Activities of Education, Training and Research at Asian Institute of Technology
Computer Facilities
In order to provide students with well installed computer systems, STAR Program has following laboratories and facilities for supporting Master and Doctor courses.
Remote Sensing Laboratroy
Digital lab.
10 pentium PCs with 10 set of ARC/INFO, IDRISI, ERDAS and ENVI with NT server. Color plotters, digitizers and image scanner are also installed. Students are given 200 M bytes disk space at minimum, another 200 M bytes on request and more on special request.
Visula lab
Maps and satellite images/tapes are open to students.
Photo Lab.
Photographic processing facility is installed to convert from digital data to photo and enlarge photos for image interpretation.
Project Room
UNIX Workstations and PCs are installed to support doctoral students.
Documentation Room
Word processors and printers are installed for documentation of papers. PCs in Digital Lab. Are prohibited to use as a word processor.
Education problems
STAR Program has following problems, though it has improved remarkably as compared with five year ago.
Limited number of scholarship
Financial support in a form of scholarship is most essential. Tuition fee, academic service fee and living expense (accommodation and food) per term is 3,400 US dollars, 240 US dollars and about 1,000 US dollars respectively that make the total cost of Master Course (5 terms) 23,200 US Dollars, while Doctor Course (9terms) 41,760 US dollars.
Because AIT students come from various countries in Asia and Pacific (almost 30 countries), the level of quality at the enrollment is so different that the target of courses should be carefully chosen. STAR program will target top 30 percent as a strategy rather than bottom class in order to keep the high quality.
Limited research budget
Budget for supporting master thesis is limited only about 300~ 400 US dollars. It makes students difficult to purchase satellite data and to go to field study. Individual faculty will have to find extra funds to support advisees. In this sense, STAR Program most welcomes to receive complementary satellite data for educational purpose from space agencies.
Training Program
The GIS Application Center (GAC), AIT provides end users of remote sensing and GIS with two types of short-term training course.
Regular Courses: in 1998 three courses are planned, Basic GIS Course (13-24July 1998), Advanced GIS for Watershed Management (27 August - 7 September 1998) and Advanced GIS for Flood Mitigation (7-18 December, 1998). Each course costs 2,000 US dollars including accommodation, with the maximum 20 trainees.
Sponsored courses: NASDA (National Space Development of Japan) sponsored GAS, AIT to conduct three two week training courses for 15 trainees each with full support of travel, accommodations and per diem. Another 5 trainees will be accepted to join the courses with self support fund to 2,000 US dollars.
They are; Advanced Remote Sensing & GIS for Watershed Management (15-30 June, 1998), Microwave Remote Sensing and Interpretation (21 Sep. ~2 Oct. 1998) and Advanced Remote sensing & GIS for Flood Mitigation (16-27 November, 1998).
Another two training courses called "Caravan Type Training" will be conducted with full support of AIT/NASDA outside of AIT. A caravan team of several resource persons will visit a local city to conduct workshop or tutorials on a specific theme in order to maximize the efficiency of number of trainees in the host country.
In 1998, the following two "caravan term of several resources persons will visit a local city to conduct workshop or tutorials on a specific theme in order to maximize the efficiency of number of trainees in the host country.
In 1998, the following two "caravan type training" courses are to be scheduled.
Workshop on Remote Sensing, GIS Utilization 19-23, August, 1998, Bandung, Indonesia.
AIT-Hannover University Joint Workshop on Mapping from Space 26-30 Octomber 1998, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Research Program
The Asian Center for Research on Remote Sensing (ACRoRS) aims at the following tasks
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To provide technical support to researchers in Asia.
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toprovide NOAA AVHRR data and Japanese Satellite data at inexpensive price for
research purpose.
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to promote joint research with AARS members, and
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to provide consulting service on request
The ACRoRS stared to receive NOAA AVHRR since 15 October 1997 which covers India, Indo-China Peninsula, Tibet, Himala, Indonesia, Philippines and so on.
The cost of NOAA AVHRR in 8 mm tape is 30 US dollars per path, 200 US dollars per 8 mm tape (about 47 paths) and 10,000 US dollars per year.
Visiting researchers are most welcome to join the "working together" type of research with full technical support by ACRoRS experts. The tuition fee for visiting researcher costs 2,000 Us dollars per person per term. Accommodation and food will be about 1,000 US dollars per month if stayed in AIT campus.
The ACRoRS is implementing on-going projects in 1998 including "preliminary study on applicability of satellite data to Asian Highway", "Production of mosaics of whole Thailand with Japanese Satellite data", "Estimation of water volume of Ton Le Sap Lake, Cambodia", "Application of remote sensing and GIS to road planning and maintenance in Nepal" etc.
Appendix 2
Faculty of STAR Program
(as of August, 1999)
| Full Time Faculty |
Chair Professor Shunji Murai, RS. GIS. DTM, ED Information
(Program coordinator)
Dr. Kaew Nualchawee, Associate Professor, GIS
Dr. Jean Pierre Delsol, Associate Professor, Remote Sesning Applications
Dr. Kiyoshi Honda, Associate Professor, Image processing, RS
|
| Affiliated faculty |
Mr. Rebert Schumann, ESA Representative, Microware RS
Dr. surat Lertlum. ACRoRS Expert, NOAD AVHRR
Dr. Krishna Pahari, Research & Education Development, Global Study
|
| Visiting Faculty |
| Dr. xiayong chen, Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd, Automated Mapping
|
Conclusions
- STAR Program, AIT has successfully developed the curricula with a clearly targeted goal to meet the requirements and demands in computer, space and multi-media age.
- STAR Program has established a well balanced scheme between educational, training and research program.
- STAR Program has a resolution toward technology and research oriented program , with powerful equipments and highly capable researchers.
