NEWSLETTER- ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT (AITM) - Knowledge Village,
Khumaltar Heights,
Satdobato, Lalitpur, Nepal
Tel: 5548314, 5552375
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.aitm.edu.np12th ISSUE, 9 April 2019
Dear Students, Alumni, Parents, Guardians, Faculty, Staff and Promoter Friends and other Friends and Well-wishers of Asian Institute of Technology and Management,
On the auspicious occasion of the Nepalese New Year 2076 BS, I wish the entire AITM family, as well as all friends and well-wishers a VERY HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEPALESE NEW YEAR 2076 BS! May the New Year 2076 BS be better than 2075 BS in all aspects, study-wise, work-wise, health-wise, career-wise, both on the personal and professional fronts. Unfortunately, I will not be able to offer the New Year wishes to all of you all in person as I am still in Cambodia. Therefore, I am offering my wishes through this message.
I wish to take this opportunity of wishing all the best to the Grade XII students who are appearing for their Grade XII NEB final examinations, starting on 28 April. I would also like to wish the very best to the Grade XI students, who will be appearing for their NEB final exams, starting on 12 May. Grade XII and Grade XI students, please focus on your studies in the coming weeks and give your very best in the examinations. You will be very surprised
what can be achieved in a few weeks when one works hard and gives one’s best. What is most important is for all the students to give their very best. I also wish the very best to the Hotel Management and Biotechnology students, who are appearing in their various examinations, as well as to all those students who are appearing in their back papers. Success will come to the hardworking and those who are sincere, committed and persevering. Success is truly 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.
In my message in the last quarterly newsletter, circulated on the occasion of the Gregorian New Year, I had stated and wish to reiterate that every New Year is always a good time to reflect on the achievements of the past year and set the targets – both personal and professional – for the coming year. While personally, all of us may be doing very well, AITM has not been doing well as we have not been successful in bringing new academic programs to replace the programs that we have phased out. The main reason for this is because the new Government straight-jacketed all the universities and put on hold all major decisions and reforms till the completion of the report and recommendations of the Education Commission. The report and recommendat ions of the Educat ion Commission have been received with mixed feelings. There is a perceptible and major shift towards conservative policies focusing inwards rather than outwards to encourage the colleges and universities to offer interesting academic programs in collaboration with reputed and prestigious international universities and to excel academically. When we should be doing everything to attract students to Nepal from all over the world, we seem to be doing everything to send our students to study all over the world.
In spite of this very frustrating and bleak scenario, we have not given up our efforts to bring in good engineering and other programs
to replace the AIT programs. We do hope that we will be able to share with you all the good news. I wish to request all the promoter friends for a little bit more patience. You all have been patient all these years. All I ask is for your patience for 6 more months, after which, if things don’t go the way we have planned, we will have to consider all available options.
Through this message, I wish to inform all promoter friends that we will be calling the long delayed AGM soon. We look forward to your participation and your valuable inputs.
Once again, I wish all of you and your loved ones the very best in the coming year.
Message fromThe Executive Chairman
Prof. Dr. Sriram Bhagut Mathe
-1-
AITM ACADEMIC OPERATIONAL TEAMProf. Dr. Sriram Bhagut Mathe
Executive Chairman
Mr. Pramod PradhanBoard Representative
Mr. Bhupadas RajbhandariExecutive Director
Mr. Basant JoshiHead, School of Hotel Management
Dr. Rabindra Raj GiriHead, Dept. of Civil Engineering
Mr. Hari Krishna SaijuHead, Dept. of Biotechnology
Mr. Shyam MaharjanHead, +2 School
नव वष� २०७६
को हािदक� मंगलमय
शुभकामना
NEWS & EVENTSSCHOOL OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT
Year/ Semester Semester Start No. of Students Pre-Board Exam Board Exam
BHM IMI-VIII 4th December 2018 31 Internship report writing -
BHM IMI-VII 4th December 2018 44 - 17th March 2019
BHM IMI-V 11th December 2018 88 7th April 2019 5th May 2019
BHM IMI-III 4th December 2018 76 7th April 2019 5th May 2019
BHM IMI-I 9th November 2018 46 7th April 2019 5th May 2019
-2-
CURRENT STATUS OF BHM CLASSES
PARENT DINING PROGRAMndOn 22 March 2019, students of AITM School of Hotel Manamgement organized “Parent Dining
Program” to make the parents and the guardians familiar with school’s standards and learning
ambience. In the program, parents and the guardians were invited for lunch with the school’s
executive team, other invited guests and the faculty members. During the program, students
enthusiastically served their parents as their guests. “Parent Dining Program” is a yearly co-curricular
activity of School of Hotel Management for students to showcase their skills and abilities. A total of 80
parents and guardians were present in the program. Mr. Bhupadas Rajbhandari, Executive Director of
AITM, highlighted on the theme of the program and its importance. The program was supervised by
Mr. Sugam Tamrakar, faculty of food and beverage service and Mr. Kedar Silwal, Executive Chef of the
School of Hotel Management.
