Bangkok--4 Oct--AIT
Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and looks forward towards sending students to AIT from the January 2012 session. The MoU, which was signed on 27 September 2011 by the Vice Chancellor of UiTM, Dato’ Prof Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar, and the AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust, seeks to foster cooperation between the two.
Prof. Bakar stated that AIT can contribute towards enhancing the educational skills of UiTM’s faculty. “About 40 per cent of UiTM’s 10,000-strong faculty possess a doctorate degree, and we are seeking to upgrade the skills of our faculty,” Prof. Bakar said. He remarked that UiTM proposes to send five Master’s and five Doctoral students to AIT in the January 2012 session. UiTM is one of the largest public funded universities in Malaysia with 200,000 full-time students. He added that four Deans from UiTM would visit AIT shortly to formalize other agreements.
Prof. Bakar, who is a graduate from the Colorado State University (CSU), recalled his association with AIT in the nineteen eighties, when he spent a considerable amount of time at the AIT campus to pursue his research in the field of water engineering.
Prof. Said Irandoust, while welcoming Prof. Bakar apprised him of the latest activities at AIT, and invited him to join activities in the recently launched AIT’s Asian Water Research and Education (AWARE) Center. The AIT President stated that AIT is keen that Malaysia should join the new AIT Charter, and sought Prof. Bakar’s help in this regard.
Prof. Bakar was accompanied by Prof. Sohaimi Zakaria, Special Officer to the Vice Chancellor. Others who met the visiting delegation included Dr. Mukand Singh Babel, Director, AWARE; Dr. B Harimurti W Hadikusumo, Coordinator, Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management (CEIM) field of study; Dr. Pritam Krishna Shrestha, Head, External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO);. Ms. Tiamkare Thitithamtada, Program Officer, ERCO; and Mr. Vickrant Gurung, Program Associate, School of Management (SOM).
Photo caption: Dato’ Prof Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar (left) and Prof. Said Irandoust