The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) took a major step forward today (11 March 2008) with its plan to assist the development of higher education in Afghanistan, inaugurating a branch office at Balkh University to manage its recently signed US$ 1.5 million University Partnership Program to assist the Faculty of Engineering at Balkh University.

The newly launched outreach initiative is the first ever for AIT in the middle-eastern country. The overall goal of the two-year program, which is financially supported by the World Bank, is to upgrade the teaching capability of Balkh University’s Faculty of Engineering as a way to elevate the overall quality of its undergraduate engineering programs.

The new AIT project office in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif was officially opened at a ceremony attended by a delegation led by AIT President Professor Said Irandoust, who noted the significance of AIT taking a leading role to assist higher education in Afghanistan. “The Asian Institute of Technology is extremely proud and pleased to partner with the Ministry of Education Strengthening of Higher Education Program, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to strengthen the overall capacity of the Faculty of Engineering of Balkh University,” he said.

Balkh University is one of 6 universities in Afghanistan receiving World Bank financial aid to strengthen higher education in the conflicted nation. AIT’s physical presence in Afghanistan signals its intention to take a leading role in assisting the development of tertiary education in partnership with the Afghani Ministry of Education.

The overarching aim of the landmark project is to improve the engineering curriculum of Balkh University to an international level quality, AIT officials said. Achieving this macro-result will involve enhancing the overall skills and knowledge of BU’s engineering professors by improving their teaching and evaluation methodologies; elevating networking and partnerships with domestic and foreign universities for academic and research work; and improving the overall administration and management of the university’s Faculty of Engineering.

The initiative will begin with direct AIT capacity building support to enhance the English-language skills of the BU Faculty of Engineering faculty and staff. AIT’s considerable academic capabilities in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) will be directed to assist BU’s physical infrastructure related to information technology and the internet, and enhance faculty members’ skills in internet communications, online information search, and use of electronic library resources to conduct teaching, information retrieval and administration..

Located just north of Bangkok, the Asian Institute of Technology is an autonomous international institute of higher learning that promotes technological change and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region through higher education research and outreach. Home to 2000 graduate students and 130 highly qualified and experienced faculty advisors, AIT currently boasts 200-plus sponsored research projects supported by 800 research and support personnel from 30 countries.

Research at AIT is oriented towards sustainable development and reflects its commitment to strengthening the knowledge, development and business capacity of the region. Through its education and outreach programs, AIT supports communities and their economic development and integration into the global economy.

AIT officials believe the Thai-based postgraduate institute can also play a very significant role in helping Balkh University in identifying areas of research and also assist in identifying relevant industries that would be interested to be involved and help in those research areas.

Personifying AIT’s commitment to support the improvement of higher education and the development of human resources in Afghanistan, the University Partnership Program to assist the Faculty of Engineering at Balkh University is currently managed by an AIT master’s level student from Afghanistan. The newly appointed Project Manager for the AIT-BU partnership Project is Mohammad Qaasim, 35, who will complete a master’s degree in structural engineering in May 2008. The Asian Institute of Technology has 19 alumni from Afghanistan, and is currently home to 8 Afghani students pursuing higher education.