Admissions Committee Meeting

Executive Committee Meeting 22 April 2011 Paper 5.1 (a)

Report on the activities of the Vice President (Academic Affairs) - Prof. Joydeep Dutta (November 2010-March 2011) SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

Faculty Appointment, Contract Renewal and Promotion

- 9 New Faculty appointments were handled - 27 Faculty cases for renewal were deliberated since June 2010 - Call for Promotion announced in December 2010 - Online Annual Reporting Developed for 2011

Center of Learning Innovation and Quality (CLIQ)

- Academic / Research QA Survey Launched - New Student Course Evaluation being discussed - Comprehensive, student-faculty-admin interactive intranet system discussed

Student Admissions

- Automated applications processing for January 2011 intake - Institute wide orientation for newly enrolled students in January 2011 semester - Automated applications processing for August 2011 intake on-going - Application Tracking System fully developed and being used for processing applications for August 2011 intake - AIT admissions website and relevant webpages updated regularly - Institute-wide scholarship committee formed - 2 Admissions meetings by VPAA with President and School Deans

Students Registry

- 114th Graduation completed followed by the tribunal of appeals - New Student ID cards issued in January - Digital storage of Academic Records from 1979 was completed and Digital Coding of Academic Records is under development - Online Graduation Application and Online Clearance System to be launched in Intersem - Academic Quality issues an ongoing function - New Task Force following the P&P on Professional Programmes

Career Center

- New Career Center office and publicity materials - Meetings with Chambers of Commerce of Japan, Sweden and France and FTI, Thailand - 35 Companies participate in Career fair in March 2011 - Attract 86 potential students to AIT for a visit

Yunus Center at AIT

- Yunus Center at AIT is obtaining visibility - Networking with regional and global partners

1 Executive Committee Meeting 22 April 2011 Paper 5.1 (a) Faculty Appointment, Contract Renewal and Promotion

- 9 New Faculty appointments were handled - 27 Faculty cases for renewal were deliberated since June 2010 - Call for Promotion announced in December 2010 - Online Annual Reporting Developed for 2011

 The total number of faculty cases deliberated by the Institute Faculty Evaluation Panel (FEP) for consideration and approval of the President, from November 2010 to March 2011 was nine (9). This includes four (4) regular faculty appointments, three (3) contract renewals and two (2) professor emeritus appointments. To date, a total of twenty-nine (29) faculty cases were deliberated by the FEP, from the time the VPAA took office in June 2010 which includes eight (8) regular faculty appointments, sixteen (16) contract renewals, one (1) promotion case to the rank of Associate Professor and two (2) professor emeritus appointments.

 A call for application for faculty promotion was announced by VPAA in December 2010 for which three (3) applications for promotion were received.

Online Faculty Annual Report

A faculty report system has been developed to facilitate online submission of individual faculty’s annual accomplishments in terms of research publication, sponsored projects, organized conferences and workshops, as well as courses taught. Development of this system amongst others, is aimed at timely generation of consolidated reports by school or fields of study with data sorted by categories as mentioned above.

Student Admissions

 In January 2011 intake numbered 351 applications for Master’s and Ph.D. were completed out of which 87 new students were admitted. 37 students have been enrolled in the exchange or special programs. The Institute also welcomed 18 UG students from Boras University who will spend the January 2011 semester at AIT.

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 The processing of applications in August 2011 intake has started. Two admissions meetings were initiated by VPAA with the President and School Deans to discuss admissions, student recruitment and available scholarships issues.

 We have formed an Institute-wide Scholarship Committee consisting of 9 faculty members (3 from each school) recommended by the School Deans.

Scholarships and Invoicing

 For longstanding unpaid dues, Student Office will prepare a list to be submitted to the Senate, for advice on the feasibility of AIT taking legal recourse.

Application Tracking System

Development of the Application Tracking System (ATS) was completed by Netlink in February 2011. Access codes, usernames and passwords for Deans, FOS, and Admissions staff have been set-up and disseminated. Monitoring of applications history of individual applicants was also set up for VPAA and other administrative heads. On-line applicants can also track status of their individual applications through ATS. The ATS Operation Guide has been developed and uploaded in the SIS client application database. The ATS is fully operational for processing applications in the August 2011 intake.

Students Registry

- 114th Graduation completed followed by the tribunal of appeals - New Student ID cards issued in January - Digital storage of Academic Records from 1979 was completed and Digital Coding of Academic Records is under development - Online Graduation Application and Online Clearance System to be launched in the Intersem - Academic Quality issues an ongoing function - New Task Force following the P&P on Professional Programmes

 114th Graduation Ceremony. On 17 December 2010, the Registry successfully arranged and coordinated the 114th AIT Graduation Ceremony. A total of 222 students from 20 countries were awarded AIT degrees.

