Newsletter

May & June

2012

www.aitvn.asia

117th AIT Graduation, first under International Intergovernmental Organization Era

The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Thailand celebrated its 117th Graduation Ceremony on
1 June 2012 in a vivid display of internationality. It was the first commencement ceremony since AIT
renewed its status as an international intergovernmental organization.

Source: AIT Headquarter

A total of 425 students from 25 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America were conferred with postgraduate
degrees at the ceremony held at the National Science and Technology Development Agencys (NSTDA) Convention Center at Thailand Science Park, adjacent to the AIT campus, in
Pathumthani province.
The newest graduating class increased AITs postgraduate-level
alumni to more than 19,000 who live and work in 108 countries
and territories. A total of 28 Doctoral degrees and 397 Masters
degrees were awarded by the AIT President on the day.

Nepal, Bangladesh and India rounded out the top five countries. AITs mission to advance engineering, science and
technology and management for the development of professional human resources of developing countries in the AsiaPacific region was underscored by a number of graduates
from Mianmar, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Lao PDR, and Cambodia.

Three personal qualities to attain professional success by the notable alumnus Mr. Herbert Vongpusanachai:
In addition to their academic accomplishments at AIT, Mr. Vong-

Former President and CEO of Government Savings Bank

(2004-2007), Thailand, Mr. Goanpot Asvinvich delivered the
commencement address. Notable alumnus Mr. Herbert Vongpusanachai, General Manager, DHL Express Singapore, who
graduated from AITs School of Management, addressed the
new AIT graduates and welcomed them as members of the
19,000-strong alumni.
All told, Thailand made up the largest number of graduates by
nationality, with 141 earning Masters and Doctoral degrees
across almost all of AITs 32 fields of study. The host country
was followed by 107 graduates from Vietnam, with 55 graduating from the Executive MBA program at AIT Vietnam.

pusanachai suggested the graduates should consider three personal qualities necessary for attaining professional success. Honesty and integrity are necessary for achieving trustfulness, which
is a vital commodity in the world of business, he explained. Secondly, he stressed the need to find a balance between being open
and being respectful in ones work. Too much of one or the other
will limit your professional growth, he said, so one should aim to
achieve the right mix. Lastly, he stressed all AIT graduates to be
passionate in whatever they do. Whether you build a bridge or a
software program, if you are passionate about what you do you will
succeed, he said.

AIT to Launch Professional Master of Urban

Management in Vietnam in Sep 2012
Source: AIT headquarter
AITs School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), in collaboration with the University of Architecture of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMUARC), Vietnam, will launch a new AIT International Professional Masters Program in Urban Management (PM-UM program) in Vietnam in
September 2012.
The program responds to the need for more qualified urban management professionals across Vietnam. Rapid urbanization in Vietnam has increased pressure on government authorities to improve
urban planning for the welfare of city-dwellers. Cities such as Hanoi, Danang, Can Tho, and Ho Chi
Minh are growing at exceptionally rapid pace.
The introduction of the program was part of a seminar on International Education for Urban
Management Professionals in Vietnam held on 25 May 2012 at the University of Architecture, Ho
Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Professionals in Vietnam will gain expertise on integrated approaches
in urban management based on knowledge and applications, as well as from analysis of emerging
issues such as disaster, climate change, and risk management in different countries and regions,
said Assoc. Assoc. Prof. Vilas Nitivattananon, Coordinator of Urban Environmental Management
field of study, AIT, and the PM-UM Program, who presented the programs curriculum and plan at
the seminar. The students will be required to complete a UM related project at AIT in Thailand in
the last semester before graduation. The PM-UM Program is also expected to be attractive to other
countries in the region, and dovetails with the fast-approaching ASEAN Economic Community
(AEC) in 2015, he added.

For more details about the PM-UM program, please visit AIT
Vietnam website, www.aitvn.asia, or contact AIT Vietnam office at (84) 4 3766 9493 (Hanoi) or (84) 8 3910 7423 (HCMC).