STUDENT AMBASSDOR VISIT
International Management Institute, IMI, Switzerland had invited the students from AITM to join the “Student nd thAmbassador Program” at IMI’s own campus in Luzern, Switzerland from 2 February to 9 February 2019. in
the program student from across the globe were invited and given an opportunity to experience the unique IMI
campus environment as well as the finest attractions of the Switzerland. From AITM, Ms. Roshni Chand and Mr.
Sumit Shahi of semester III attended the program. Ms. Sujata Shakya, Academic Coordinator from AITM
accompanied the students during their visit.
In this week-long program, students attended various hospitality and culinary skill classes offered by IMI and
had interaction sessions with the members of the academic team. Students also participated in Luzern city tour,
five star hotel visit, chocolate factory visit, organic farm visit and cheese and wine session organized by IMI.
YOUNG CHEF CHALLENGE 2019
School of Hotel Management organized the “Young Chef
Challenge 2019”, an in-house culinary competition for the thfifth semester students on 10 of March 2019. A black box
style of competition was organized where the students were
given the full bucket of ingredients and asked to prepare two
course meal consisting of an appetizer and main course
with their own creativity. After the cooking, the participating
students were judged on the basis of the quantity, quality
and the presentation of meal. Students were also evaluated
on the basis of planning, healthy choice of ingredients,
hygiene and sanitation at work place.
The program was judged by three eminent professional
chefs Mr. Kedar Silwal, Executive Chef of AITM, Mr. Govinda
Narshing K.C., former Executive Chef of Hotel Everest and
Hotel Annapurna and Mr. Krishna Kaji Basnet, Executive
Chef of Himalaya Hotel. The judges were impressed with the
quality and presentation of the food prepared by the
participating students. In the program, Dinesh Shrestha,
Prachin Pradhan and Ngima Lhamu Sherpa won the title of
Young Chef Competition 2019.
NEWS & EVENTSSCHOOL OF HOTEL MANAGEMENT
WELCOME PROGRAM 2019
-3-
Student from the third semester were given an
opportunity to visit and experience the real time
working environment of district level court for th thtwo days from 18 to 19 February 2019. During
this visit, Prof. Dr. Shambhu Khanal, faculty of
hospitality law at AITM led the student to different
court rooms where the students observed the
administrative activities and procedures of legal
hearings. Further, the student were also guided and counseled by Honb'le Judges
Mr. Churaman Khadka and Mrs. Abani Mainali.
th thAs part of curriculum, students of BHM Semester VII recently hosted "STATE BANQUET THEME" on 7 and 8 March 2019. A state banquet is a formal, ceremonial dinner
hosted for the Heads of States, especially when renewing or celebrating the ties. The event focused on providing detailed knowledge and skills to the students in handling
the state dinner theme in various situations. Students were supervised by Chef Kedar Silwal and Faculty of Food and Beverage Service, Mr Sugam Tamrakar.
In the program, Mr. Rukwangat Singh Katawal, Former Chief of Army staff of Nepal, Mr. Avishek Bikram Shah, General Manager of Chandragiri Hills, Dr. Roshan Rathi,
COO of LCCI Global Qualification and Mr. Tek B. Mahat, Chief Operating Officer of Hotel Association Nepal were invited to observe and encourage the students’ activities.
RD3 SEMESTER STUDENT OF BHM VISITED LALITPUR DISTRICT COURT
stThird Semester students of BHM organized a welcome program on 1 March 2019 for newly enrolled student of semester-I. Program comprised of lots of cultural shows,
songs, dances, and other performances. During the program, the semester topper students were awarded. Similarly, the awards were also given in different titles such as
the winner of flower arrangement, winner of rangoli competition, winner of young chef challenge competition and winner of the best grooming for the academic session
2017/2018. During the program, seven passed out students who are involved in different entrepreneurship activities in Hospitality business in Nepal were felicitated with
the outstanding entrepreneurship award 2019. In the program, Mr. Pramod Pradhan, Board of Director and Mr. Basant Prasad Joshi, Head of School welcomed the
students.
