40 Myanmar students arrive at AIT under Norwegian scholarship

Friday 20 July 2012 11:42
Forty new postgraduate students from Myanmar under a landmark scholarship program of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) kicked-off their academic careers at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) by attending a special orientation program on 16 July 2012. The enthusiastic students were welcomed by senior AIT officials, who saw the unveiling of the program as an historic occasion which would help AIT strengthen its ties with Myanmar, particularly in the field of education, research and outreach.

The students immediately launched into a bridging program by AIT’s Language Center, aimed at strengthening their language, communication and research skills. The one-month bridging program has been created by AIT for these students. Two more students are scheduled to join the 40 who participated in the orientation program today.

Out of the total of 42 students, 19 are enrolled at the School of Engineering and Technology (SET), 12 at School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), and 11 at the School of Management (SOM).

The NMFA scholarship at AIT is one of the largest scholarship programs benefitting students from Myanmar at any institute in the world. Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Royal Norwegian Government, the program will run for three years. The Government of Norway will provide 30 million NOK (around 160 million THB) for these scholarships.

Dr. Nitin V Afzulpurkar, Dean, SET; Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, Dean, SERD; and Dr. Sununta Siengthai, who represented the Dean of SOM, were among those who addressed the incoming students. The students were welcomed by Mr. Kyaw Soe Hlaing, Coordinator, External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO). Mr. Tylor Burrows, Language Specialist, Language Center introduced the students to the bridging program. Mr. Benjamin A. Gargabite, Coordinator, Admissions and Scholarships guided the students through the enrolment process. Also attending the event was Mr. Ahmed Amjad Ali, Head, External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO), and Ms. Tiamkare Thitithamtada, Senior Program officer, ERCO.

The scholarships were earlier unveiled by H.E. Ms. Katja Christina Nordgaard, Ambassador of Norway to Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. At the inaugural ceremony held earlier this year in Yangon, Myanmar, H.E. Nordgaard had remarked: “I trust that AIT will be the best place to offer the kind of knowledge and expertise that will be relevant to the development needs of the country, and I expect the recipients of this scholarship to take the opportunity to apply the education and research at AIT to the needs of the country.”

The scholarship covers all tuition and registration fees, research grant, bursary, and accommodation, a return air-ticket, besides costs for a bridging and pre-bridging program. The students have already completed a pre-bridging program in Myanmar, which was offered by AIT's partner, Myanmar Egress.

Details of the scholarship program are available at the website of the Embassy of Norway at this link.