AITs Council of Eight Member Countries

Vietnam joins the Council of Asian Insitute

of Technology
Source: AIT headquarter
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has become the eighth country to join the Council of the Asian
Institute of Technology (AIT). According to an official communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Royal Thai Government, the AIT Charter comes into force for Vietnam on 8 June
2012.
Vietnam became the first ASEAN country to deposit the Instrument of Accession with the Government of Thailand on 10 May 2012. With this, the strength of the AIT Council has risen to eight
countries including Kingdom of Sweden, Japan, Republic of India, Democratic Socialist Republic of
Sri Lanka, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Republic of Bangladesh, and Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The AIT Charter was signed on 25 August 2010 in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, when
12 countries and one intergovernmental organization signed the AIT Charter. The signatories included Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of India, Japan, Federal
Democratic Republic of Nepal, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Philippines, Republic of
Seychelles, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Thailand, Democratic Republic of Timor Leste, and United Nations Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM).
Subsequently, on 20 January 2011, Republic of Indonesia became the fourteenth signatory of the
Charter. Vietnam is the fifteenth signatory, and the eighth country to deposit the Instrument of Accession with the Royal Thai Government.
The AIT Charter, which confers the status of an International Organization to AIT, came into effect
from 30 January 2012.

AITs School of Engineering & Technology Day in Vietnam

Expert Seminars in Infrastructure Engineering &

Supply Chain Management
Since 1959, AIT has been promoting technological change and sustainable development through research, education, and outreach. Today, AITs engineering and technology alumni are recognized all over
the world, and advanced education in engineering and technology continue to be among the Institutes
greatest strengths.
To celebreate AITs School of Engineering and Technology Day in Vietnam, two expert seminars on
Infrastructure Engineering and Development and Key Issues in Supply Chain Management were organized in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh on 8th and 9th May, 2012, respectively. In addition, luncheon discussions
were held on several issues in engineering and technology education, such as state-of-the-art curriculumn
development, 5I features, and international cooperation. The participants were high-level representatives from different universities and educational orgnaizations in Vietnam.
Among different presentations at the event, the presentation on Latest highway technologies by Prof.
Kunnawee Kanitpong from AIT received special interest from the audience, including experts in the
field and the media. According to Prof. Kanitpong, in order to increase the sustainability in highway
construction, three main factors need to be taken into consideration in the selection of highway technologies including the level of carbon emission, energy consumption, and resource reservation. Currently, a
number of different technologies are being used in road construction, such as concrete payment, Warm
Mix Asphalt (WMA), Porous Asphalt and Cool payment. Each method has its own pros and cos and their
level of sustainability depends on the methods or technologies used to maximize it.

For more information about international master programs offered

by AITs School of Engineering & Technology, please contact:
HCMC Office: Nguyen Le Tuong, Ms. - Local Coordinator
Tel.: (84) 8 3910 7423 (Ext. 117) - Email: ngltuong@aitcv.ac.vn
Hanoi Office: Duong Thi Ngan, Ms. - Program Officer
Tel.: (84) 4 3766 9493 (Ext. 133), Email: ngan@aitcv.ac.vn

AIT Vietnams International Partners

THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE

GENEVA

International Partnerships at AIT Vietnam

As internationality is one of the four core values at our institute, AIT Vietnam has actively developed a
strong presence in international cooperations with our partners worlwide. We strongly believe in the mutual
benefits of utilzing the complimentary strengths and synergies between AIT Vietnam and our international
partners to advance our common purposes in Vietnam. The three weeks trip to Europe in June, 2012 by the
Director of AIT Vietnam was a part of this long-term effort.
The trip involved several meetings with high level decision makers at different leading univerisites and organizations in Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, and Sweden. The purpose was to explore the potential for
further cooperation between AIT Vietnam and the partners to open new bachelor and master programs
of international quality and standard in Vietnam, in areas that are believed to have strong need in Vietnam
and in line with our experience and capability. The potential new areas explored include, creative arts and
design, green design and sustainabile production, textile and fahsion design management, and finance and
banking.

Training Program on Contract Administration and

Contract Management for Sri Lanka Professionals
AIT Vietnam organized a training study visit on
Contract Administration and Contract Management in Hanoi from 23rd June and 01st July 2012
for a delegation of 12 participants from Provincial
Department of Building, Government of Sri Lanka.
The programs objective was to provide training in
construction project contract management, starting
from pre-qualification, to tendering and construction phase.
The course contents was designed to include dif-

ferent activities, including in-house sessions,

group exercises and field visits. Participants had
the opportunity to visit many hospitalities and
highway construction projects in Hanoi and
provinces near Hanoi. This was a good occasion
for participants to share and exchange experiences, broadening their knowledge and perspective with Vietnamese experts in the field of
contract administration and contract management in road construction and health building
sector.