STATE BANQUET THEME
GUEST LECTURE ORGANIZED FOR BHM SEMESTER - III
thOn the 18 January 2019, School of Hotel
Management invited Mrs. Sarita Khanal, lecturer
at Law Campus to offer her valuable experience to
the students of Semester-III. Mrs. Khanal spoke
about hospitality Law and entrepreneurship. She
shared many interesting anecdotes of her own
personal journey as a lawyer and encouraged the
students to understand and practice the theories
of hospitality legislation during their impending career in hospitality industry.
stOn the occasion of the welcome program of the school on 1 of March 2019, seven passed out students of
AITM SHM were awarded with the “Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award 2019”. In the program, Ms. Nira
Shrestha, Co-founder of Victory Lounge, Durbarmarg, Mr. Sanjog Kharel, Director of Adarsha Banquets and
Adarsha School of Hotel Management, Birtamode, Mr. Saroj Tuladhar, Founder of the Kasi Launge, Kirtipur,
Mr. Chhedup Pakhrin, Co-founder of Utopia Restaurant, Jawalakhel, Ms. Kushum Rajthala, Founder of Loaf
Bakery, Lokanthali, Ms. Keshika Basnet, Founder of the Garage Lounge, Jawalakhel and Mr. Bijaya Gurung,
Founder of Grgs Bakery, Lalitpur were awarded with medals. During the program, Ms. Nira Shrestha and Mr.
Saroj Tuladhar shared their experience to the students.
OUTSTANDING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD 2019
DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
CURRENT STATUS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY CLASSES
THSEMINAR OF 8 SEMESTER STUDENTS
th thThe final seminar of 8 semester students was conducted by Depar tment of Biotechnology on 11 Jan 2019. The seminar carries 1-credit hour in the syllabus of 8
semester of B. Tech in Biotechnology. The department invited Mr. Shyam Prasad Dhakal, Senior Seed Specialist at National Potato, Vegetables and Spices Development
Centre, Khumaltar under Department of Agriculture as experts to evaluate the seminars. The seminar topics were related to agriculture and recently developed
technologies in Biotechnology. Six students presented seminar on their selected topics. The topics presented by the students were interesting, informative and
impressive. The seminar was conducted by Mr. Rabin Shrestha, DHoD in presence of Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju, Head, Department of Biotechnology, AITM, Dr. Mahesh
Kumar Adhikari, Senior Mushroom Expert of Nepal, Lecturer Mr. Binod Mishra and Research Assistant Mr. Abhishesh Bajracharya. Finally, Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju, Head
of the Department concluded the program with his remarks.
The student participated in the seminar and their presentation topics are given in the following table.
Semester / Batch Semester Start No. of Students Mid Term Exam Pre-Board Exam Board Exam
VII Semester / 2015 23rd Dec 2018 20 11th Feb 2019 8th April 2019 26th April 2019
-4-
NEWS & EVENTS
THFINAL PROJECT WORK DEFENCE BY 8 SEMESTER STUDENTS
thThe Final Project Work defense of 8 semester B. Tech. in Biotechnology students was conducted by
Department of Biotechnology, AITM on 24 January 2019. Mr. Rabin Shrestha, Deputy Head, Department of
Biotechnology convened the program. Altogether there were 2 project works by 6 students. The students
presented their project works in presence of two External Evaluators from Nepal Academy of Science &
Technology (NAST), Dr. Jyoti Maharjan, Senior Scientific Officer, Molecular Biotechnology Unit and Dr. Jay
Kant Raut, Facuty of Science at Bio-resource Unit along with Project Supervisors Dr. Mahesh Kumar Adhikari ,
Dr. Pramod Aryal, Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju, Head, Department of Biotechnology, AITM, Lecturer Mr. Binod Kumar
Mishra and Research Assistant Mr. Abhishesh Bajracharya were present in the defense sessions. Mr. Hari
Krishna Saiju, concluded the program by thanking External Evaluators and the Project Supervisors for their
comments and suggestions to the students. The Project Work carries 8-credit hours in their final semester.
S. No. Project Title Name of students
1
DRUG REPURPOSING AND DNA MARKER INDENTIFICATION AGAINST W. H. O. PRIOTIZED PATHOGENS: AN IN SILICO APPROACH.
Prithivi Jung Thapa, Richa Khatiwada and Sahil Shakya
2
STUDY ON MOSQUITO LARVICIDAL EFFICIENCY FROM EXTRACT OF AMANITA SPECIES.
