By Ms. Danielle Duan
21 December 2023: As the year 2023 drew to a close, the Asian Institute of Technology played host from December 15-21 to a first-of-its-kind camp that brought together 22 Chinese master’s level graduate students from the Georgia Tech Shenzhen Institute (GTSI) and AIT students of seven Asian and African countries for one week of experiential learning, professional exposure and international solidarity.
Organized by the Office of International and Public Affairs, under the theme of “Innovation for Environmental and Sustainable Development Challenges: Applying Science to Practice and Policy”, the International Camp for Young Leaders 2023 immersed 30 bright students in specialized research, practical technologies and policy perspectives. The Camp was designed for the partner institute: GTSI, who hosted AIT students at the 2023 China Program in Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area in the summer.
Located in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China, GTSI is an American institution of the Georgia Institute of Technology. It follows the same academic curriculum, standards and requirements as the home campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, United States.
AIT President Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto welcomed the Chinese contingent and opened the camp with inspirational words of advice to the gathering of young scholars. “I am happy to see young students and researchers from an esteemed university like yours to gain an experience of practical learnings in Thailand and at AIT, and I believe that you will be inspired by the research and ideas existing beyond your labs and classrooms”, Pres. Yamamoto said, kicking off the Camp. “Your understanding and experience of real-world problems will be the very key to unlock progress on achieving Sustainable Development Goals,” the president emphasized.
President Yamamoto opens the camp and stresses the importance of digitization in relation to achieving the SDGs by 2030.
The program included academic lectures, field immersions, policy sessions, and a team project competition. Emphasis was placed throughout on how technology plays an important role in promoting the sustainability of human society.
In the academic activities on campus, the students took special lectures given by AIT professors, attended group study sessions and worked on their presentation, and visited the newly-minted smart greenhouse facility of the Food, Agriculture and Bioresources Department. The AIT Global Water & Sanitation Center (GWSC) conducted a specialized workshop for the group to learn about the center’s cooperation projects.
Dr. Kavinda Gunasekara (above, left), Chief Operating Officer, GWSC, leads a seminar delivered by the center’s experts. Camp goers tour the newly established Smart Greenhouse facility located on campus.
A visit to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and in-depth exchanges with experts from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Asia Pacific Office offered a front row view of ongoing sustainable development initiatives carried out by UN agencies in Thailand.
Wang Yifan, a GTSI student majoring in Environmental Engineering, said, “I have heard about the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals many times in previous courses, but they have always stayed at the theoretical level. During this visit, I really felt the SDGs should be understood as a platform of ‘recommendations’ for development, rather than as a framework for mandatory implementation. This requires countries and more social forces to work voluntarily to respond to the initiative.”
The study tour gathered students from a broad range of majors, and their core concern focused on one point: What role should students play in the SDGs? “Through my visit to the UNDP, I learned about the importance of technology in promoting the SDGs and how local governments use science and technology to promote sustainable development in education, health care, energy and economic growth. Artificial intelligence applications, such as smart healthcare, smart factories, and massive open online courses, could be areas where we can explore and implement practical actions.” said Xiong Hongkun, who majors in Electronic and Computer Engineering at GTSI.
UNDP Seminar at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
A half-day seminar at the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) in Bangkok was held for the students to learn about the current status of water governance in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Welcomed by Niall O’Connor, Asia Centre Director, an SEI team of experts outlined SEI’s work in Asia and China, its SDG tools, land use change and climate scenarios, water management and the Lancang-Mekong, plastic waste management in the urban context, and climate and migration in the Asia-Pacific region.
Director Niall O’Connor explains SEI Asia’s work on gender and social equity, climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, water insecurity and integrated water resource management, transitional agriculture, renewable energy and urbanisation.
Another highlight for the participants was a special sharing session hosted by the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific at its recently opened headquarters. Director Ms. Atsuko Okuda welcomed the group and hosted an interactive session. Her overview consisted of an introduction of the ITU, its thematic priorities, the Greening Digital Transformation initiative and resourceful tools and databases that would help the students for their study and research. Ms. Okuda warmly encouraged the students to participate in initiatives and campaigns aiming to address the SDGs. The participants toured the new office and were given opportunities to communicate with the staff and international interns on their jobs.
A GTSI student at the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok.
Complementing in-class knowledge and academic research, students visited the headquarters of Bangchak Corporation, Thailand’s leading integrated energy company, where senior officials presented an interactive session titled “Crafting a Sustainable World with Evolving Greenovation”. The presentation outlined the company’s environmental governance practices for chemical management, sewage control, air pollution control, and risk control, as well as sustainable innovation and product development. The enterprise is pushing forward the Refinery and Oil Trade Business Strategy Pathway to Net Zero. Continued commitment to the well-being of local communities is made through an organization-wide strategy, communication and implementation of corporate social responsibility.
An AIT student takes in the seminar at the Bangkok headquarters of Bangchak Corporation Public Company Limited.
The GTSI delegation was led by Dr. Zhang Wenlong, Faculty Head of Environmental Engineering. Commenting on the importance of overseas exchange activities, Dr. Zhang said: “Teaching in the classroom often introduces technical theories and practical cases from developed countries. Through this camp, students from our institute learned from and collaborated with students from AIT, and explored together the implementation of the sustainable development goals.”
He also gave credit to AIT’s organization of the Winter Camp, which inspired and reassured his efforts to make the GTSI curriculum more practical and relevant in the sense of social impact. “Such experiential learning can enable our students to pay more attention to the actual needs of developing countries, and their adaptation of sustainable development in the context of multiculturalism, sexuality, human rights, climate change, and economy. In the future, these contents will be more integrated into our subject of teaching.”
The finale of the camp was a capstone project competition of presentations on “Sustainability and AI” that asked mixed student teams from the two institutions to put forward creative ideas on how artificial intelligence can contribute to solutions to climate change, poverty, clean energy, water sanitation, gender equality, and human well-being.
AIT faculty members Dr. Natthachet Tangdamrongsub (back row, left), Dr. Ekbordin Winijkul (back row, 3rd from left), Dr. Chaklam Silpasuwanchai (front row, left) and AIT students and volunteers together with GTSI team leaders Dr. Zhang Wenlong (back row, 2nd from left) and Mr. Wang Zhiya (back row, right).
Dr. Chaklam Silpasuwanchai, an assistant professor at the Computer Science and Information Management Program and chair of the AIT Sustainability Positioning Taskforce (AIT-SUPOT), commented on his experience as the designer and mentor of the competition: “I was delighted to be part of this big initiative where young talents from AIT and Georgia Tech come together to solve real-world problems. Such initiatives, not leading to any real concrete result, are essential to bring awareness and context for the young generation to think more seriously about our world. In addition, it’s beautiful to see a mix of students from different nations and backgrounds to share their own perspectives.”
To cap off a week of traversing Bangkok’s civil society, industry and cultural sectors while based at AIT, each team presented a concluding report and a video that demonstrated their ideas, cross-cultural communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities to a joint panel of instructors from AIT and GTSI.
Capstone competition champions recognized for their winning group presentation in the presence of special guest Prof. John Tang (pictured far right), a former AIT faculty member of business who delivered a concluding lecture to the students.
Overall, the inaugural GTSI – AIT International Camp for Young Leaders 2023 was designed to provide young scholars with an opportunity to learn about the latest research and technologies in environmental science and sustainable development. It was also intended to encourage students to think creatively and come up with innovative solutions for international challenges.
“By bringing together future leaders from China, South Asia, South East Asia and Africa, the camp fostered a unique spirit of multicultural collaboration, and inspired all participants to make a positive impact in their studies and careers,” Mr. Shawn Kelly, Executive Director of the Office of International and Public Affairs concluded.
Ms. Danielle Duan is the Camp Coordinator, Office of International and Public Affairs
