Asian Institute of Technology

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), founded in 1959, is an international organization for higher education in Khlong Luang, Thailand. It specializes in engineering, advanced technologies, sustainable development, and management and planning. Its aim is to "promote technological change and sustainable development" in the Asia-Pacific region, through higher education, research, and outreach.
History.
Founded in 1959 as SEATO Graduate School of Engineering, it receives funding from organizations and governments around the world (initially from SEATO members).
On 21 October 2011, AIT's campus was inundated by two-meter-high floodwaters. Since then, it has resumed operations at its campus.
In November 2019, AIT inaugurated the Belt & Road Research Centre.
Governance.
AIT has been administered by a board of governors since its beginning. Traditionally a high-ranking Thai citizen has been the chairman of its board of trustees. At present the chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees is former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, H.E. Dr. Subin Pinkayan.
Ambassadors of 13 countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Korea, Lao PDR, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Vietnam – are members of the AIT Board of Trustees. Ambassadors of two countries, Japan and Ambassador of EU have observer status in the AIT Board.
Ranking.
AIT has been consistently ranked the top university in the world for its "International Orientation." It was ranked the top international university by UMultirank for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, it was the only university from Asia to get a perfect score in international orientation Though AIT is based in Thailand, only 30 percent of the students are from Thailand and 70 percent come from abroad. It was the only university in Asia among the top 41 universities in the world to receive full scores under "international orientation" earning straight "A" grades for student mobility, international academic staff, international joint publications, and international doctorate degrees.
AIT programs have been ranked globally and regionally. Three of its programs were listed in the global top 100 by Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking, while five of its programs were among the top in Southeast Asia. These eight programs have been ranked as best in Thailand.
Asian Institute of Technology received a "four star" rating from QS with strong performance in several areas. AIT achieved an outstanding performance by reaching a "five star" rating in teaching, internationalization, and facilities. The employability and research categories earned four star ratings.
Location.
AIT operates as a self-contained international community at its campus in Pathumthani Province, some north of Bangkok, Thailand. Besides laboratories and academic buildings, the main campus includes housing, sports, and medical facilities, a conference center, and a library with over 230,000 volumes and 830 print and online periodicals.
AIT was hosted by the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, before it moved to its present campus in November 1973. Currently it is located in Rangsit area next to Thammasat University (Rangsit Campus), about 65 kilometers from the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
AIT has a remote campus called AIT Center in Vietnam. It was established in 1993 under the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and the AIT. At that time AITCV was the first international institution in Vietnam and the first AIT campus outside Thailand.
Student body.
AIT's student body comes from 58 countries with Thailand contributing about one-third. It has always been international, with international donors offering scholarships to AIT students for capacity building
Scholarships.
AIT has received scholarships from donors and countries. Current scholarships include the HM King's Scholarships and HM Queen's Scholarships, Loom Nam Khong Pijai, GMSARN Scholarships, New AIT Fellowship Scheme, RTG Fellowship, Japanese Government Scholarships for August 2014 Intake, DAAD / German Academic Exchange Service Scholarships for nationals of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, BJC Regional Scholarships at AIT (for MBA, for Vietnamese and Myanmar students), ADB-JSP Selection Guidelines, Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program, DIKTI scholarships for Indonesian Lecturers, KAAD - AIT Scholarship Program, Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) through the Asian Scholarship Foundation in Thailand, e8 Scholarship Programme, Consortium of Development Studies in Southeast Asia (CDSSEA) Scholarship for Gender and Development Studies, Pruksa Scholarships at AIT for Thai National in January 2015 Intake, and the Thai Pipe Scholarship at AIT for Cambodian Nationals.
Transition to intergovernmental organization status.
Approval of new charter.
In August 2010, a new "Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)" was adopted and signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Signatories to the new charter included Seychelles, Cambodia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Sweden, Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, and UNIFEM. The new charter came into force on 30 January 2012 as Sweden, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal deposited their instruments of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Difficulties and return to old charter.
In 2012, Thailand declined to ratify the new charter, with the effect that the operations of AIT under the new intergovernmental charter resulted in the issuance of potentially invalid degrees. In December 2012, AIT opted to return to its previous national charter and ceased operating as an intergovernmental university. The degrees issued by AIT under the new charter were reissued under the old charter to avoid the risk of being unrecognized under Thai law. However, it seems that the "Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)" remains legally in force without Thailand's participation and is in dormant status.
Listed among International Organizations by Thai Government.
AIT is listed among international organizations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government.
Structure.
AIT consists of three schools at its mother campus:
Besides the above schools, AIT has a wing called AIT Solutions, and AIT Extension which provides professional education, short-course training, and consultancy services. As mentioned above, under 'Location', AIT has a campus in Vietnam that offers academic programs and short-term training.