 Tribunal of Appeals. On 13 January 2011, Registry arranged the schedule of appeals for Academic Senate-dismissed students due to academic reasons. The Tribunal’s decisions were later conveyed to all concerned students and faculty and follow up actions were made.

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Initiative(s) Completed

 New AIT Student ID Card. A new design of AIT Student ID card was implemented for all new intake of January 2011 semester.

 Automation of Academic Records. To free up physical storage spaces, hard copies of grade sheets from 1979 were scanned for digital storage in the AIT server. This was completed in December 2010.

 Office Signage. A new office signage ‘Student Office (Admissions/Scholarships/Registry)’ which is distinct and known to students and faculty was installed in February 2011 in replacement of ‘Academic Secretariat’.

On-going Initiatives

 Online Clearance System. An online clearance system has been developed to facilitate clearance of graduating students from the different academic and administrative units of the Institute. The system is now ready but first implementation will be made during Intersemester of 2011 so as not to affect students in case some bugs will come out.

 Online Graduation Application System. An online system to better manage the graduation information and activities is in its final stage of refinement. This system will do automatic checking of a student’s academic records and will confirm if academic requirements and English proficiency are met. Those who meet the requirements will be able to see the graduation guidelines and fill up online graduation forms. The online clearance system will also be linked with this system. The system will produce all graduation reports required by Registry to facilitate the graduation of students. The initial implementation is planned for the Intersem 2011.

New Initiatives

 New Design and Numbering of all Registry Forms. In partnership with MCU, the VPAA initiated the consolidation of all forms issued by Registry. The MCU was requested to propose a standard design and assign number to each form. The revised forms will then be linked into SIS to allow students to fill them up online and directly submit to the concerned authorities.

 Digital Coding of Academic Records. As the second phase of the Application Tracking System, Netlink was requested to develop another system that links the application bar codes of admitted students to their academic records such as transcripts, degree certificates and other types of certifications. The system aims to confirm the authenticity of academic records issued by Registry and to maintain records of how many copies have been released.

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 Development of Registry FAQ. An FAQ site is being developed to allow students to get immediate answers to their academic inquiries.

Academic Quality Issues

 Student Advisee Distribution. In response to complaints received from students regarding the availability of faculty advisors, a list of faculty and the number of their advisees as well as their Program Committee memberships were checked and submitted to the VPAA for discussion in PAC. The statistics on number of doctoral students per faculty was alarming with as many as 15 or more student advisees per senior faculty in some cases, while the junior faculty has no advisees. The VPAA has brought this issue to the Academic Senate to allow more faculty colleagues participation in the discussion on this issue and come up with ideas on how to maintain quality and equal balance sharing of student advisees. After a few months, an update on the statistics was made which showed a decrease in the faculty advisees of senior faculty and increase in advisees of junior faculty.

 Summary of the Results of Grades Analysis (2006-2010). The summary of the results of grades analysis from 2006 to 2010 was prepared which will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Quality and Assurance for a more in-depth analysis and to the Deans for their action.

 Form for Master Program Committee Appointment. To have a complete record of Program Committee membership in SIS, a form has been made for appointment of Master Program Committee which should be done during the 3rd semester of study (when students start enrolling for research credits). This was implemented starting January 2011 semester.

 Thesis/Research Study Report Format. Final Examination Form for Master and Doctor were revised which now requires the Program Committee to certify that the student has followed the Institute format for writing thesis/research report. This is to minimize having thesis/research study reports which do not conform to the Institute format.

Policies and Procedures

 A Task Force on Professional Master Programs has been established in August 2010 to formulate policies on AIT professional and executive programs. The Task Force is now working on the draft P&P for Professional Programs.

Career Center

 A friendly Career Center Office has been promoted by remodeling the infrastructure.

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 New Career Center and Internship Desk brochures/packets had been published for the January 2011 intake. Career Center website is in process of revamping.

 I visited with the Career Center Team to several Federation of industries of different countries and met Federation of Thai Industry officials in Bangkok; the Executive Directors of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and the Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce, and the Advisor to the Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce, as well as the CFO of Siam Cement Group and President of the AITAA. The objective is to introduce AIT and Career Center activities and discuss on possible collaboration on internships, research and consultancy. Membership in the chambers will be pursued for active networking with chamber members in the areas discussed.

