By Office of Public Affairs
14 September 2022 – Dr. Thorsten Clausing, Counselor, Science and Technology Cooperation from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Thailand, met with Professor Kazuo Yamamoto, AIT President, to foster cooperation with AIT.
Dr. Clausing and AIT representatives discussed the existing AIT-German collaborations and potential associations of the institution with German partners.
Expressing delight at the visit from the Counselor, Prof. Yamamoto stressed the history of solid collaboration between AIT and Germany. He said, “One of our partnerships – the DAAD Scholarship, has provided great opportunities to students. Likewise, future collaboration is possible in other areas, including research and seminar.”
The Science and Technology Counselor at the German Embassy fosters cooperation between universities and research institutions in Germany and Thailand. Dr. Thorsten pointed out that AIT and Germany have had a strong bonding, and this meeting is an excellent opportunity to intensify the cooperation. Furthermore, he said, “We understand AIT works in several areas, including environment and sustainability, which are also our areas of interest.”
AIT, in collaboration with CNRD (TH Köln), SWINDON (TU Braunschweig), FSC (Uni. Hohenheim), SDG Network (Univ. Gießen), and ABCD Centre (TU Dresden), is organizing the Water Security and Climate Change Conference (WSCC) in December 2022. Dr. Thorsten added, “The upcoming conference is also of interest to us as the co-organizers are German universities. Such collaborations also show the association of AIT with Germany”.
Dr. Clausing emphasized that the environment and sustainability are priorities for Germany regarding international cooperation. Stating that Germany has various exchanges with AIT, Dr. Thorsten expressed confidence that the workshop will demonstrate and strengthen the collaboration. He added, “The seminar’s theme, water security, and climate change, are of immense interest to us, and we are keen to know about AIT’s research in these fields.” He further expressed interest in possible future collaboration, especially on climate change.
From the embassy of Germany, Dr. Thorsten Clausing, Counselor, Science and Technology Cooperation and Ms. Pagaval Ratpanpairoj, Advisor to the Economic Division attended the meeting. Representatives from AIT included AIT President Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto; Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Shobhakar Dhakal; Director, Office of International Affairs, Shawn Kelly; Prof. Mukand S. Babel, WEM / SET, Office of Public Affairs Deputy Director, Mr. Sanjeet Amatya; Coordinator, Sponsored and Contracted Projects Unit, Dr. Gopi Krishna and Project Manager, Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA), Mr. Hendra Gupta.
Vice President for Academic Affairs. Prof. Shobhakar Dhakal gave an overview of academics, thematic research areas, centers, and AIT’s contribution to SDGs and sustainability. He further discussed the new DAAD-funded project, “Promoting Himalayan Development by Strengthening Teaching and Research on Sustainable Development Goals.”
Director, Office of International Affairs, Mr. Shawn Kelly, talked about the AIT – German cooperation. Similarly, Prof. Mukand S. Babel, WEM / SET, briefed on the current Global Water Adaptation Centre (ABCD) & Water Security and Climate Change Conference. Finally, Mr. Hendra Gupta, Project Manager, Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA), discussed the current Regenerative Sanitation Hub Project (EEM & BORDA).
WSCC’s series of conferences have been held annually since 2016. These conferences aim to increase the exchange of knowledge and practical know-how on the intrinsic relationship between water security and climate change and advance fundamental and action research in this domain. This year, the WSCC will be held from 01–03 December 2022 in Bangkok in a hybrid mode.
