IIT Madras hosts conference of top universities in Asia- Oceania Region
Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology Madras is hosting the 13th AOTULE (Asia- Oceania Top University League on Engineering) Annual General Meeting between 21st and 23rd November 2018.
The organization promotes inter-university cooperation through joint programs including an annual Dean’s meeting, student workshop an exchange of students and staff to improve the quality engineering education and research of the members. It aims to broaden participating students’ perspective through education, research and cross-cultural interaction. IIT Madras joined the network in 2014.
This year’s theme for the Dean’s meeting is ‘Leveraging Internationalization for Global Rankings.’ The Faculty Workshop will revolve around the theme of ‘Water.’ The Staff Meeting will deliberate on ‘Staff Mobility in network’ to get an exposure to best practices.’ Benchmarking still remains the best way to learn and adopt, and to avoid past mistakes and pitfalls. Staff mobility is a key ingredient in this process.
Addressing the inaugural session, A/Prof. Huynh Quyet Thang, Executive Chair, AOTULE, said, “The mission of AOUTLE is clear, to promote inter-university cooperation through workshops, student and staff exchanges and to improve the quality of engineering education in member universities. The conference is an opportunity for all of us to achieve our goals. AOUTLE is attracting the best universities in Asia-Oceania Region. This annual meeting will enhance collaboration among AOUTLE member institutes. I’m looking forward to exchange of ideas.”
Students presented their research through oral presentations, as well as during a Poster Session. During their group working session, they also discussed and deliberated about current issues concerning the theme of ‘Translating ideas for Societal Impact / Urban Mobility / Smart cities.’
Speaking later, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (International and Alumni Relations) IIT Madras, said, “We look forward to many more years of participation in this Network. The relevance of networks cannot be understated in this world of internationalisation. Academicians and businessmen are among the prime beneficiaries of this increased mobility between borders.”
The Meeting also aimed to broaden participating students’ perspective through research and cross-cultural interactions and promote research-based collaborations among the member institutions. This event is good opportunity to closely work with the member universities of AOTULE to promote collaborations and student exchanges.
Addressing the students, Prof. Jeffrey Cross, Tokyo Institute of Technology and Steering Committee Chair, AOUTLE, said, “You (students) should be able to communicate your research to students of other majors and members of the public and also, make efforts to learn about the research of other students to expand your horizons.”
Students should also utilize this opportunity to network with students and faculty of other institutions. Students must make the most of this opportunity to gain exposure, added Prof. Jeffrey Cross.
The AOTULE Partners include Top Universities from Asia- Oceania Region:
Ø The University of Melbourne
Ø Tsinghua University
Ø The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Ø Bandung Institute of Technology
Ø Tokyo Institute of Technology
Ø Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Ø University of Malaya
Ø Nanyang Technological University
Ø University of Moratuwa
Ø National Taiwan University
Ø Chulalongkorn University
Ø Hanoi University of Science and Technology
Ø Indian Institute of Technology Madras