At the SIIT Board of Trustees Meeting on 23 February 1999, the Board approved in principle the 2^nd cooperation agreement among Thammasat University (TU), the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) on SIIT development. These three organizations are the SIIT founders whose continuing support has strengthened the management and development of the Institute. The Joint Press Release on the cooperation agreement is presented on P.2 of this SIIT News.

First Row (from left):

• Assistant Professor Praphatsorn Leopairote,
  TU Vice Rector for Finance and Property Management;
• Pol. Lt. Col. Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra,
  Shinawatra Group;
• Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot,
  Chairperson of the Board and Rector of TU;
• Mr. Masatake Kusamichi,
  Chairman of Japan-Thailand Trade and Economic Committee, Keidanren, Japan and
  President of Nissho Iwai Corporation, Japan;
• Thanpuying Niramol Suriyasat,
  Advisor of FTI and Chairwoman of Toshiba Thailand Co., Ltd.;
• Mr. Tawee Butsuntorn,
  Chairman of FTI and Executive Vice President of Siam Cement Public Co., Ltd.

Second Row (from left):

• Assistant Professor Dr. Julsiri Jaroenpuntaruk,
  Dean of Faculty of Engineering, TU;
• Professor Dr. Naksitte Coovattanachai,
  Deputy Director of National Science and Technology Development Agency;
• Mr. Khemadhat Sukondhasingha,
  Secretary General of FTI and President of Sikor Co., Ltd.;
• Professor Dr. Pakorn Adulbhan,
  Executive Board Member of FTI, and
  Executive Dean of Division of Engineering and Technology, Rangsit University;
• Professor Dr. Prida Wibulswas,
  Trustee and Secretary of the Board, Director of SIIT;
• Associate Professor Dr. Surachai Sirikrai,
  TU Vice Rector for Academic Affairs;
• Mr. Katsuhiro Fujiwara,
  Managing Director of Keidanren, Japan;
• Mr. Teruo Tsubaki,
  President of Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, and
  President of Marubeni Thailand Co., Ltd.; and
• Dr. Kamhaeng Sathirakul,
  Advisor of the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

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On 19 March 1999, Mr. Paron Israsena, Former Chairman of FTI and Chairman of the Board of Shinawatra Satellite Public Co., Ltd. and Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot, Chairperson of the SIIT Board of Trustees and the Rector of TU, presided over the Inauguration of the SIIT Advanced Laboratory Building. Mr. Teruo Tsubaki, President of Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok and Professor Dr. Okitsugu Fujiwara, Representative of the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), Assistant Professor Kammal Kumar Pawa M.D., Vice Rector for Administration, TU-Rangsit Center, Assistant Professor Somchai Viriyayudhakorn, Vice Rector for Operations Management, TU-Rangsit Center, and Ms. Wanida Phankaeo, TU Vice Rector for Administration also joined the inauguration ceremony.   After the inauguration ceremony, Mr. Paron Israsena, Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot, Mr. Teruo Tsubaki, Professor Dr. Okitsugu Fujiwara and other guests visited laboratories of the Civil, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology programs housed in the SIIT Advanced Laboratory Building. The construction of this building which cost about 24 million baht was funded by the Federation of Thai Industries and Keidanren.

With the support of Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations), 25 third-year students from the five academic programs of SIIT (Civil, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology) attended an engineering and technology training program in Japan during 9 - 29 May 1999. In all, 22 Japanese companies, namely Toyota Motor Corp., Toshiba Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Isuzu Motors Ltd., Sharp Corp., Nikon Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson, to name a few, cooperated in conducting this training program.

The program has been continuously arranged by Keidanren for SIIT since 1995, and the number of SIIT students who have been trained in Japan under this program has reached 100 this year. This training program has provided SIIT students invaluable practical experience.

