CIGR Newsletter No 42
SCHOLARSHIPS
Post-Graduate Technological Studies Programme
for European and Asian Students
1998-2001
The AIT, in partnership with the European Commission (EC), implements the Post-Graduate Technological Studies (PTS) Programme 1998-2001. Its main objectives are to mutually enhance knowledge and understanding of salient economic, social and cultural features of Asia and Europe and to strengthen their technological linkages.
Apart from providing practical knowledge and skills, the Programme will enable participating students to develop a network of professional contacts that should benefit their own careers, facilitate advanced technological training and promote modern industrial practices.
For reasons of organisation of the European Commission, the PTS Programme only concerns co-operation between the EU, and South Asian and Southeast Asian countries.
PROGRAMME ADMINISTRATION
The Programme will be administered by the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. An Asian Co-ordinator at AIT and a European Co-ordinator at NUFFIC ensure that the PTS Programme is administered and implemented to meet its objectives. The progress of the PTS Programme is monitored by a Steering Committee whose members provide strategy and policy guidance, supervise the implementation of the programme components, endorse possible adaptations of on-going individual components, and evaluate performance and impacts.
PROGRAMME FOR EUROPEAN STUDENTS
Ninety (90) scholarships are provided for nationals from European Union member countries to enrol in the Masters Degree Programme offered at AIT.
The study programme format is a combination of coursework and research. As part of their studies, the European students spend a one-term internship at another Asian university, with industry or in a public sector organisation, either for additional coursework, data gathering or elaboration of their research.
PTS students will have to develop an individual study plan including in some cases, selected courses taught in other Asian universities. Students must complete their applied research during the last two terms of their programme of studies. They will also be required to write a report on their cultural and social experiences, in particular detailing how it enriched and enabled them to forge closer relations, foster mutual socio-cultural understanding, and enhance business contacts.
Students who complete their study will be awarded the degree of Master of Engineering, Master of Science, or
Master of Business Administration, depending on their field of studies at AIT. Results of their research and abstracts of their reports will be published by the AIT.
Admission Requirements
To be eligible for admission to the PTS Programme, an applicant must hold a Bachelors degree or its equivalent in an appropriate field of study from an institution of well recognised standard and must have grades significantly above average. European Union students in their last year of university studies may be considered, after having passed a qualifying examination pertinent to any particular European Union higher educational system.
The period of full-time attendance required for the award of the degree of master is five (5) terms (20 months).
All AIT programmes are conducted in the English language. All applicants for AIT programmes are thus expected to produce evidence of English proficiency in speaking and writing. A health certificate will also have to be submitted.
Selection Process
Applications of European Union candidates should be sent to the European Co-ordinator of the PTS Programme. The preselection will follow the general admission requirements at AIT. The selection process will take into account the applicants academic performance, personality, balanced representation of EU member states, as well as gender balance. The final selection of European Union candidates will be made in agreement between AIT and the European Commission.
Application Deadline
AIT operates by three terms, beginning in January, May and September. The normal entry of the School of Advanced Technologies is in May, of the School of Environment, Resources and Development in January, and of both the School of Civil Engineering and the School of Management in September.
The deadline for submission of applications for European candidates is approximately four (4) months before the entry term: 1st September 1998 for January 1999 entry, 1st January 1999 for May 1999 entry and 1st May 1999 for September 1999 entry, and likewise for the following years. However, the deadline for submission of applications for the September 1998 entry is exceptionally fixed at 1st June 1998, to allow the first cohort of European students to start their programme studies in September 1998.
PROGRAMME FOR ASIAN STUDENTS
Ninety (90) Asian students will be selected in the framework of the PTS Programme, from among students already enrolled in the AITs masters degree programmes offered in its four Schools. Each participating student will have to develop an individual study plan with particular reference to the prospective internship in Europe.
The PTS Programme will enable AIT students (from Master or Doctoral Programmes) to spend one term at a European university, with industry or public sector organisation, either for additional coursework, data gathering, or research. The number of students admitted each year will be flexible to ensure an optimal concordance between individual study programme and the offering by the hosting institution.
Asian students will likewise be required to write a report on their activities as well as on their cultural and social experiences, in particular detailing how it enriched and enabled them to forge closer relations, foster mutual socio-cultural understanding, and enhance business contacts.
Selection Process
Asian applicants from among AIT students should send their applications directly to the Asian Co-ordinator. The selection process will take into consideration the applicants academic performance, personality, balanced representation of Asian countries and gender, as well as the level of development of their country. The final selection of Asian candidates will be made in agreement between AIT, the European hosting Institutions and the European Commission.
Application Deadline
Asian students must submit their applications three (3) months before the implementation period of their study programmes in EU countries.
Further information can be obtained from:
Prof. Gajendra Singh, Agricultural and Food Engineering Programme, SERD, Asian Institute of Technology(AIT),
P O Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, THAILAND.
Fax: +66-2 524 6200 e-mail: singhg@ait.ac.th
