We will soon enjoy an even better campus environment this year with our modernized library scheduled for soft opening on 17 January. The ground and walkway improvements will commence with improved landscape around the campus.
A new landmark clock tower will be built on the walkway between the Admin Building and AIT Conference Center thanks to the generous support from the AIT Alumni Association-Thailand Chapter. The AIT entrance from the highway will be remodeled with an attractive footpath along the road to the new front gate. The entire Administration Building will be renovated and made more befitting to visitors with a reception hall.
The ongoing renovation of all the campus infrastructure is due to be completed in 2017. It has taken several years since the aftermath of the campus flood because replacement needed to be carried out in phases, so as not to disrupt the regular academic operations. We will see more efforts spent on making the campus greener and more sustainable.
Although I foresee a small drop in our financial surplus in 2017 due to the reloading for more faculty in schools especially SOM and the increasing cost of better facility supports for students, I am convinced that the new policy on decentralization, and a fair process of year-end reward, will provide needed incentives for faculty and staff to be more productive.
At the end, I sincerely look forward to an overall fruitful year for AIT in 2017. I take this opportunity to record my sincere appreciation to all members of faculty and staff for your cooperation and contribution to the successful recovery of our beloved Institute from the deep crisis, and especially for your strong support rendered to me as AIT President.
Sincerely,
Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai
President
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
(ii) A Glimpse of AIT Modernized Library due to 'Soft-Opening' on 17 January 2017
Email from President: 7 Jan. 2017
Dear Members of AIT Family and Friends
The original AIT Library was constructed with funds donated by the Government of Japan in 1981. It was a typical university library built at that time, with bookshelves dominating the ground floor and special collections being showcased on the upper floor.
In October 2011, Thailand experienced its worst flooding on record. On the fateful day of October 21, 2011, the inundation of AIT was total and complete, with water cresting at more than two meters. The floodwaters remained for over two months, and severely damaged almost the entire AIT infrastructure, including the ground floor of the Library.
After the flood, the original library could have been repaired in a simple manner if we wanted to maintain it in the same old form and format. However, in today's digital age, modern libraries have emerged as places for immersive learning and meeting places for academic discussion and intellectual reflection. It is where media centers, digital repositories, and wonders of modern architecture and design converge to create a stimulating atmosphere.
Thus, it was my personal belief that the flood aftermath presented us a golden opportunity for the library to be modernized for the 21st century needs of students and faculty.
Thanks to the overwhelmed supports of AIT's corporate partners, alumni, former faculty, present faculty, staff and friends, we are able to raise around 80 million Baht for the repairs, renovation and modernization of the AIT Library.
After 1.5 years of planning, design and construction, the AIT Modern-time Library is now scheduled to be 'soft-opened' on 17 January 2017.
The Official Opening Ceremony will be scheduled later once other renovations in the campus are completed.
With kind regards,
Prof Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai
AIT President
(iii) Confirmed Notes AMT 1 Dec 2016, New & Revised P&P Statements
Please be informed that the AIT Management Team (AMT), in its 22 December 2016 meeting, confirmed the notes of its 1 December 2016 meeting, which are now Intranet-published at: http://www.ait.ac.th/management/aitmt-notes/confirmed-notes-aitmt-1-dec-...
Through the endorsement of the AIT Management Team, the President approved the following Institute Policy and Procedure (P&P) Statements and policy documents:
§ (new) AA-5-2-3 Research Ethics Review
§ (revised) PA-1-1-1 Employment of Faculty: General Work Regulations
§ (revised) PA-1-3-3 Employment of Staff: General Work Regulations
Revisions made on the P&P on Employment of Faculty and Staff were on section IV. Remuneration, Annex 1: Salary Scale, Annex 2: Salary Increases, as well as incorporated the recent academic and administrative restructuring
These new and revised P&P statements are Intranet-published at Policies and Procedures / (AA) Academic and Administrative Affairs and (PA) Personnel Affairs.
(iv) SET welcomes Dr. Weon Keun Song – ISE Visiting Professor
School of Engineering and Technology (SET) welcomes Dr. Weon Keun Song
who joined Industrial Systems Engineering Department as Visiting Professor, starting from January 2017 semester.
Dr. Weon Keun Song has been seconded by the Government of South Korea (National Research Foundation of Korea) for teaching a course AT74.9013 Nonlinear Dynamics and Control at AIT.
