Bangkok--9 Jul--Asian Institute of Technology
The Asian Institute of Technology crossed another historic milestone when its degrees were officially recognized by India as a result of AIT being granted Associate Membership of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), the apex coordinating body for all universities in India.
The Governing Council of AIU authorized AIT membership at its meeting on 22 May 2015. As the representative body for all universities of India, the AIU plays the important role of evaluating foreign degrees and granting recognition.
AIT's graduates will now be treated with equivalence to all graduates from Indian universities. AIT will also be invited to participate in the annual vice chancellors' conference or even to play host to the meeting at its campus in Thailand.
"This means all AIT graduates are to be treated at par with graduates from prestigious Indian universities like Indian Institutes of Technology," said AIT's Prof. Nitin Tripathi, who liaised with the AIU and made the case for AIT's acceptance.
The request for AIU to recognize AIT'S degrees came in March this year when Prof. Tripathi and AIT President Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai met with the Vice Chancellor of Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHIATS), Dr. Rajendra B. Lal, and Prof. Dr. M. Imtiyaz (WRE '76), during the convocation in which President Worsak received the award of Honorary (Honoris Causa) Doctor of Science (D.Sc.). Dr. Lal is a past president of AIU.
"As president of AIT, I will now be invited to all meetings of the Governing Council of the AIU. I hope this can lead to many new collaborations and especially more students from India, currently the biggest market for high-end international students," President Worsak said.
Membership will also provide evidence of degree equivalence to employers in other South Asian countries, which will help AIT students with more job opportunities, the president added.