Tokyo Tech graduate program allied with Thailand: TAIST (Thailand Advance Institute of Science and Technology) — Tokyo Tech

Abstract

Tokyo Institute of Technology has been active in academic collaboration with Asian countries, and we opened our overseas offices in Bangkok, Manila, and Beijing, in 2002, 2005, and 2006, respectively. International distance education has also been conducted since 2002. Backed up with those experiences, in 2007 we started a new graduate program allied with National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and Thai universities. The program is called Thailand Advance Institute of Science and Technology (TAIST) - Tokyo Tech. TAIST will serve as a virtual institution and focal point. NSTDA provides researchers to act as adjunct professors, research projects and scholarships for graduate students. Thai universities provide an academic framework, academic staff to oversee and guide students and degrees for the successful candidates. Currently two master programs are running; Automotive Engineering (AE) and Information and Communication Technology for Embedded Systems (ICTES). Tokyo Tech is responsible for most of its coursework. To get rid of long travel between Tokyo and Bangkok (separated by 4,600km), distance education is effectively utilized. In the ICTES program, 7 lecture courses out of 18 are entirely taught from Tokyo, and some others combine distance education. All the course materials are uploaded on the e-learning site, where lecture videos are also available for some courses. TAIST-Tokyo Tech is expected to initiate the start of a positive spiral of human resource development system in Asian region. TAIST-Tokyo Tech aims to harmonize advanced technology with the environment and to realize research and human resource development for global sustainable development. Operations of this graduate program and distance education activities are introduced.