Host to international organizations.
The campus of Asian Institute of Technology is host to several international and non-governmental organizations including the Asia-Pacific headquarters of Télécoms Sans Frontières (www.tsfi.org), the UNEP Environment Assessment for Regional Resource Center in Asia and the Pacific (UNEP RRC.AP) (www.rrcap.unep.org), and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) (www.rimes.int).
It also hosts the global secretariat of the International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA), while the regional secretariat is hosted by UN HABITAT. Four UN agencies, three international donors and five national governments are part of IPLA.
AIT has tied up with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to create a Yunus Center at AIT with an objective "to contribute to poverty alleviation by enabling rural people to handle and be in control of improving their own livelihoods". The center was launched on 8 September 2009. Likewise, AIT hosts Ostrom Center for Advanced Studies on Natural Resource Governance (OCeAN).
Academic programs.
Asian Institute of Technology offers Master's,Doctoral, Diploma and Certificate courses. Among the programs offered include regular Master's and Doctoral programs, Professional Master's, Dual Degree programs, Joint Degree programs, Erasmus Mundus programs, Exchange programs, and Unified Bachelor-Master programs Unified International Bachelor-Master Degree Program.
Erasmus Mundus programs.
AIT is associated with several Erasmus Mundus academic cooperation programmes offered by the European Union. They include EM EMMA EM MAHEVA, EM EuroAsia, Bridging the Gap, European Master Advanced Robotics Program (EMARO) Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate ETeCoS3, Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils and Sediments, and Erasmus Mundus Master's programme in Industrial Ecology.
School of Engineering and Technology (SET).
The School of Engineering and Technology offers master's degrees [MEng, MSc], professional master's degree programs, doctoral degrees [DEng, DTechSc, PhD], and certificates of advanced studies. It is divided into three departments:
(1) Department of Civil and Infrastructure Engineering
Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management (CEIM), Geotechnical and Earth Resources Engineering (GTE). Geosystem Exploration and Petroleum GeoEngineering (GEPG), Structural Engineering (STE), Transportation Engineering (TRE), Water Engineering and Management (WEM).
(2) Department of Industrial Systems Engineering
Mechatronics (MEC), Microelectronics (MIC), Nanotechnology, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME)
(3) Department of Information and Communications Technologies
Computer Science (CS), Information Management (IM), Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (RS-GIS), Software Engineering (SE), Telecommunications (TC).
It also offers Interdisciplinary programs
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM), Offshore Technology and Management (OTM)
School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD).
The School of Environment, Resources, and Development offers master's degrees [MEng, MSc], professional master's degree programs, doctoral degrees [DEng, DTechSc, PhD], and Certificate of Advanced Studies. The School is divided into three departments:
(1)Department of Food, Agriculture & Bioresources
This includes the following programs: Agribusiness Management (ABM), Agricultural Systems Engineering (ASE), Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management (AARM), and Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FEBT).
(2) Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Change 
This includes the following programs: Energy, Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM), Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CCSD), Energy Business and Urban Water Engineering and Management.
(3) Department of Development & Sustainability
This includes the following programs: Development and Sustainability (DS), Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM), Gender and Development Studies (GDS), Natural Resources Management (NRM), Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP), Urban Environment Management (UEM).
It also offers Interdisciplinary programs
Agribusiness Management, Cleaner Production, Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM), Integrated Tropical Coastal Zone Management, Wetland and Aquatic Resources Management.
School of Management.
The School of Management (SOM) was established in 1987. It has graduated more than 3,000 MBA students. Its alumni network is found in over 40 countries, and faculty members come from 30 countries. The school has developed an extensive network of strategic partnerships around the world with leading European and Asian business schools.
SOM offers the following courses: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Executive MBA (EMBA), M/M.Sc. in Business Analytics and Digital Transformation, M/M.Sc. in International Finance, International Executive MBA (IEMBA) - Vietnam (offered at Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Vung Tau), PhD, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA).
Awards.
Ramon Magsaysay Award.
In 1989, AIT received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding "for shaping a new generation of engineers and managers committed to Asia, in an atmosphere of academic excellence and regional camaraderie."
In 2009, an alumnus of AIT, Yu Xiaogang was also awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award. The citation credited AIT and it said,
Friendship Order of Vietnam.
The Government of Vietnam awarded the Friendship Order to AIT in 2006. It is the highest award given in the area of international relations and is presented to foreign institutions and persons that have contributed to human resource training for Vietnam, and to the development of friendly relations between Vietnam and other countries.
Other Awards.
