AIT Campus Bulletin

WEEK 25, 16 - 22 June 2025

In this issue:

A. Announcements

B. Workshops/ Conferences

C. Visitors/ MoU/ Agreement Signing

D. Faculty & Staff Travel

E. Classified (Job)

A. Announcement

1) Appointment of Professor Siddharth K. Jabade as Vice President for Administration and Development (VPAD)

Email from AIT President on 30 May 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I am pleased to announce that the AIT Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Professor Siddharth K. Jabade as Vice President for Administration and Development (VPAD), effective 1 July 2025.

Professor Jabade holds a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Bombay and is currently the Founding Vice Chancellor of Vishwakarma University (VU), Pune. With over two decades of leadership in innovation, intellectual property, higher education policy, and institution building, he has transformed VU into a globally recognized university. Under his guidance, VU received the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2023 for Leadership and Management and achieved top rankings in the WURI global innovation index. His success in resource mobilization includes attracting support from organizations such as the WILO Foundation (Germany), Tata Autocomp, and a Singapore-based fund to Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He has led strategic partnerships with leading global universities including Penn State, SUNY Binghamton, NTU Singapore, Stanford, KAIST, and Harvard. Notably, he spearheaded the establishment of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported Energy-Smart Electronic Systems Centre with SUNY, which led to successful technology spin-offs.

Professor Jabade also has a long-standing relationship with AIT, having served as Director of Innovation and IPR at AIT Consulting (now AIT Solutions), and as Affiliated Faculty and Visiting Faculty during 2009–2018, where he taught the flagship course “Intellectual Property Rights for Technology Development.”

A detailed CV of Professor Jabade is enclosed for your reference.

The search process for the VPAD position began with a call for applications on 28 October 2024, closing on 31 December 2024. A Selection Committee was formed in January 2025 to oversee the process. After a rigorous review and interviews with shortlisted candidates, who presented their vision, implementation strategies for the AIT Blueprint, KPIs, and financing plans, the Committee recommended Professor Jabade for the role. His appointment was subsequently approved by the Board of Trustees via postal ballot.

I look forward to working closely with Professor Jabade and am confident that he will bring energy, insight, and strategic direction to this important role. I trust that you will join me in extending your full support as he assumes his new responsibilities.

I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr. Russell B. Rein for his dedication and valuable contributions to the Institute during his tenure as Vice President for Administration.

2) Invitation to the Streams of Change Webinar at 2 pm today

Email from SCPO on 17 June 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the 2nd Session Streams of Change Webinar Series this month co-hosted by UNITAR, The Global Water Academy and AIT together with the CIFAL Bangkok and the GWSC centers, in recognition of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought on June 17.

This session at 2 pm Bangkok time will explore into innovative technologies and policies to mitigate drought and manage water scarcity. We warmly invite you to join us online for this special webinar and take part in the global dialogue. Please register here: Webinar Registration - Zoom to attend.

Kindly find details of the session and the UNITAR Global Water Academy at the web link https://globalwateracademy.org/ .

We look forward to your participation and meet you soon.

3) Invitation to Public Seminar – Wildfire Smoke: Health Impacts and Adaptation in Southeast Asia and Australia | Wednesday, 18 June 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming public seminar:

“Wildfire Smoke: Health Impacts and Adaptation in Southeast Asia and Australia”

This important seminar will be led by Prof. Kim Oanh Nguyen, Director of the Center for the Nexus of Air Quality, Health, Ecosystem, and Climate (AirQ-Nexus), AIT. The session will explore the intensifying public health threats caused by wildfires and transboundary haze in our region, which are increasingly driven by climate change. The seminar will highlight emerging findings from two collaborative research projects — CANBREATHE and HEAL-HAZE — led by the University of Canberra in partnership with regional experts. These interdisciplinary initiatives use climate attribution modelling, health impact analysis, and community engagement to develop climate-resilient strategies that protect vulnerable populations, including Indigenous communities, children, and pregnant women.

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Time: 10:15AM - 12:00PM

Venue: Milton Bender Auditorium, AIT Extension Building, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand

Registration: https://forms.gle/RoyYPZySTJ9KnJzB7

Keynote Speaker

• Prof. Sotiris Vardoulakis, HEAL Global Research Centre, University of Canberra

Panel Discussions

• Early warning systems for wildfires – Prof. Kim Oanh Nguyen (AIT)

• Health effects of wildfires in Australia – Prof. Bin Jalaludin (University of New South Wales, Australia)

• Health effects of wildfires in Indonesia – Prof. Budi Haryanto (University of Indonesia, Jakarta)

• Health effects of wildfires in Thailand – Prof. Kraichat Tantrakarnapa (Mahidol University, Thailand)

• Clean air rooms in schools and nurseries – Prof. Tippawan Prapamontol (Chiangmai University, Thailand)

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4) Hybrid RNUS Seminar series 2/2025, 20 June 2025, 10.30am

We are pleased to invite you to attend HYBRID RNUS SEMINAR SERIES 2/2025 jointly organized by RNUS (SET) and The University of Tokyo (OHOW-IIS).

Details of the seminar

(1) Prof.Pennung Warnitchai (Professor, Structural Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Asian Institute of Technology)

Director of Earthquake Research Center of Thailand(EARTH)

Topic: "The Bangkok Earthquake and What we learn from it"

Date: On Friday 20th June 2025.

Time 10:30 AM -12:00 PM (Bangkok time)

Room E220 SERD Building (2nd Floor), AIT

ZOOM URL:

topic: RNUS SEMINAR

https://u-tokyo-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/88233978862?pwd=cqatZipF7WheG6ajaOOGsoIt...

ID: 882 3397 8862

passcode: 650308

Please see attached QR-Code for accessing zoom, Program and Brochure below.

Registration:

If you are interested, please register through the given link below;

https://forms.gle/banv1rYiEDq4sYf59

RNUS website

Regional Network Office for Urban Safety - RNUS (ait.ac.th)

Participation at the event is free of charge.

When you join the seminar, please access the link or scan the QR code provided below.

5) Registration Open: Thai Language Courses

Dear AIT Community,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Thai Reading and Writing Course.

Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdK7SX2So0WCgIoksUOj6iqPZMxeH_k...

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or interest in the program.

6) Introducing our New Employees

We are glad to welcome the newest members of the AIT family! Let's all wish them a successful journey with us. Welcome aboard!

7) Invitation for Scopus Workshop Series

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming Scopus Workshop Series, presented by Lucia Shoombie, Senior Customer Success Consultant at Elsevier.

This series is designed to deepen your understanding and enhance your use of Scopus, covering a wide range of topics—from core functionalities to advanced research tools. These webinars are open to all users interested in maximizing the benefits of Scopus for their academic and research activities.

Each workshop is designed to be both informative and interactive, equipping you with practical knowledge and skills that you can immediately apply to your research work.

Please find the schedule and topics for the workshop series below:

Scopus Essentials: A Refresher on Core Features and Recent Enhancements

Date: April 16, 2025