In Korea, Weon Keun Song was a senior researcher of a national agency (KISTEC) and a special researcher at a Smart Space Institute of Yonsei University. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Moscow State Technical University (MSTU) named after Bauman, Moscow in 1998. He has a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering from MSTU, Moscow in the year 1994. He obtained Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul in 1991.
His research interests include nonlinear dynamic analysis and nonlinear control for mechanical systems and space vehicles, specially the orbit control of satellites. He has an experience of 25 years in variety of research areas.
He can be contacted at:
Room No. ISE 221
Phone: (66-2) 524 5682
Email: bauman98@naver.com
(v) CSR Event on Children Day
AIT will organize a CSR event to celebrate the Children Day, Saturday,14 January 2017 to give contributions to many orphans and handicapped children at Redemptorist Center Pattaya.
The AIT community are requested to prepare unused or abandoned materials such as bags, clothes, uniforms, shoes, books, etc,, that are suitable for children in the secondary school level.
Those who will join the event please prepare yourselves free on that day. There will be a short tour to visit "the unseen place " of Pattaya.
Details of the program will be announced in early January 2017.
(vi) Trials for Elsevier e-books, Springer e-books, Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies and Elsevier Knovel
AIT Library will have new online resources and e-books in 2017. Elsevier e-books, Springer e-books and Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies will be activated in January 2017 whereas Elsevier Knovel will be officially started in April 2017. During the month of December 2016 (and December 2016 through March 2017 for Knovel), the publishers of these e-books and online resources have set up trials for AIT.
AIT Library invites all faculty, staff, and students to access the mentioned e-books and online resources from the Library webpage at 203.159.6.13. The Library webpage may be accessed from the AIT website. Alternatively, click the following URL links to access the e-books and online resources.
For Elsevier e-books: www.sciencedirect.com
For Springer e-books:
To access the trial for Springer e-books copyright year 2005-2016, please click the link attached below:
http://link.springer.com/search?facet-content-type="Book"&date-facet-mode=between&facet-end-year=2016&facet-language="En"&showAll=fals
The content is about 5,000 titles. You can view, download and print. Users can access Springer e-books from the above link or access through the Library webpage at 203.159.6.13 and click "Springer New e-books" from the "Trial Databases".
For Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/topic/cs_all?sortBy=Ppub
For Elsevier Knovel: http://app.knovel.com/web/
Users can view, download and print. The content is about 3,000 titles for Elsevier e-books, 5,000 titles for Springer e-books and 400 cases for Emerald Emerging Market Case Studies.
(vii) ERP offline
Please be informed that ERP will be offline every day, January 4-31, 2017
From 11:30 - 13:00 during offline period finance has to process the transaction
of Y2016 (Due to Year-end closing).
(viii) NSTDA new Scholarship Program
This is to inform you that the Thai Government has approved budget of 20 million baht /year to NSTDA for a new Scholarship Program namely, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: STEM), to accommodate 150 Thai students /year. The requirement of the project is a tri-party comprising; student + researcher/faculty member from university (AIT ) + researcher from NSTDA. The duration of the research project is from 6-12 months.
The areas of the support are in 2 categories; one to build on the existing strong-based industries; and the other is dedicated to new areas for future industries.
The participating university must already have supporting research funding and equipment. This program will provide only the student salary during the participating period, which is 10,000 Baht/month for master’s degree student, and 12,000 Baht/month for Ph.D student. Please also note that NSTDA will not be responsible for connecting the university with the industries.
The qualification of the student for application to this program :
1. Thai citizen
2. Presently studying for master’s or Ph.D. degree
3. Academic performance:
a. GPA not less than 2.50 at Bachelor level, for student who is presently studying for master’s degree
b. GPA not less than 3.00 at master’s degree, for student who is presently studying for master’s degree
4. Have interest in undertaking research under the prescript themes (mentioned in the 3rd paragraph)
5. Being a disciplined with good behavior records
6. Must not be under other scholarship which provides salary support.
The application can be done from 1-30 January 2017. The approval of scholarship will be on 22 February 2017.Final announcement of scholarship recipients will be on 28 February 2017.
Interested persons please contact directly via email address stemworkforce@nstda.or.th, or call 02 564 7000 ext. 1462, 1461, 1460. Please note that the application is limited to 150 students for this year, open to all Thai students, and on first-come, first-serve basis.
For your information.