 The list of President's contacts had been followed up thru the President's Office. Some of the contacts from the President’s online directory were also retrieved and some were invited to join the Career Fair on 23 March 2011.

 The Career Center staff visited faculty and Promotions staff in the three Schools to update them of proposed Career Center activities leading to the Career Fair on 23 March 2011. Discussions were also held with the different FoS coordinators to promote the Fair, Career Talks and the Open House. FoS Coordinators were also requested to encourage their students to join the Career Fair/Talks. Some faculty shared company contacts for Career Center to invite. Visits to classrooms leading to the Fair was also organized by Career Center staff to promote the Career Talk and Fair.

 Job Fair Visits to other venues and universities were made to observe Fair organization and establish contact with companies. Visits were made to: RMUTT, Thanyaburi, JobsDB Fair in Queen Sirikit Convention Center and Rangsit University.

 Eight companies came for the whole day Career Talk on 22 March and company presentations were made to introduce themselves and present career/internship opportunities. The companies who came d were: CUEL, Exterran, Skydoor, Accenture, Thomson Reuters, Vervata, UNEP RRCAP, and Fabrinet.

 Thirty five companies came for the Career Fair on 23 March 2011. Participation from the corporate sector was boosted by the Career Center’s networking with the different Chambers of Commerce where six companies joined thru the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, three via the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce and one thru the Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce.

 Eleven new companies graced the Fair which included Rieckermann (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Dorsch Consult Asia Co., Ltd., and Krasstec Co., Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Yanmar SP, Taise Plas, Nitto Denko, OTC Daihen;Vervata Co., Ltd., Smartrac Technology Ltd., Comin Thai Co. Ltd., AIT Consulting, the Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific (RECOFTC), Advance Energy Development Co., Ltd and Hosiwell Technology Co., Ltd.

 An Open House, where 86 students from Thai Universities, took place simultaneously with the Career Fair. With the intention to showcase AIT’s program offerings, the

6 Executive Committee Meeting 22 April 2011 Paper 5.1 (a) undergraduate students appreciated the day’s program which included career talks on ‘Further Education through RTG Funding’, “Drawing Your Career Path” and “Successful Job Interview Techniques”.

Center of Learning Innovation and Quality (CLIQ)

- QA Survey Launched - New student Course Evaluation being discussed - Comprehensive, student-faculty-admin interactive intranet system discussed

 Conduction of QA survey is underway along with the statistical review. CLIQ will provide a date for this analysis (and full report) upon establishment of times for data collection, ‘all hands meetings’ and report generation.

 CLIQ will endeavor to approach IT personnel to develop an institutional template with professional appeal.

 The possibility of ‘All hands meetings’ as an effective (and cost effective) means of stimulating academic / research status discussions was presented and discussed.

 Student evaluations process will be different this semester which is currently being finalized in consultation with the Students Union.

 Discussions centered on installation of comprehensive / facilitative interactive intranet system (e.g. Moodle, Sakai etc.) as necessary step to improve academic & research quality.

Yunus Center at AIT

- Yunus Center at AIT is obtaining visibility - Networking with regional and global partners

 The Director, Dr. Riaz Khan attended and presented in many for in the region and beyond like the Global Social Business Summit 2010, Germany organized by Grameen Creative Lab, Germany where Professor Yunus was the main speaker at the event, ‘Building Partnerships for Implementing Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Projects in the Mekong Region (EEP Mekong)’ in Vientiane Laos PDR, ‘Thailand Regional Forum: From Corporate Social Responsibility to Social Entrepreneurship’ organized by Data Consult, Bangkok Thailand, Promoting climate friendly bio-energy and food security in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Renewable Energy and Social Business, organized by Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Asia Pacific Regional Office and Asian Development Bank (ADB) Thailand Resident Mission Office, Net Impact Bangkok Professional Chapter meeting