Abhishek Ghimire, Roshan Baskota and Subashna Gurung
DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
INDUSTRIAL VISIT OF B. TECH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY STUDENTS
th th thThe students of 8 semester (2014 Batch) and 7 semester (2015 Batch) of B. Tech in Biotechnology went for industrial visit in the eastern region of Nepal from 27 st January to 1 February 2019. Nineteen students were accompanied by our faculty members Mr. Binod Mishra and Mr. Rabin Shrestha. The team left Kathmandu for the
thvisit on Sunday 27 January 2019.
thOn 28 January 2019, the students visited Animal Breeding Center, Lahan. The students were briefed by Binaya Kumar Ratna, Live Stock Officer about the procedures for thartificial insemination and its importance in improved animal breeding. On 29 January 2017, the students visited Rijal Tashi Industries (DRUK), Itahari. In DRUK they
thwere briefed about processing and packaging of different types of food like jam, ketchup, prickles etc. On 30 January 2019, the students visited Kanyam Tea Factory, thKanyam. The students were briefed by Mr. Tej Man Rai, Senior Technician of the factory about tea processing in the factory. On 31 January 2019 the students visited
Cardamom Development Centre at Fikkal, Ilam. The students were briefed by Mr. Padam Prasad Adhikari, Senior Cardamom Development Officer on tissue culture of stcardamom and different diseases that could be possible on cardamom. On 1 February 2019, the Team returned back to Kathmandu.
NEWS & EVENTS
INVITED LECTURE AT NEHHPA
Nepal Herbs and Herbal
P r o d u c t s A s s o c i a t i o n
(NEHHPA) is an umbrella
organization of Nepalese
h e r b a l p r o d u c e r s ,
manufacturers and traders in
t he Non- t imbe r Fo res ts
Products sector particularly
cove r ing Med ic ina l and
Aromat ic P lants. I t was
established in 2002. NEHHPA
is associated with Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry th st rdsince 2006. NEHHPA organized the 8 Expo from 1 to 3 March 2019 at Chhaya
Centre. Thamel, Kathmandu. Minister for Forests and Environment, Mr. Shakti
Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the Exposition. Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju delivered a rdguest lecture “Quality of Herbs and Herbal Products” on 3 March 2019. He
highlighted on the importance of quality of herbs and herbal products for
sustainable commercialization of these commodities.
-5-
REFRESHERS TRAINING ON TISSUE CULTURE TO GOVERNMENTHORTICULTURISTS AND PRIVATE POTATO TISSUE CULTURE COMPANY PERSONNEL
National Potato, Vegetable and Spice
Development Center, Department of
Agriculture, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
had requested AITM to organize
Refreshers Training to Government
Horticulture Officers and individuals
of Private Potato Tissue Culture
C o m p a n y . D e p a r t m e n t o f
Biotechnology, AITM organized a nd rdtwo-day refreshers training for twenty two persons on 22 and 23 January
2019. The training imparted on the topics: tissue culture laboratory layout,
laboratory equipments, chemicals, nutrient medium preparation, tissue culture
technique and incubation of cultured flasks for in vitro plant production. The
training emphasized on transfer of tissue culture technology from laboratory to
land. Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju, Head, and Mr. Abhishesh Bajracharya, Research
Assistant, Department of Biotechnology were involved in the training program.
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
AITM ATTENDED THE KICK-OFF WORKSHOP OF “PBL SOUTH ASIA” PROJECT IN FINLAND
NEWS & EVENTS
The kick-off workshop of “PBL South Asia” project was organized in Aalto University, Finland, from 04 to 08 Feb 2019. All the partner universities/higher education
institutions (HEIs) from Europe (Finland, the Netherland and Lithuania) and South Asia (India, Nepal and Bhutan) attended the workshop. Two participants from each
partner University/HEI participated in the workshop. Ms. Lena Sthapit (Deputy Head of Civil Eng. Dept., Faculty and the project coordinator from AITM) and Dr. Rabindra
Raj Giri (Head of Civil Eng. Dept. and Faculty) from AITM attended the workshop. The two AITM faculties departed from Kathmandu on 2nd Feb to Helsinki to participate
in the workshop and returned to Kathmandu on 10 Feb 2019.