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The orientation for first-year students for the 1999 academic year was held on Friday June 4, 1999 at the TU Lecture Auditorium 4, Thammasat University, Rangsit Center. This year, SIIT has admitted 338 new students. Mr. Takahiro Ienaga, President of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok and Mr. Nipon Surapongrukchareon, Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of Thai Industries, were the guests of honor. The students and parents were welcomed by the TU Rector, Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot and the SIIT Director, Professor Dr. Prida Wibulswas. The students were introduced to SIIT regulations, SIIT Executive Committee as well as student activities. As part of the orientation, SIIT scholarships were presented to 11 new students with outstanding marks on their entrance examinations. Silver medals were presented to 22 first, second, third and fourth-year students of the 1998 academic year who attained the highest GPA in their classes. Gold medals and certificates for academic excellence were presented to 5 graduates of the 1998 academic year who achieved the highest cumulative GPA in the Civil, Electrical, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology programs.

From June 1 to June 8, 1999, six faculty members, Professor Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana, Associate Professor Dr. Somnuk Tangtermsirikul, Assistant Professor Dr. Bundit Limmeechokchai, Assistant Professor Dr. Prinya Tantaswadi and Assistant Professor Dr. Mud-Armeen Munlin, visited universities in the United Kingdom to negotiate possible research collaboration and faculty/student exchanges. The visited universities were University of Dundee, University of Strathclyde, Nottingham University, Imperial College, and University College London (UCL).

A concluding session after touring various departments of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Strathclyde.	University of Dundee faculty members and SIIT visiting team during University of Dundee visit.
SIIT faculty members paused to pose for a photo with SIIT alumni studying in UK.	SIIT and Nottingham University (NU) faculty members after signing an MOU between NU and SIIT.

The SIIT team received a warm reception from all universities. During this trip, two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were signed, one between University of Strathclyde and SIIT, and the other between Nottingham University and SIIT.

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The Institute would like to congratulate the following SIIT graduates who have recently been awarded a scholarship for their further studies at leading universities:

• Ms. Sawitri Jamsai, graduated from the Industrial Engineering Department in 1998, has received the Shell Centenary Scholarship to study for her Master Degree in Computer Science at Oxford University, UK.
• Ms. Suwimol Sae-Tang, graduated from the Industrial Engineering Department in 1998, has received a scholarship from the Telephone Organization of Thailand to study in the Master's Degree Program on Information Management, at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, Thailand.
• Mr. Danai Treeratwattana and Mr. Teerapong Auksaraporn, who graduated from the Information Technology Dept. in 1999, have each received a partial scholarship to study in the Master's Degree Program on Computer Science and Information Management at AIT.

During June 1998 - June 1999, SIIT appointed 7 additional full-time faculty members and one visiting faculty member. These faculty members hold a doctoral degree from a reputable university/institute and most of them have joined SIIT with a wealth of teaching and research experience. The Institute hopes that their contribution will strengthen the teaching and research activities at SIIT. These new faculty members are:

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University of Dundee, Scotland
On 13 January 1999, Mr. Michael J. Tooze, Director of Development Initiatives in South East Asia of the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, visited SIIT to introduce his university's academic and research programs and also to explore possibilities of collaboration between the University of Dundee and Thammasat University.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Associate Professor Dr. Freddy Y. C. Boey, Deputy Director of the Advanced Materials Research Centre and Associate Professor Dr. Yeo Joon Hock from the School of Mechanical & Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, visited SIIT on 6 May 1999 to introduce their research activities and discuss postgraduate research opportunities at the School of Mechanical & Production Engineering. Possible academic cooperation between the School and SIIT was also explored.

MARA Institute of Technology, Malaysia Associate Professor Dr. Bukhory B. Hj. Ismail, Provost of the MARA Institute of Technology, Perlis Branch, Malaysia, led 30 faculty members and administrators on a visit to SIIT on 24 May 1999. They were welcomed by Professor Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana, the Deputy Director of SIIT, who informed them of the SIIT academic programs, research activities, and management and operations. The visitors also toured the research facilities of the SIIT Advanced Laboratory Building and the Library & Information Services Center.