7 Executive Committee Meeting 22 April 2011 Paper 5.1 (a) at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University. The title of the talk was “Making Sense of the Term Social Business”, talk on Social Business organized by CEO of HSBC. Among those in attendance were representatives of Nation Multimedia Group, Schneider Electric, Ocean Glass, Citibank, Salamander Energy, Shell Companies in Thailand, and Mobel Hantverk, ‘Regional Social Enterprise Knowledge & Partnership Symposium: Social Enterprise for a Sustainable Future in Asia’, organized Change Fusion Institute, British Council, and Bangkok BiZNews, and supported by Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Ashoka Thailand, Thai Social Enterprise Promotion Office and Thai Young Philanthropist Network.  Yunus Center director also served as Judge and mentor for Global Social Venture Competition, GSVC Business Plan 2011 Organized by Thammasat Business School and was invited to be an observer at the Thailand National Health Assembly 2010 organized by the National Health Commission.  Mr Audu Idi Guga, a doctoral student at AIT, carried out a pilot study on the possibility of growing mushroom on rice straw as an income generating activity for small farmers in Vietnam.  Several visits have been made like visit to Lop Buri Province, Thailand to study Village Development Bank, Education Project and Cassava Farm, organized and received by Betagro Group, Thailand, visit to Prae Province to study consultative process on health issue organized by National Health Commission, Thailand, visit to Nakorn Si Thammarat Province to study and visit following operations: Mokalan Microfinance Institute, Royal Irrigation project in Pak Phanang river basin, Community Development Projects supported by CORIN Asia Foundation (production of organic fertilizer, biogas and handicrafts from water hyacinth, production of sugar from nipa palm). Visit was organized by CORIN Asia, visit to Grameen Danone yoghurt operations in Bogra, Bangladesh. Visit to Grameen GC Eye Care Hospital in Bogra, Bangladesh, visit to waste recycling and waste dumping site in Bang Phli, visit to Khlong Toey to see primary schools of the Duang Prateep Foundation as well as the credit union development bank in the area, visit to Nang Rong to see the activities of PDA: C&C Restaurant, Mechai Pattana School, VDP in Ban Nong Kradon village.

8 Executive Committee Meeting 22 April 2011 Paper 5.1 (a) VPAA Meeting Highlights (Nov. 2010- Mar. 2011)

 On 24 March 2011, I attended a meeting with delegation from Norton University of Phnom Phenh, Cambodia which is the largest private university in Cambodia, led by the Rector, Prof. Chan Sok Khieng, to discuss the Unified Bachelor and Master's Program with AIT.  On 10th March; I attended a meeting with representatives of AREOPA, Mr. Satheesan K. Ganardanan and Mr. Umyos Huvanandana to discuss a proposal for a Master of Science in Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management (MS in IC&KM) program.  On 1st March, I, along with the President, SERD Dean, Head-Student Office, and Head-Administration, visited the Environmental Engineering & Management (EEM), Aquaculture & Aquatic Resources Management (AARM), and the Agricultural Systems & Engineering (ASE) fields of study, as part of our regular review of the activities and initiatives of fields of study. Each fields of study were requested to prepare documents which provided details of the past and the present activities of the field, highlights of their programs, initiatives, uniqueness and what was being planned for the future.  On February 22, the President along with me had meeting with the Dean of the School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) and the faculty members of the Pulp and Paper Technology field of study, discussing about the current working of the field and its future directions. I was happy to learn about the various initiatives being taken by the school and faculty colleagues in building up activities with paper industries across the region. The meeting was very fruitful and I have asked the dean to coordinate with the faculties and come up with a strategic plan of operation for the unit and its future plans.  On 11 February 2011; I attended a meeting with Dr. Astu Unadi (AIT alumnus of AFE’90), Director of Indonesian Center for Agricultural Engineering Research and Development, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural Research and Development (IAARD), Ministry of Agriculture Indonesia visited AIT. Dr. Astu was visiting AIT on behalf of Dr. Haryono (AIT alumnus of CSIM’95), Director General of IAARD to explore possible collaboration in capacity building of IAARD researchers and staff members starting from 2011 starting from 1 week short term training programs to master’s degree programs.  On 4 February 2011, I was invited as a guest on the television show "Inside Asia" hosted by Thai journalist Kavi Chongkittavorn. I emphasized the enormous potential nanotechnology has for giving nations an economic and scientific edge. I also highlighted the role AIT plays in facilitating the development of nanotechnology in Thailand and the region.  On 28 January 2011, I attended a meeting with Mr. Karma Tshering, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Tshering Namgyel, Head of Human Resources from Bank of Bhutan (BoB), Bhutan. They have shown keen interest in sending their staff to AIT for various programs offered at AIT, that includes training programs and professional degree program to upgrade their knowledge and technical skills in their relevant fields especially in Banking and Finance.  On 8 January 2011; I along with AIT delegation visited to Yangon, Myanmar. We met with Director General Dr. Ko Ko Oo and rectors of technological universities under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Myanmar. It was a follow up to my previous meeting with Dr. Ko Ko Oo and MOST officials in December 2010 about AIT-Technological University (Yatanarpon Cyber City) collaborative activities.