Director, Office of External Relations (OEXR)
(ix) Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship Program Opportunity for graduate studies
Joint Japan World Bank Scholarship Program (JJWBGSP) each year awards 15 scholarships to Japanese nationals for graduate studies in a development related field. The scholarships are provided to university’s students from Japan who are currently either in their first year of a 2-year master program or in a PhD program related to development.
More details of the scholarship program can see from:
http://www.worldbank.org/ja/country/japan/brief/scholarships
B. Events
(i) EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS
(a) AIT Open House: 17 Feb. 2017
AIT Open House will be organized at AIT on 17 February 2017 at the Institute campus.
See more details: http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2017/events/aitopenhousefeb17.pdf
(ii) LECTURES / SEMINARS / CONFERENCE
(a) International Conference on Water Management and Climate Change: 25-27 Jan. 2017
AIT is co-organizing 'THA2017: International Conference on Water Management and Climate Change towards Asia's Water -Energy-Food Nexus' from 25-27 January 2017.
More details are available at: http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2017/events/1st-announcement-tha2017-2016.09.11.pdf
(b) Giant Prawn 2017
Giant Prawn 2017 - a conference on farming of prawns will be organized at AIT from 20-24 March 2017 at the AIT Conference Center.
More details about the conference are available at this link: http://www.giantprawn.org/about.htm
(iii) COURSES/TRAININGS
(a) AIT-Tiger Leong International Innovation and Leadership Camp: 16 – 27 Jan. 2017
A two-week Innovation Camp will be held at AIT from 16-27 January 2017 for select bright undergraduate students from top universities around Asia.
See more details: http://www.ait.ac.th/news-and-events/2016/events/ait-tiger-leong-international-innovation-and-leadership-camp/#.WFnytH33aUl
C. Campus Updates
(i) Main Entrance of the AIT Library
From 4 January 2017, the AIT library users are requested to access the Library via the main entrance. The entrance adjacent to the Language Center is now closed.
(ii) Swimming pool is temporarily closed for repair
Please be informed that AIT swimming pool is temporarily closed for repair and maintenance until further notice.
D. Faculty and Staff Travel
Dr. Barbara Igel / Amsterdam, Santiago, and Puerto Monti, Chile / 26 December 2016 – 13 January 2017
Dr. Sangam Shrestha / Kathmandu, Nepal / 2 – 5 January 2017
Dr. Yuosre Badir / HCMC, Vietnam / 6 – 14 January 2016
Prof. Pennung Warnitchai / Santiago, Chile / 6 – 16 January 2017
Dr. Punchet Thammarak / Santiago, Chile / 6 – 16 January 2017
Dr. Surachet Pravinvongvuth / Washington D.C., USA / 7 – 13 January 2017
Mr. Voravate Chonlasin / Vientiane, Lao PDR / 8 January – 23 February 2017
Dr. Clemens Grunbuhel / Mandalay, Myanmar / 8 – 13 January 2017
Ms. Su Su Myat / New Delhi, India / 8 – 13 January 2017
Miss Aye Sandar Phyo and Miss Soe Soe Htway / Madalay, Myanmar / 8 – 29 January 2016
Dr. Lal Samarakoon / Tokyo, Japan / 9 – 18 January 2017
Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal / Germany / 14 – 20 January 2017
*(Staff or faculty member travelled and returned to AIT prior to documentation received for publication)
E. Classifieds (Jobs)
Faculty Position (Assistant/Associate Professor) (School of Environment, Resources & Development)
Ref. No. 2/16
Deadline: 15 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/397
Faculty Position (Assistant/Associate Professor) (School of Environment, Resources & Development )
Ref. No. 3/16
Deadline: 15 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/398
Position: Classroom Teacher (AIT International School)
Ref. No. 53/16
Deadline: 16 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/414
Music Teacher (AIT International School)
Ref. No. 54/16
Deadline: 16 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/415
Position: Program Officer (Office of External Relations (OEXR))
Ref. No. 59/16
Deadline: 20 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/420
Position: Assistant Program Officer (Office of External Relations (OEXR))
Ref. No. 60/16
Deadline: 20 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/421
Position: Administrative Officer (Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific)
Ref. No. 61/16
Deadline: 20 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/422
Position: Software Marketing Officer (Asian Center for Engineering Computations and Software)
Ref. No. 63/16
Deadline: 20 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/424
Position: Assistant Technician (AIT Solutions )
Ref. No. 62/16
Deadline: 20 January 2017
http://www.hro.ait.ac.th/job/show/423