The Asian Institute of Technology, formerly known as the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering, was founded in 1959. It is an international organization for higher education situated 40 km north of Bangkok, Thailand. It specializes in engineering, advanced technologies, sustainable development, and management and planning. It aims to promote technological change and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, through higher education, research, and outreach.
History Founded in 1959 as SEATO Graduate School of Engineering, it receives funding from organizations and governments around the world.
In 1967, The Constituent Assembly of Thailand approved legislation for the Charter of the newly named Asian Institute of Technology in October. The Asian Institute of Technology Enabling Act was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette in November the same year. AIT became independent of SEATO as an institution of higher learning empowered to grant degrees.A Unique Contribution to Engineering Education in Asia: The Asian Institute of Technology.
On 21 October 2011, AIT's campus was inundated by two-meter-high floodwaters. Since then, it has resumed operations.AIT returns home
AIT celebrated its 60th anniversary on 23–25 October 2019. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the first royal alumna, presided over the celebrations on 24 October 2019.HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn attends the AIT’s 60th Anniversary fair
In November 2019, AIT inaugurated the Belt & Road Research Centre.
Governance AIT has been governed by a board of governors since its beginning. Traditionally a high-ranking Thai citizen has been the chairman of its board of trustees. At present the chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees is Anat Arbhabirama.
Ambassadors of 14 countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam – are members of the AIT Board of Trustees.AIT Board of Trustees AIT Board of Trustees The ambassador of Japan and the ambassador to the delegation of the European Union to Thailand have observer status on the AIT Board.
Ranking In the 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings (THE Impact Rankings),Impact Rankings 2021. Times Higher Education. Retrieved on May 4, 2021. AIT ranked globally: 15th for SDG#1 No Poverty 58th for SDG#17 Partnerships for the Goals 64th for SDG#14 Life Below Water 67th for SDG#2 Zero Hunger 80th for SDG#15 Life on Land 100 - 200th for SDG#6 Clean Water and Sanitation 100 - 200th for SDG#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities 100 - 200th for Overall Impact
In the 2020 THE Impact Rankings,Impact Rankings 2020. Times Higher Education. Retrieved on May 4, 2021 AIT ranked globally: 19th for SDG#1 No Poverty 86th for SDG#2 Zero Hunger 100 - 200th for SDG#6 Clean Water and Sanitation 100 - 200th for SDG#14 Life Below Water 100 - 200th for SDG#15 Life on Land 300 - 400th for Overall Impact
In 2020 QS Global MBA Rankings, AIT Master of Business Administration (MBA) program ranked 14th in Asia and 1st in Thailand. It also ranked 7th in Asia for Diversity and 18th in the world for Return on Investment.
In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020, AIT ranked 2nd in Thailand in Engineering and Technology,School News Thailand (Dec 24, 2020). “AIT MBA Program Ranks #1 in Thailand and #14 in Asia” ScandAsia. 151-200th in the world in Environmental StudiesRankings by Subject 2020: Engineering & Technology. World University Rankings. and in Architecture & Built Environment,Rankings by Subject 2020: Architecture & Built Environment. World University Rankings. and 201-250th in the world in Civil and Structural EngineeringRankings by Subject 2020: Civil and Structural Engineering. World University Rankings. and in Agricultural and Forestry.Rankings by Subject 2020: Agriculture & Forestry. World University Rankings.
Location AIT operates as a self-contained international community at its campus in Pathumthani Province, some north of Bangkok, Thailand. Besides laboratories and academic buildings, the main campus includes housing, sports, and medical facilities, a conference center, and a library with over 230,000 volumes and 830 print and online periodicals.
AIT was hosted by the Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, before it moved to its present campus in November 1973. Currently, it is located in the Rangsit area next to Thammasat University (Rangsit Campus), about 65 kilometers from the Suvarnabhumi Airport.
AIT has a remote campus called AIT Center in Vietnam. It was established in 1993 under the memorandum of understanding between the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and the AIT.AITCV, Vietnam At that time AITCV was the first international institution in Vietnam and the first AIT campus outside Thailand.
Student body AIT's student body comes from more than 50 countries, with Thailand contributing to about one-third. It has always been international, with international donors offering scholarships to AIT students for capacity building.
Scholarships Full Scholarships Royal Thai Government Scholarships (RTG) Loom Nam Khong Pijai Scholarships (GMSARN) Asian Development Bank - Japan Scholarship Program (ADB-JSP) Japanese Government Scholarships for Doctoral Degree in Remote Sensing & Geographic Information Systems and Mechatronics China Scholarship Council Government Scholarships (CSC) German Academic Exchange Service Scholarship (DAAD) INDEX International Group Public Co., Ltd. Scholarships BRIDGEX Scholarship for Structural Engineering WE Consultant Scholarships Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) and others.
