Bangkok--30 Jul--AIT
Hong Kong based CSR Asia Ltd. and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) have agreed to extend their existing partnership for the next ten years. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 25 July 2012 by CSR Asia Chairman Prof. Richard Welford and AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust facilitates the continued joint delivery of graduate degree programs, research and consultancy services and continuing professional education in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Signing the MoU at the AIT Main campus, President Irandoust said he looked forward to the next phase of partnership which began with the launch of the joint venture CSR Asia Center at AIT in March 2010. The President said the programs carried out with CSR Asia are in line with AIT’s strategy to broaden the skills of professionals in the region.
“I’m excited to see how this enhanced partnership will go beyond what we have achieved and work to articulate new knowledge and understanding in this field,” he said.
A highlight of the renewed agreement is continued delivery of the Professional Masters Program in CSR (PMCSR) at the CSR Asia Center at AIT. CSR Chairman Prof. Welford is the academic coordinator of PMCSR and adjunct faculty with AIT’s School of Management. The program was launched in 2011 in collaboration with SOM.
The agreement will enable the CSR Asia Center at AIT to continue to operate, and to offer executive education, training and capacity development for national and local governments, private sector, NGOs and international organizations. The Center can also continue to provide research and other consultancy services principally aimed at companies and organizations in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
Thanking the AIT president for his support of the collaboration that emphasizes new ways to deliver advanced professional and graduate level education in CSR, Prof. Welford said he was amazed by what the partners have achieved in two years. He called the joint venture a “great success” and added that AIT and CSR Asia have become “the place for CSR education in Asia.”
The eight-stage modular PMCSR draws students from across the region to Bangkok. “It is where we want to be,” Prof. Welford said. “We are innovative and at the cutting edge in CSR thinking, training and education.”
Photo caption: CSR Asia's Prof. Richard Welford (left) and AIT President Prof. Said Irandoust