Team building exercises, presentations by each partner University/HEI and presentation by Aalto University on “Aalto’s PBL Courses” were major highlights of the first
day of the workshop. Similarly, presentations by TU Delft on “Embedding Sustainability into Innovation and Recent Research on PBL Methods in Teaching”, by IIT
Bombay and IISc. Banglore (India) on “PBL Methods and Design Thinking” and by Aalto University on “PBL Methods for Global Sustainable Development: Next Steps?”
were the highlights of the second day. The focus of the third day was on “The Students’ First Pilot Case Study in Nepal”. In the beginning, AITM delivered a presentation
on the proposed students’ first pilot case study at Dhungentar, Nuwakot, Nepal followed by presentations of four groups of Aalto University students who are involved in
different students’ case studies in Africa and Asia including the one group which is participating in the Dhungentar case study in Nepal. Later on the day, Kaunas
University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania, conducted a session on “Quality Plan for the Project” followed by another interactive session on “How to Teach PBL Courses
in Practice?”. The fourth day of the workshop focused mainly on issues like “Project Administration”, “Finances”, “Communication and Dissemination” and “Planning
Next Workshops”, and the representatives of the partner institutions visited different centers of Aalto University later on the day. The project management team meetings
and bilateral meetings of PBL South Asia partner institutions took place on the fifth/final day and the workshop was concluded.
AITM AND LOCAL PARTNER NGO SUBMITTED CONCEPT NOTE PROPOSAL TO P4G
AITM and Friends Service Council Nepal (FSCN), a local NGO based on Mahalaxmi Municipality, Imadole,
Lalitpur, had earlier agreed to develop joint research proposals in “Sustainable Eco-Tourism” sector and apply
for necessary financial support/fund to donor agencies. In this regard, a team of faculties/staff from the both
institutions visited Lankuri Bhanjyang located at the South-West edge of Kathmandu valley in Mahalaxmi
Municipality-09 on 14 January 2019. The objective of the field visit was to observe Lankuri Bhanjyang and its
surroundings and assess the possibility of earthquake rehabilitation and tourist promotion activities in the
area. The team observed Lankuri Bhanjyan picnic spot at the top of the hill, nearby villages and Patle
Community Forest User Group during the field visit.
After the field visit, AITM and FSCN jointly prepared a concept note entitled “Partnership for Climate Resilient
Sustainable Eco-Tourism Business” and submitted to “Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goal” (P4G)
on 14 January 2019 for financial support. The main goal of P4G funding is to bring governments, businesses
and civil society to a common platform for innovative solutions to humanitarian needs in the fields of food and
agriculture, water, energy, cities and circular economy through public-private partnership. Once the concept
notes are reviewed, the short-listed ones will be asked to submit detail proposal within May-July 2019. The
P4G can provide up to USD 100,000.0 funding in the start-up phase of the project.-6-
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
PBL SOUTH ASIA: STUDENTS’ FIRST PILOT CASE STUDY CONDUCTED AT DHUNGENTAR, NUWAKOT, NEPAL
NEWS & EVENTS
Aalto Global Impact (AGI) of Aalto University, Finland, is the lead partner of a
recently launched project “Strengthening Problem Based Learning in South
Asian Universities”. After the kick-off workshop of the project held from 04 to 08
Feb 2019 in Aalto University, the next event of the project was organized in Nepal
from 18 February to 01 March 2019. The event in Nepal included students’ first
pilot case study at Dhungentar, Nuwakot, bilateral meetings of the partner
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Nepal with Aalto project coordination
team, faculty workshop in Kathmandu University, and project dissemination
event in Hotel Greenwich Village in Lalitpur organized by Sagarmatha
Engineering College.
A multidisciplinary team of seven graduate students (Arts, Business and
Engineering fields) and two mentors from Aalto University and five
undergraduate students (Engineering, Biotechnology & Hotel Management
fields) and one mentor from Asian Institute of Technology & Management
(AITM) was involved in the first pilot case study conducted at Dhungentar. The
involved students in the pilot case were selected based on different criteria.
Interest in the pilot case study, available time to get involve in the pilot case,
communication skill and academic performance were some of the criteria
utilized in selecting students from AITM. After the selection, the students in Aalto
and AITM discussed on their interests, ideas and possible themes of their
projects at Dhungentar several times both in group and individual levels through
skype/zoom meetings. The students exchanged their cultural backgrounds,
interests, background information of Dhungentar field as well as other personal
information through the zoon/skype meetings before they met face to face later
in Kathmandu. The mentors in Aalto and AITM guided the students whenever
needed during and after the pilot case. “Social cohesion before and after the
2015-earthquake at Dhungentar” and “Entrepreneurship business potential of
cement stabilized earth blocks (CSEB) by Dhungentar local residents” were the
two themes chosen by the students for the pilot case study.