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 On 8 January 2011, the AIT delegation had a lunch meeting with the officials of Chindwin College (a private academic institution) and discussed about possible collaborative activities. In the afternoon, AIT delegation visited “Living with Technology-Expo 2011”, organized by Myanmar Engineering Society. AIT delegation visited the booth of AIT’s student recruitment agent UN-MBC.  On 18 December; I attended a meeting with Mr. David Hulse, Representative from Ford Foundation Indonesia who visited AIT during 15-18 December 2010 and was the guest speaker at the 114th Graduation ceremony; to discussed further collaboration between AIT and Ford Foundation. Mr. Hulse expressed his appreciation for the partnership with AIT and that AIT is relevant to the mission of Ford Foundation for its quality education in the context of Asia.  On 16 December 2010, I attended a meeting with Dr. Mari-Vaughn Johnson, Science Advisor to the US Embassy and Science and Diplomatic Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Dr. Johnson was accompanied by Mr. Jacob Schultz, Environment, Science, Technology and Health Officer at the US Embassy in Bangkok. The purpose of the visit was for Dr. Johnson to familiarize herself to the Lower Mekong Region and its issues pertaining to the impact of climate change on water resources, food security and the health and livelihoods.  On 3 December 2010, I along with Mr. Olivier Drean, Coordinator of the French Cooperation and Advisor to the Administration represented AIT at the "9th Regional Conference of the Rectors of the universities members of the AUF in Asia-Pacific" (CONFRASIE) that took place in Hué - Vietnam. The "Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie" (AUF) consists in one of the biggest academic network with 759 establishments covering every continent in 90 countries and more than 434 agents stationed in 65 branch locations operating under nine regional offices. AIT is a member of the AUF and has participated to various research projects co-funded by the AUF, notably through Prof. Sudip Rakshit, Vice President for Research. The AUF proposes several cooperation programs designed to support research and education in French.  On 22 November 2010, I attended a lunch meeting with Dr. Sriram B. Mathe, Chirman of Nepal Education Foundation-Consortium of Colleges, Nepal (NEF-CCN) and Prof. Ram Manohar Shrestha Shrestha, Former AIT faculty in Energy FoS, SERD; discussed about the revised proposal received from NEF-CCN for establishing AIT satellite campus in Nepal.  From 8 to 10 November 2010, I along with Mr. Olivier Dréan, Coordinator of the French cooperation and Advisor to the Administration, participated in the kick-off meeting of the MAHEVA Erasmus Mundus program that was organized by the University of Montpellier 2 in France. More than 40 partners from Asia and Europe gathered in order to organize this new mobility scheme funded by the EC. MAHEVA stands for Man, Health and biodiversity in Asia and the programme is offering grants at undergraduate, Master, doctorate and Post Doctorate levels. Faculty and Staff can also benefit from the program for one-month mobility. The aim of this programme is to strengthen the cooperation between the European Union and Asian Higher Education Institutions between existing partners and creating new ones  On 9 November 2010, we were invited to a working dinner at Montpellier by Dr. Jacques Pages, Deputy Director General of CIRAD and Dr. Marcel de Raïssac, Deputy Director of the Performance of Tropical Production and Processing Systems Department – CIRAD. On 10 November, a second meeting was organized at CIRAD’s Head Quarters in Montpellier with Dr. Hubert Devautour, Deputy Director of the Environments and Societies Department,

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Dr. André Rouzière, Scientific Management Advisor of the Performance of Tropical Production and Processing Systems Department and Dr. Jean Louis Fusillier, Deputy Director of the UMR G-Eau. With 3 CIRAD seconded visiting Faculty to AIT and a long history of collaboration, AIT and CIRAD are enjoying a strong and strategic partnership that is well acknowledged and appreciated by both parties. We are now looking at ways to further enhance our collaboration and thus it was also an opportunity to discuss about the Water Center initiative that AIT intends to launch shortly. CIRAD has expressed a great interest for that new Center and granted its full support.  On 25 October, I attend a meeting with Mr. Azher Uddin Khan, AIT alumnus and Managing Director of NEC Consultants (Private) Limited which is one of the largest environment and energy consulting firm in Pakistan; to explore the areas where AIT and NEC Consultants (Private) Limited can cooperate.The meeting centered on overall collaboration that AIT can have through its centers with NEC Consultants (Private) Limited.  On 4 October, I had a meeting with Dr. Junaid Ahmad, Chairman of Nation Management Consultants (Pvt.) and NEC Consultants (Pvt.) Ltd. Pakistan; discussed various matters including the new charter of AIT, vision of AIT, academic offerings, students’ recruitment, and the status of current AIT alumni in Pakistan.

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