The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has been offering His Majesty the King's scholarships since 1970, with more than 600 students benefiting from them. Twenty-two nationalities from predominantly Asian countries have been awarded this prestigious scholarship to pursue a master's degree.
Out of 60 students who received HM King's scholarships in the last two years, 22 pursued an MBA, while the remaining studied engineering. Engineering, computer science, information management and structural engineering are popular programmes with students.
To get a feel of what these scholarships mean to their recipients and how they hope to use the knowledge in their careers, Life chatted with students from Thailand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Katekaewngoen Mahakhotchasenicha always has a special place in his heart for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. So when he was picked as a recipient of His Majesty the King's scholarship to complete his master's degree in geotechnical and Earth resources engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology, he felt specially honoured.
His gratitude stems from the King's royal projects that have played an integral part in improving the livelihoods and well being of the people in his native province Ubon Ratchathani.
Geotechnical and Earth resources engineering, Katekaewngoen says, involves the application of Earth sciences and land engineering to alleviate human problems relating to Earth systems. His ultimate ambition is to support Thailand in constructing a high-speed train linking the North and Northeast.
"His Majesty was a visionary who always thought of ways to improve the lives of his people," said the 28-year-old. "Receiving His Majesty's scholarship has given me the impetus to help build the country to what His Majesty would have envisaged.
"To me His Majesty is the greatest role model. He wore a number of hats and his knowledge extended to a number of fields, including water management, artificial raining-making and more."
Katekaewngoen said he opted for this major because he wants to play an integral part in improving the country's infrastructure. Explaining, he said: "Structures you observe around you are supported by soil or rock, which geotechnical engineers are responsible for, so I intend to use this knowledge to build durable systems that are made of or are supported by soil or rock. This could include foundations, slopes, embankments, roadways, tunnels and other systems. Thailand could greatly benefit and become a progressive nation once we can build infrastructure for the future."
His Majesty the King planted this saaraphee tree in the AIT campus in 1987. Photos: YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT
His Majesty's development projects were always based on knowledge and understanding of the situation, local wisdom, scientific studies, appropriate technologies and more, he said. Moreover, his entire work in rural development was tailored to meet the needs of communities and rectify issues at their root causes.
While His Majesty impacted Katekaewngoen in numerous ways, two in particular have been close to his heart. "Of all his philosophies, I am adamant to follow the philosophy of sufficiency economy, which simply means to have enough to support ourselves. His love and compassion for animals has also driven me to see how I can lessen the problem of strays in our communities. If I am able to reflect a fraction of what His Majesty did during his lifetime, I would consider it a great achievement."
Kuruwita Imbulana, 23, a water engineering and management student and Wahaj Habib, 25, a remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) major, say that despite being foreigners they feel a great sense of honour for becoming recipients of the King's scholarships because he dedicated his life to the well-being of his subjects.
Imbulana, a Sri Lankan who has been in Thailand for more than two years while completing her undergraduate studies and will soon be starting her master's degree, said: "What I can add to my life looking at His Majesty's legacy is that education provides you with a platform to give back to the world and make it a better place. We all have our different roles in it and being an engineer we can do so much.
"I have learned over the years that respect is not something you can demand but something that you have to earn. So looking at how much respect His Majesty received from people, not only Thais, I can only imagine what a great role he played in making this country what it is today."
Imbulana added: "Water engineering and management is a timely issue. Today water resources management has become of paramount importance due to the increasing stress on this limited, vulnerable and indispensable resource in terms of both its quality and quantity. This issue is more challenging for developing nations like Sri Lanka. Newly added dimensions of major concern such as climate change have made finding solutions more complicated."
Imbulana said that as water engineering and management covers five major areas -- agricultural water, coastal water, urban water, water resources and extreme events and risk management, she hopes to use this knowledge to address issues Sri Lanka faces in a more effective manner.
The water engineering major is also grateful for this opportunity saying: "AIT conducts high quality research oriented towards sustainable development, knowledge and capacity building in the region under the guidance and supervision of an internationally acclaimed faculty.
"Lessons learned and experience gained from engaging in research activities will be useful in addressing such complex water resources management issues. I wish to do my best for my country and this region, and by doing so, justify the offering of this scholarship to me."
Sharing in Imbulana's sentiments is Habib, a Pakistani, who has been at AIT for three months. He said prior to coming to Thailand he had read about His Majesty's work and had formed a deep respect and appreciation for him.
"I felt a great sense of awe to become a recipient of this prestigious scholarship and my greatest desire is to use the knowledge that I receive here to develop my country. I would like to have the dedication to see my country make progress," he said.
"The deep love and respect Thais have for the King is also because of the dedication he had for his people. I feel Thais have been greatly impacted by His Majesty's work."
Habib opted to study remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) because it provides essential tools for environmental and natural resources management, which are widely recognised as supporting tools for the planning, monitoring and management of the appropriate utilisation of resources at the country, regional and global levels.
"This study, which can be used in various sectors including disaster management, is vital to the progress of Pakistan. I hope to use this knowledge to get my country out of the dark ages as our technology is still very low," he said.
"Flooding has not just caused loss of human life but also property in Pakistan. Remote sensing has made substantial contributions in flood monitoring and damage assessment that leads disaster management authorities to contribute significantly. This is probably the first of a handful of areas I would I like to address when I return home."
Imbulana and Habib believe that because their fields of study can impact the development and progress of their respective countries, they will be indirectly following in the footsteps of His Majesty's desire to equip people with know-how so they can help to develop their country.
From left, Katekaewngoen Mahakhotchasenicha, Kuruwita Imbulana and Wahaj Habib, recipients of HM the King scholarships from the Asian Institute of Technology. Photos: YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT
