Plans for China-based AIT Centre
Apr 22, 2011
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) inaugurated a new office in Shanghai, the first of its kind in China late last month.
AIT president Prof Said Irandoust said the AIT China office in Shanghai could be the first step in the opening of an AIT Centre in China. Irandoust said that 700 Chinese students have graduated from AIT since 1984.
"It is our belief that successful operations in China require local presence and competence, and the AIT China office will channel AIT's strengths to serve China's national goals of human capital development and sustainable green economic growth," he added.
Jonathan Shaw, director of AIT Extension, said the 20-year-long partnership between AIT and the Chinese Ministry of Education has been central to the cooperation between AIT and China in general. The AIT China Office was established by AIT in collaboration with YueHan (Shanghai) Trading. The AIT China office will increase the visibility of AIT in China and will help in student recruitment, joint ventures and offering short courses.
In another agreement signed to coincide with the opening of the AIT China office, the China scholarship council announced it would offer 40 scholarships to Chinese students to pursue master's and doctoral studies at AIT. The scholarship will include the tuition fee, registration fee and research fee, a living stipend, visa fee and return airfare. The CSC scholarship programme will run for four years.
By The Nation
on March 7, 2011