AIT & Space: Social Impact with Innovation for Thailand and Asia-Pacific
Thailand and France kicked off the start of the “Franco-Thai Year of Innovation 2023” in spectacular fashion at a space-themed launching event at Benchakitti Park in Bangkok that included AIT. The partners who joined with the “innovation” label included large French and Thai companies, universities, and other French and Thai institutions.
Thailand and France have many things in common. Both countries benefit from a rich history and culture, breathtaking landscapes, and world-renowned gastronomy. From space to health, from culture to the environment, the two countries are now committed to pushing forward innovation.
On the invitation of the French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou, AIT joined the public event which attracted more than 2000 visitors to a festival-like program of exhibition booths, open concert, a jaw-dropping drone show, space films with virtual reality headsets, and meetings with French astronauts, celebrities, and other VIP guests.
AIT’s exhibit titled AIT & Space: Social Impact with Innovation for Thailand and Asia-Pacific showcased examples of its work in space to support Sustainable Development in Thailand and the broader Asia-Pacific Region.
The booth paid tribute to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Her Royal Highness’s connection to the Institute in the field of Remote Sensing as a student in 1984, and her later presiding over the inauguration of the AIT Geoinformatics Center in 1999.
AIT Vice President for Knowledge Transfer Dr. Naveed Anwar represented the institute at the event that allowed AIT to highlight research activities in the space domain, its academic programs, and its research centers’ capabilities.
Special dignitaries included Olivier Becht, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and the French Abroad; French astronaut General Jean-Pierre Haigneré, and artist Olivier d’Agay, grand-nephew of Antoine de Saint-Exupery & Secretary General of the Foundation.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sarawut Ninsawat of the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems program and GIC Director Dr. Manzul Kumar Hazarika manned the booth that showcased several research projects related to the theme of the event from the RS-GIS program at the AIT School of Engineering and Technology and the AIT Geoinformatics Center.
A special highlight was a spectacular drone show on the theme of Franco-Thai friendship and space that illuminated the night sky above the Bangkok skyline, drawing gasps of awe from the many thousands of onlookers below. An exhibition dedicated to The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was also inaugurated on the occasion and will be open to the public at Benchakitti Park for 3 months.
Famed French female astronaut Dr. Claudie Haigneré mixed with AIT officials at its booth. Dr. Haigneré became the first French woman to go to space on 17 August 1996 when she joined Russian cosmonauts, commander Valery Korzun and flight engineer Aleksandr Kaleri aboard the Soyuz TM-24 on the Russian-French Cassiopée mission. Later in 2001, she became the first European woman to visit the International Space Station as the flight engineer on Soyuz TM-33.