AIT Vietnam Organized International

Tour in Animal Feed Making Facilities
AIT Vietnam, in cooperation with the USAID-funded Cambodia MSME Project, organized
an International Technology and Governance Mission to Vietnam to Learn About the Improved Animal Feed Making Facilities for a Cambodian delegation on 27 May - 2 June 2012
in Ho Chi Minh city and several southern provinces of Vietnam.The delegation included 19
members involved in producing animal feed, husbandry farming, and trading in both private
and public sector throughout Cambodia.
The objective of this training was achieved by (i) observing forms of animal feed at Vietnamese feed making enterprises; (ii) visiting machinery manufacturing factories for animal feed;
(iii) visiting retail and wholesale shops selling processing machinery at small and medium
scales; (iv) observing how manufactured feed is packaged, labelled and marketed; and (v)
having diaolgues about the governments support for the animal feed business to help them
become more competitive.
Participants found the trip immediately applicable to their businesses, not only the knowledge
but also the business opportunities and links with Vietnamese enterprises in the animal feed
industry.

For more information about other training-cum-study tours organized by Environment & Development
Section (EDS) at AIT Vietnam, please contact:
Tran Hong Nhien, Ms. - EDS Program Officer
Tel.: (84) 4 3910 7423, Email: nhien@aitcv.ac.vn

Expert
Seminar

Six Sigma in Construction

Project Management

ix Sigma is a business managment strategy, originally developed by Motorola in 1986

and have been wholeheartly embraced and successfully adopted by globally wellknown corporations like IBM, Kodak, GE, Dupont, Samsung, LG, Sony, Toshiba,
Amerian Express, Johnson & Johnson, Ericson, Nokia, and Philips. Benefits of Sig Sigma are
reported to be numerous, including significant reduction in product defect rates, increased
time effectiveness, improved quality and productivity, and savings in capital expenditure.

ix Sigma is the management

philosophy, strategy and

tool which achieves innovative

process quality and development
of world number one products,
and which cultivates global
professesional manpower, and
a way of thinking and working
from the viewpoint of customer
satisfaction.
SamSungs CEO

Given the recorded success of six sigma application in business, AIT Vietnam organized
an expert simnar on the strategys applicability in construction industry on 23rd June in
Hanoi. The seminar was led by Mr. Wiboon Tachapaisankul, a quality speacialist and director of Massbix, a leading consulting firm in quality management in Thailand. Attending the
seminar were experts from different major companies in construction industry in Vietnam.
Three main contents were addressed at the seminar, including an overview of Six Sigma
framework, Basic Quality Control & Six Sigmal tools and examples of Six Sigma Application
in construction industry.
Bechtel Corporation, one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the
world that was cited as a typical example of a company successfully applying Six Sigma in
construction industry. Bechtel saved $200 million with an investment of $30 million in less
than 3 years in its six sigma program by identifying and preventing rework and defects in
different stages from design to construction. According to Mr. Tachpaisankul, four key factors affect the successful implementation of Six Sigma includ, i) management involvement
& organizational commitment, ii) project selection, management, and control skills, iii) Encourgement & acceptance of cultural change, and iv) continuous education & training.

For more information about expert seminars at AIT Vietnam or AITs Professional Master in Construction Project Management (MPM), please contact:
Hanoi: Duong Thi Ngan, Ms. - Program Officer

HCMC: Nguyen Le Tuong, Ms. - MPM Local Coordinator

Tel.: (84) 4 3766 9492 (Ext.133) - Email: ngan@aitcv.ac.vn

Tel.: (84) 8 3910 7423 (Ext. 117) - Email: ngletuong@aitcv.ac.vn

Swing for
Friendship
AIT Vietnam Alumni Golf Tournament & Gala Dinner

AIT Vietnam Alumni Association, subchapters in Ho Chi
Minh and Vung Tau - organized a get-together event in Vung
Tau on 23rd June with two main activities: golf tournament,
Swing for Friendship, and Gala Dinner. The event was a good
apportunity for AIT alumni to stay in close contact with one
another and continue to build a strong alumni netowrk in the
country.

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