Bangkok--17 Dec--Pr Plus Two Western Digital (Thailand) Co, Ltd. (WD), the world’s leading hard drive manufacturer, has joined forces with the HDD Cluster Center of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) to launch the world’s first customized Master’s degree academic offering in Hard Disk Drive Engineering Projects. The venture is in accordance with Thailand’s first hard disk drive manpower development project and the WD HDD Technical Training Institute (HTTI), launched 2 years ago. The trilateral collaborative project aims at enabling, developing and elevating Thailand’s hard disk industry to compete with other countries in the region. Through this innovative public and private sector partnership with post graduate education in Thailand, the project intends to produce, within the next 5 years, 56 Master’s degree graduates who posses the most advanced skills in hard disk drive technology. Dr. Pansak Siriruchatapong, Director of the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), said that NECTEC recognizes that the hard disk drive industry in Thailand is growing significantly. It is, therefore, strategically important to implement and prepare for the development of manpower to increase the country’s capability to compete with other countries in the region. “We support the government’s policy that aims at promoting the hard disk drive industry. The government increases its support to implement the supply chain in domestic markets by using a progressive strategy. So we have teamed up with Western Digital (Thailand) Co, Ltd, the world’s leading manufacturer in hard disk technology, and with the Asian Institute of Technology, a leading post graduate institute in this field that is ready and willing to cooperate in the development of quality engineers at the Master’s degree level. AIT will apply its considerable knowledge in helping to develop engineering expertise in Thailand, as well as in the manufacturing process of high quality products,” the NECTEC Director added. Furthermore, NECTEC will support training programs, particularly in activities that encourage engineering professionalism, as well as researchers from the industrial sector, to take part in this cooperative venture so that they will broaden their knowledge in hard disk drive technology. NECTEC believes that such initiatives will bring about practical cooperation and an exchange of knowledge between the educational and industrial sectors. Project Coordinator Dr Nitin Afzulpurkar, who is Associate Dean of School of Engineering and Technology at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), added that the new AIT Master’s degree curriculum at AIT has been developed in collaboration with experts from WD, and addresses specific research and development needs of the company for a new generation of HDD products. All the Master’s degree students under this project will study a course syllabus delivered by AIT faculty as well as industry experts. Students will receive structured and customized knowledge required by the disk drive industry. Under the joint supervision of experts from all three organizations, the graduate students from WD will also carry out a one year research thesis on a topic of key importance to the company, he added. Dr Afzulpurkar emphasized the importance of long term relationship building ? which was fuelled by the top management of the three organizations who expressed a common goal of creating a pool of world-class human resources in Thailand ? as the key factor in launching this project. This type of collaboration is common in the West’s fast-moving hi-tech industry, Dr Afzulpurkar added.With full support from the government agencies like NECTEC, it is expected that this partnership model will benefit industry and academic institutions in Thailand alike by creating new inventions and spin-off products, as well as new possibilities for private sector —academia collaborative engagement. Mr. Rajisr Bunya Ananta, Vice President HDD Operation —Asia, Western Digital (Thailand) Co Ltd, added that with this project the company will be cooperating with NECTEC, a significant government body, and with the Asian Institute of Technology for timeframe of 5 years. It aims to accentuate and strengthen the engineering capabilities of its Thai engineers in their 3 main skills areas: 1. Process Automation & Improvement; 2. Process Technology, which includes product analysis, product prevention plan, control contamination, and product design by using Nano-technology; and 3. Software Development and Simulation Techniques which includes the development of robotic control program for production, writing computer control program for products, and the analytical technique for production of structures with 5-9 elements. The project is aimed to educate about production processes and products, especially hard disk technology improvement production with improved cooperation between education, research, and engineering sectors of the industry. Moreover, WD will be responsible for all expenses that will be involved in the research and development throughout the 5-year project. This includes the usage of laboratories for chemical operational analysis, structural analysis, robotics, automated production systems, software engineering, study of models, and research into various production systems including the usage of raw materials for product testing. The recruitment process of personnel to participate in this project will be based on joint consideration between NECTEC, WD and AIT. The conditions will be set to suit the best interests for Thai nationals who have graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering or Science, and who possess a grade point average of 2.75. Successful applicants must also pass an AIT standardized English entrance exam, be currently working at a high level as an engineer or scientist, and possess at least 2 years’ history of responsibility, reliability and positive displays of leadership. “This venture brings committed cooperation between government bodies, educational institutions and the private sector. These participants are experts in the industry which is a good sign for the project. Thailand’s hard disk industry is growing at a very fast pace but at the same time we are facing a shortage of engineers who have acquired degrees at a Master’s or Doctoral level. We are hopeful that this project will help in providing more solutions to the problem and create more quality engineers who are qualified to develop and improve product quality for our growing industry,” Mr. Rajisr added. Western Digital, WD and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks herein are property of their respective owner. Media Contact: Thailand — Pr Plus Two Pimratchada Suppasittichote Tel: +662-158-9107-8 www.prplus2.com