Dhungentar is a hillside settlement of about ninety-six households of poor and
marginalized low-caste people located at about 50-km North-West of
Kathmandu in Bidur Municipality of Nuwakot district, Nepal. Almost all the
houses at Dhungentar were completely damaged by the 2015 earthquakes in
Nepal. International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in
association with National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), Nepal and support
from International Development Research Center (IDRC) launched a project of
constructing low-cost resilient houses for the Dhungentar residents from April
2016 to September 2018. A joint team of Aalto and AITM students had
conducted a field research entitled “The Relation between Communication
Practices and Knowledge Adoption of Sustainable Solutions in Nepal” at
-7-
Dhungentar reconstruction site previously in March 2018. The Dhungentar field
site was chosen for the “PBL South Asia: Students’ Pilot Case Study” also owing
to the students’ interest in a reconstruction field site and their familiarity with the
Dhungentar reconstruction site.
The Aalto PBL South Asia team together with Aalto students landed in
Kathmandu on 17 Feb 2019. Then the students and mentors of both Aalto and
AITM met at AITM physically for the first time on 18 Feb, introduced to each
other, discussed and worked together on their themes for the students’ first pilot
case study at Dhungentar and finalized the contents. A half-day seminar was
organized at AITM by the Aalto and AITM students on their pilot case study on 19
Feb before going to the Dhungentar field. Participants from other Nepalese
par tner HEIs (Kathmandu University, Nepal Engineering College and
Sagarmatha Engineering College) and Shakuntala Acharya from Indian Institute
(IISc.), Banglore also attended the seminar. The students presented their cases
(e.g., background information of the field site, their study themes,
methodologies, plans and expected results) in the seminar, while the
participants commented on their presentation.
Then the multidisciplinary team of twelve students, three mentors and
Shakuntala Acharya as an observer travelled to Dhungentar on 20 Feb 2019.
The team stayed in the multi-purpose community center constructed at
Dhungentar by the ICIMOD project from 20 to 26 Feb and conducted their field
works. The daily activities of the students and mentors included planning for the
day’s activities in the morning, going to the fields and carrying out activities as
planned in the day time, discuss on the day’s activities and summarize outcome
of the day in the evening. The data were collected through structured
questionnaires, interviews with community members and other stakeholders,
focused group discussions, photography and videography. Total 37 interviews
and 6 focused group discussions were conducted, and over 3,000 photographs
and 3-hour long videos were shot during the students’ field work at Dhungentar.
The team travelled back to Kathmandu on 26 Feb 2019. Then the students
compiled, analyzed and interpreted the collected data on 27 Feb. The students
presented the preliminary results of the field works in an information
dissemination event at Hotel Greenwich Village, Lalitpur on 28 Feb organized by
Sagarmatha Engineering College. All the partner HEIs from Nepal and Bhutan
attended the event in Greenwich Village. Participants from other academic
institutions in Kathmandu were also invited in the dissemination event while
Shakuntala Acharya was connected to the event through a video link.
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
PBL SOUTH ASIA: MEETING HELD BETWEEN AALTO PROJECT COORDINATION TEAM AND AITM MANAGEMENT TEAM
Aalto Global Impact (AGI) of Aalto University, Finland, is the coordinator of a recently launched
project “Strengthening Problem Based Learning in South Asian Universities”. After the kick-off
workshop of the project held from 04 to 08 Feb 2019 in Aalto University, the next event of the
project was organized in Nepal from 18 February to 01 March 2019. The event in Nepal include
students’ first pilot case study at Dhungentar, Nuwakot, bilateral meetings of partner Higher
Education Institutions (HEIs) in Nepal with Aalto project coordination team, faculty workshop at
Kathmandu University, and dissemination event of the project in Hotel Greenwich Village at
Bakhundole, Lalitpur.
The bilateral meeting between the project coordination team of Aalto University and AITM
management team was held in the second half of 19 February 2019. Ms. Riina Subra (Senior Manager, Aalto Global Impact) led the Aalto University team in the meeting
while Mr. Pramod Bhusal (Faculty, Aalto University) and Mr. Avinash Dhital (Project Specialist, Aalto University) were other two members of the Aalto team. AITM
coordinator for the “PBL South Asia” project Ms. Lena Sthapit led the AITM team in the meeting while Mr. Pramod Sagar Singh Pradhan (Board Director), Mr. Bhupa Das
Rajbhandari (Executive Director), Dr. Rabindra Raj Giri (Head of Civil Engineering Department), Mr. Basanta Prasad Joshi (Head of School of Hotel Management), Mr. Hari
Krishna Saiju (Head of Biotechnology Department) and some faculties were other members of AITM team in the meeting. Ms. Shakuntala Acharya from Indian Institute of
Science (IISc.), Banglore, India also attended the meeting as an observer.