Transition to intergovernmental organization status
Approval of new charter In August 2010, a new "Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)" was adopted and signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Signatories to the new charter included Seychelles, Cambodia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Sweden, Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, and UNIFEM. The new charter came into force on 30 January 2012 as Sweden, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal deposited their instruments of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Difficulties and return to old charter In 2012, Thailand declined to ratify the new charter, with the effect that the operations of AIT under the new intergovernmental charter resulted in the issuance of potentially invalid degrees. In December 2012, AIT opted to return to its previous national charter and ceased operating as an intergovernmental university. The degrees issued by AIT under the new charter were reissued under the old charter to avoid the risk of being unrecognized under Thai law. However, it seems that the "Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)" remains legally in force without Thailand's participation and is in dormant status.
Listed among International Organizations by Thai Government AIT is listed among international organizations by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government.I|Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Government
Host to international organizations The campus of Asian Institute of Technology is host to several international and non-governmental organizations including the Regional Resource Center in Asia and the Pacific (UNEP RRC.AP) (www.rrcap.unep.org), and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) (www.rimes.int).
It also hosts the global secretariat of the International Partnership for Expanding Waste Management Services of Local Authorities (IPLA),United Nations, Economic and Social Council, 13 May 2011, "New Initiative to Aid Local Governments in Managing Growing Waste Problems" while the regional secretariat is hosted by UN HABITAT. Four UN agencies, three international donors and five national governments are part of IPLA.United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), IPLA Official partners
AIT has collaborated with Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to create a Yunus Center at AIT with an objective "to contribute to poverty alleviation by enabling rural people to handle and be in control of improving their own livelihoods". The Yunus Center at AIT was launched on 8 September 2009. Likewise, AIT hosts Ostrom Center for the Advanced Studies in Natural Resource Governance (OCeAN).
Academic programs Asian Institute of Technology offers Master's, Doctoral, and Certificate courses. Among the programs offered include regular Master's and Doctoral programs, Flexible Degree options, One-Year Master's programs, Professional Master's programs, Unified International Bachelor-Master programs, Capacity-Building PhD Partnership programs, Erasmus Programs, Exchange Programs, Joint Degree Programs and Dual Degree programs.
Schools and Faculties Beginning January 2026, AIT shifted to two Schools and five faculties. The two schools are the AIT School of Professional Intelligence (AITSPIN), and the School of Management. The five faculties are Faculty of Climate Change and Sustainability, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Public Policy and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Sciences, and Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology. The previous Schools, School of Engineering and Technology, and School of Environment, Resources and Development have been converted into five faculties.
School of Engineering and Technology (SET) School of Engineering and Technology (SET) is the combinationof the two former Schools, namely, the School of Civil Engineering (SCE) and the School of Advanced Technologies (SAT), which merged in November 2005. Historically, the two schools came into existence only in January 1993 when the Institute reorganized the need to reform its academic structure from smaller-sized units called “Divisions” to larger bodies named “Schools”.
Since its inception, SET's mission has been to develop highly qualified engineers and technologists who play leading roles in promoting the region's industrial competitiveness in its integration into the global economy. +Department of Civil and Infrastructure EngineeringDepartment of Industrial Systems EngineeringDepartment of Information and Communication TechnologiesConstruction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management Bio-Nano Material Science and EngineeringComputer ScienceGeotechnical and Earth Resources EngineeringIndustrial and Manufacturing EngineeringInformation ManagementGeosystem Exploration and Petroleum Geoengineering MechatronicsInternet of Things (IoT) Systems EngineeringStructural EngineeringMicroelectronics and Embedded SystemsRemote Sensing and Geographic Information SystemsTransportation EngineeringTelecommunicationsWater Engineering and ManagementInformation and Communication TechnologiesDisaster Preparedness, Mitigation and ManagementData Science and Artificial Intelligence
School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) The School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD) was established by amalgamating the four Divisions, namely: (1) Environmental Engineering Division (2) Human Settlements Development Division (3) Agriculture and Food Engineering Division and (4) Energy Division, in 1993. The name SERD was adopted after the EARTH Summit in Rio in 1992, emphasizing the important co-existence of environment and development.
SERD responds to regional needs by mobilizing and enhancing capacities for socially, economically, and environmentally sound development in partnership with public and private sectors. The School's interdisciplinary approach integrates technological, natural, and social sciences. +Department of Development and SustainabilityDepartment of Energy and Climate ChangeDepartment of Food, Agriculture and Natural ResourcesDevelopment and Sustainability; Development Planning Management and Innovation; Gender and Development Studies;