[Assam] Boost to State technical education (The Assam Tribune, 02.05.2008)

Sat May 3 09:05:43 IST 2008

First AIM and now AIT (Asian Inst of Technology).

Thats great.

Umesh

Buljit Buragohain <buluassam at yahoo.co.in> wrote: Boost to State technical education
By A Staff Reporter
 GUWAHATI, May 1 – The technical education scene in Assam is all set to see a major change with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, expressing its desire to establish a centre in the State. The AIT is also likely to collaborate with the Assam Engineering College and Jorhat Engineering College for introduction of new courses in the colleges. Official sources said that the President of the AIT, Prof Said Irandoust along with faculty member Nitin Kumar Tripathy today met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi here to discuss the feasibility of establishing a centre of the Institute in Assam. Sources said that during a visit to Bangkok last year, the Chief Minister requested the AIT to establish a centre in the state and the President of the Institute today said that the first centre of the AIT in India is likely to be in Assam.

The AIT has already established its centres in the countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, while, two more centres are coming up in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. As Assam was the first state of India to formally request the AIT to establish its Centre in India, the institute has decided to accept the request, sources said. A memorandum of understanding is likely to be signed between the State Government and the AIT soon to pave the way for opening of a centre of the Institute in Assam.

Sources said that in the meeting with the Chief Minister, the president of the AIT said that officers from different countries visit the Institute for receiving training in water resources management, food processing, disaster management, agriculture etc and if the Centre is opened in Assam, the officers from different parts of India would be able to receive training in Assam without going all the way to Bangkok. 

The Chief Minister welcomed the decision of the AIT to establish a centre in the state and assured that the Government would extend all possible help in this regard. He said that as the AIT has been extending technical support to water resource management of the Meckong river in Thailand, the institute should try to extend technical help to Assam in controlling floods in the river Brahmaputra. He also sought the technical assistance of the Institute in dry food packaging and food processing.

Representatives of the Assam Engineering College and Jorhat Engineering College also attended the meeting.

Later in a meeting with the representatives of the AIT, the State Government asked the Bangkok institute to sent in a detailed concept paper to set up a campus of the institute in the State. The Chief Minister has agreed to allot a plot of land for the purpose, the AIT representatives were told. What is vital for the State at this hour is the arresting of the exodus of its students to outside institutions for technical education, said the State Government representatives.

In the meeting, AIT was represented by its president Prof Said Irandoust and its Indian Faculty Representative Nitin Kumar Tripathi, while Education Minister Ripun Bora, Additional Chief Secretary Aloke Perti, Education Commissioner Biren Dutta, Director, Higher Education Dr HK Sahu and Director, Technical Education P K Goswami represented the State.

Prof Irandoust introduced the AIT and said that his institute has a traditional relation with Assam with several of Assam students pursuing their studies in the institute. The institute is eager to have collaborative venture with the Assam Government in spreading technical education, he said.

Later speaking to this correspondent, Irandoust said that around 20 students from Assam are now pursuing various courses in the AIT, Bangkok. There are about 78 Indian students in the institute at present, he said.

The students from the State are doing well. While many of them are pursuing management courses, some are doing infrastructure courses, he said, adding the quality of the basic education they receive at the State’s technical colleges like the Assam Engineering College, is good.

Additional Chief Secretary Alok Perti said that the AIT representatives expressed their interest in collaborative works in the State. A branch of the AIT will be a collaborative venture, they said. They were asked to give a concept paper for the Assam campus of the AIT at the earliest.

The thrust areas of the State in such ventures were the areas of Information and Communication Technology, infrastructure, disaster management, food and food processing, rural planning and development and institutional capacity building etc. The AIT has faculties for all these areas, said the Additional Chief Secretary.

  (The Assam Tribune,02.05.2008)

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Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)

www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/

http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/

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