The meeting began with introduction of the participants. Senior Manager of Aalto Global Impact Ms. Riina Subra then highlighted on the aims and objectives of the “PBL
South Asia” project, and obligation of the partner HEIs in Nepal and Bhutan in implementing problem-based learning approach in their university curricula. Then, Mr.
Pramod Sagar Singh Pradhan and Mr. Bhupa Das Rajbhandari shed light on the present status of AITM and the possible pathways for implementing/integrating the
problem-based learning method in AITM at different levels. After the discussion was over, the meeting concluded with a high tea.
NEWS & EVENTS
-8-
PBL SOUTH ASIA: AITM FACULTIES ATTENDED ONE-DAY WORKSHOP IN KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY, DHULIKHEL
Aalto Global Impact (AGI) of Aalto University, Finland, is the lead partner of a recently launched project “Strengthening Problem Based Learning in South Asian
Universities”. After the kick-off workshop of the project held from 04 to 08 Feb 2019 in Aalto University, the next event of the project was organized in Nepal from February
18 to March 01, 2019. The event in Nepal included students’ first pilot case study at Dhungentar, Nuwakot, bilateral meetings of the partner Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) in Nepal with Aalto project coordination team, faculty workshop in Kathmandu University, and project dissemination event in Hotel Greenwich Village, Lalitpur.
Faculties from the partner HEIs in Nepal and Bhutan involved in implementing Problem Based Learning (PBL) participated in the one-day workshop conducted on Feb.
27, 2019 in Kathmandu University (KU), Dhulikhel. Ms. Riina Subra and Mr. Avinash Dhital from Aalto University, Finland, conducted the workshop while Ms. Shakuntala
Acharya from Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Banglore, and Ms. Laura Jankauskait-Jurevičien from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania joined the
workshop via video links. About thirty-five faculties from the PBL South Asia partner HEIs of Nepal and Bhutan participated in the workshop.
The program began with welcome speech and a highlight on the ongoing PBL-type courses and experiences in Kathmandu University by Prof. Dr. Bhola Thapa (former
Dean and Registrar, KU) and Mr. Dhiraj Shrestha (Assistant Professor, Computer Engineering Dept., KU) followed by another highlight by Ms. Riina Subra (Senior
Manager, Aalto Global Impact and Lead Coordinator, PBL South Asia) on the needs of PBL in Nepalese and Bhutanese HEIs, gaps and learning priorities, possible
curriculum changes, hopes and risks. The second half of the workshop focused on group works on lessons learned from the recently concluded students’ first pilot case
at Dhungentar, achieving the planned institutional project goals and the next students’ cases in Nepal and Bhutan in three separate sessions. Ms. Shakuntala Acharya
(IISc. Banglore) commented and gave her feedbacks on the group works in the faculty workshop.
NEWS & EVENTSHIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL
CLASS & STREAM-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF STUDENTS
Grade
Stream
Class Start
No. of classes to be delivered until the
end of session
No. of Students
Pre-Board Exams
Board Exams
XI Science &
Management 24th July
2018 156 86
3rd-12th April 2019
12th -22rd May 2019
XII Science &
Management 1st July 2018
151 77 6th-17th March 2019
28th April- 9th May 2019
THE RESULT OF SECOND TERM EXAMINATION
CLASS RESUMED AFTER THE SECOND TERM
thThe second term exam of NEF-CCN concluded on the 4 January and a long winter vacation had been thgiven, the classes started on 20 of January. However, the classes in initial days could not be conducted
thso effectively due to extreme cold weather. After a week classes went on smoothly from 27 of January.
ndThe result of the second term exam was distributed to the students along with their guardians on 2 of
February. More than 85% parents as well as guardians were present to receive the result and discussed
about the performance of their children. They met the subject teachers to ask about the aptitude of their
children and other remedial measures to improve their performance in the coming days.
As per HISSAN schedule, the Pre board examination of thgrades XII commenced from 6 March 2019 and ended on
th17 March 2019.
