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Asian Institute of Technology

Asian Institute of Technology

Overview
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is an international institution for higher education
Higher education
Higher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...

 in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...

, advanced technologies
Technology
Technology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...

, and management and planning
Management
Management in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...

. It "promotes technological change and sustainable development" in the Asian-Pacific region, through higher education, research and outreach.

Founded in 1959 as SEATO
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense which was signed on September 8, 1954. The formal institution of SEATO was established at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok in February 1955. It was primarily created to block further communist...

 Graduate School of Engineering
, with a mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy, it receives funding from organizations and governments around the world (initially from SEATO members).

In 2006, AIT claimed that it "has become a leading regional post-graduate institute and is actively working with public and private sector partners throughout the region and with some of the top universities in the world".
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Encyclopedia
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is an international institution for higher education
Higher education
Higher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...

 in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...

, advanced technologies
Technology
Technology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment...

, and management and planning
Management
Management in all business and human organization activity is simply the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading, directing, facilitating and controlling or manipulating an organization or effort for...

. It "promotes technological change and sustainable development" in the Asian-Pacific region, through higher education, research and outreach.

History, mission


Founded in 1959 as SEATO
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was an international organization for collective defense which was signed on September 8, 1954. The formal institution of SEATO was established at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok in February 1955. It was primarily created to block further communist...

 Graduate School of Engineering
, with a mission to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy, it receives funding from organizations and governments around the world (initially from SEATO members).

In 2006, AIT claimed that it "has become a leading regional post-graduate institute and is actively working with public and private sector partners throughout the region and with some of the top universities in the world". (See note presented at the Asia Commons
Asia Commons
The Asia Commons is an attempt to see how ideas of the Commons are specifically applicable to Asian conditions, and may be distinctive from other forms.It is also the name of a conference, held in early June 2006 in Bangkok, the capital in Thailand...

 conference, Bangkok, June 2006.)

It also sees itself as being "recognized for its multinational, multi-cultural ethos".

Ramon Magsaysay Award


In 1989, it received a Ramon Magsaysay Award
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an award designed to perpetuate his example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel Prize...

 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.".

Location


AIT operates as a self-contained international community at its campus located some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital, largest urban area and primary city of Thailand. Known in Thai as Krung Thep Mahanakhon , or กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep for short, it was a small trading post at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom. It came to the forefront of Siam when it was given the...

, Thailand
Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...

. Besides the usual labs 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 on-line periodicals.

AIT has a remote campus in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...

 called AIT Center in Vietnam. Another two centers have been authorized to be setup in Indonesia and Pakistan. AIT Map http://www.ait.ac.th/about/aitloc.gif.

AIT was hosted by Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and has been long-time considered the country's most prestigious university. It now has eighteen faculties and a number of schools and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university of Thailand, it normally attracts top...

, Thailand
Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...

, before it moved to its present campus in November 1973.

Academic Structure


AIT consists of three schools, the AIT Extension, the AIT centre in Vietnam and the AIT centre in Indonesia.

The three schools are

School of Engineering and Technology (SET)


The School of Engineering and Technology offers Masters Degrees [MEng, MSc], Professional Master Degree Programs, Doctoral Degrees [DEng, DTechSc, PhD], Certificate of Advanced Studies in the following areas:

Civil & Infrastructure Engineering Group
Industrial Systems Engineering Group
Information and Communications Group
Interdisciplinary Programs

School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD)


The School of Environment, Resources, and Development offers Masters Degrees [MEng, MSc], Professional Master Degree Programs, Doctoral Degrees [DEng, DTechSc, PhD], Certificate of Advanced Studies in the following areas:

Interdisciplinary Programs

School of Management (SOM)


The School of Management offers the following programs:

Key Facts and Figures

  • 2000 Students from 40 + Countries/Territories
  • 15000+ Alumni from 80 Countries/Territories
  • 23000 Short-term Trainees from 70+ Countries/Territories
  • 130 World Class Faculty from 20+ Countries
  • 588 Research and Support Staff from about 30 Countries
  • About 200 Sponsored Research Projects
  • 29 Board of Trustee members from 21 Countries

Athletics


AIT prides itself in the athletic diversity offered within the campus. Sports such as badminton, takraw, table tennis, tennis, basketball, cricket, volleyball, swimming, slow bicycle, and running enable students the chance to not only exercise but share valuable experiences with such a diverse student body.

Memberships


The institute is a member of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network
Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network
The Greater Mekong Sub-region Academic and Research Network is a network of academic and research institutions in a Greater Mekong sub-region....

,
and LAOTSE – an international network of leading universities in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...

 and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...

.

External links