AIT received the Science and Technology for Development Award from USAID and National Research Council in 1987. In 1994, it won the Development Management Award from the Asian Management Awards, while in 1996, it was awarded by the Danube Adria Association and Manufacturing (DAAM) International Vienna, Austria. In 2016, AIT won the gold medal from the Thai Research Fund (TRF) for bagging the most perfect scores (seven scores of '5' each) among all universities in Thailand.
Sports.
The AIT Grounds was host to World Women's T20 Tournament held in 2015 where eight countries played 10 matches. It is one of the three cricket fields in Thailand where Thailand's Premier League matches are played. The AIT Cricket Team has won the Bangkok Cricket League 'A' Division two times during the past three years.
It has a nine-hole golf course and a swimming pool. The campus offers facilities for badminton, takraw, table tennis, tennis, basketball, and volleyball.
People.
Students.
70% of the students come from outside of Thailand. As an institute that prides in its international orientation, students at AIT come from all over the world. In August 2018, it had 1800 students from 45 countries. The Institute admitted students from 25 countries from North America, Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa. Asian students constitute the majority of the student body, with Southeast Asia (Thailand and Viet Nam) and South Asia (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) usually contributing the majority of students
Presidents.
The present incumbent Dr. Eden Y Woon assumed office on 1 September 2018 succeeding Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai. Previous presidents include Professor Milton E. Bender Jr. (from USA), Professor Harold E. Hoelscher (from USA), Professor Robert B. Banks (from USA), Professor Alastair M. North (from Scotland), Professor Roger GH Downer (Ireland/Canada), Professor Jean-Louis Armand (from France), Professor Said Irandoust (from Sweden), and Professor Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai (from Thailand). Prior to the Institute becoming AIT, its predecessor, the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering had three Deans Professor Thomas H. Evans, Professor Robert Holcomb, and Professor Milton E. Bender Jr. (who also became the first President of AIT).
Faculty.
AIT currently has 56 regular faculty members, with 27 in the School of Environment, Resources and Development; 26 in School of Engineering and Technology; and three in the School of Management. 
In the School of Environment, Resources, and Development; five faculty are working in Food, Agriculture & Bioresources, 11 in Development and Sustainability, and 11 in Energy, Environment and Climate Change.
In the School of Engineering and Technology, 11 work in Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, six in Industrial Systems Engineering, and nine in Information and Communication Technologies.
The School of Management has three faculty members including the Dean.
Alumni.
Prominent alumni in Thailand include Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, former Governor of Bank of Thailand; Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, former Thai Army Chief; Dr. Somchet Tinnapong, Managing Director of Dawei Development Company; Dr. Prasert Patramai, Chairman of Board of TEAM GROUP, Mr. Chaiwat Kovavisarach, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bangchak Corporation,; Somprasong Boonyachai, Director, Intouch Holdings, and Vice Chairman of Board of Advanced Info Service; Sumate Tanthuwanit, CEO, Ngow Hock Group, TIPS Co Ltd. Thai Prosperity Terminal Co.,ltd., and Sintanachote Co.Ltd; Chaovalit Ekabut, Former President, SCG Investment and CFO Siam Cement Public Company Limited; Dr. Chainarong Na Lamphun, President and CEO, INDEX International Group; Preecha Ekkunagul, President and CEO of Central Pattana Public Company Limited; Vichai Bhucharoen, Chairman, Board of Directors, GMS Corporation Ltd.; and Dr. Yanyong Phataralaoha, Managing Director, Thai Pipe Industry Company Limited;
International alumni include Mao Chi-kuo, Premier of Taiwan, Yu Xiaogang, winner of Ramon Magsaysay Award), Imtiaz Gilani, Provisional Minister of Education for the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Rafiul Ahad, Vice President, Software Development, Oracle Corporation; Huỳnh Ngọc Phiên, President, AMATA Group";" Phạm Lê Thanh, Chairman, EVM Vietnam Electricity, Boun Oum Syvanhpheng, CEO, Électricité du Laos; Nadeem Amjad, Member (National Resources) Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC); Muhammad P Aftab, Vice President, National Engineering Services (NESPAK); MALWILA DISSANAYAKE, Malwila Dissanayake, Chair, Environmental Science, Lakehead College, Canada; Wachchi Patabendege Ranjith Premalal De Silva; Vice Chancellor, Uva Wellassa University; Dr. Bindu Lohani, former Vice President of Asian Development Bank; and Dr. Tong Ki Woo, Governor of Education, Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea, and former president of Yeungnam University 
DOT th Domain Name.
AIT administered .th, the country code top-level domain for Thailand until 2007 when the administration was transferred to the Thai Network Information Center Foundation.
References.
Unified International Bachelor-Master Degree Program