HOTEL VISITED BY GRADE XI AND XII HOTEL MANAGEMENT STUDENTS
To provide intensive practical experiences, AITM conducted practical classes for grade XI & XII Hotel st stManagement students at Hotel Ratnagiri, Nagarkot on 31 January and 1 February 2019 respectively. In
the visit, grade XI students learned different types of room’s facilities, methods of serving different types
of food and beverages to the guests. Similarly, grade XII students experienced hotel services, room
facilities, bed making procedures as well as preparation methods of cocktails and mock tails. Mrs. Nil
Badan Suwal (Subject teacher) and Mr. Dipendra Deshar(Discipline counselor) were present in the Hotel
visit.
HISSAN PRE- BOARD EXAM
The students of Grade XI organized a grand farewell thprogram for the students of grade XII on 19 of March,
2019 in the Prabidhi Auditorium of AITM. Almost all the
students from both grades were present. The students had
slotted the program into two halves. The first half of the
program was the formal one chaired by Mr. Pramod Sagar
Singh Pradhan, Board Member of AITM, Mr. Basanta
Prasad Joshi, Dr. Rabindra Raj Giri and Mr. Hari Krishna
Saiju from Deparment of Hotel Management,Civil
Engineering and B.Tech in Bio-Technology respectively.
Mr. Shyam Krishna Maharjan, head of plus two school
welcomed the guests while the chair of the program
Mr. Pradhan addressed the formal session giving inspiring
tips for the outgoing students. The formal program was
hosted by Ms. Prerana Devi Masal and Ms. Ekata Maharjan
of Grade XI. The second half of the program was full of
entertainment. The students as well as the teachers, staff
and other invitees enjoyed the program very much.
FAREWELL PROGRAM (MARCH 19, 2019)
Practical Board Exam of Grade XII Science/Management nd thcommenced from 22 March to ended to 25 March 2019.
NEB PRACTICAL BOARD EXAM OF GRADE XII
-9-
AITM Sports Meet 2019
Like in the previous years, AITM organized this year’s annual sports event “AITM Sports Meet-2019” from February 20 to 27, 2019 jointly coordinated by
Mr. Binod Kumar Mishra (Faculty, Biotechnology Department) and Mr. Dipendra Desar (Faculty, Plus Two Program). About three hundred AITM students
participated in the event, while basketball, volleyball, football, cricket, badminton, table tennis and chess games were included in the event. The annual
event was inaugurated by handing over a basketball to the referee of the game by Dr. Rabindra Raj Giri (Head of Civil Engineering Depar tment) and Mr.
Shyam Krishna Maharjan (Head of Plus Two Program) organized on AITM basketball ground on the first day of the event. The table below shows a snapshot
of the events, participants and winners of the “AITM Sports Meet-2019”.
AITM Sports Meet-2019: Summary of Events & Winners (Feb. 20 to 27, 2019)
-10-
S.N. Game Participants Winner Runner -up
1 Football 4 Teams BHM Plus Two
2 Cricket 4 Teams BHM Plus Two
3 Volley Ball 4 Teams BHM (5 th Sem.) BHM (3 rd Sem.)
4 Basket Ball (Boys) 5 Teams BHM Plus Two
5 Basket Ball (Girls) 3 Teams BHM Biotechnology
6 Badminton (Boys
single ) 31 Participants Kushal Khadka (BHM) Prajwal Khadka (BHM)
7 Badminton (Girls
single ) 28 Participants Nisha KC (Plus Two) Dipa Rai (Plus Two)
8 Table Tennis (Boys
single ) 17 Participants Kiran Kharel (BHM)
Sanjog Raj Silwal
(Biotechnology)
9 Table Tennis (Girls
single ) 10 Participants
Lakpa Yangi Sherpa
(BHM) Pramisha Dangol (BHM)
10 Chess (Boys) 12 Participants Sanjog Raj Silwal
(Biotechnology)
Avibind Khaniya
(Biotechnology)
Mr. Rohit Giri (BHM), Mr. Rajesh Jimee (Plus Two), Mr. Kushal Khadka (BHM) and Mr. Pwajwal Khadka (BHM) were declared as the best players of football,
basketball, cricket and volleyball games respectively in the “AITM Sports Meet-2019”.
The prizes of “AITM Sports Meet-2019” were distributed to the winners in a program organized in AITM conference hall on March 28, 2019. Most of the
AITM students, staff and faculties including Executive Director and Heads of Departments were present in the prize distribution program on the day. The
Executive Director of AITM, Mr. Bhupa Das Rajbhandari, highlighted on the importance of discipline and sports activities in life in the beginning of the
ceremony. Then, prizes were distributed to the winners by the Executive Director and Heads of Depar tments (Dr. Rabindra Raj Giri, Department of Civil
Engineering; Mr. Basanta Prasad Joshi, School of Hotel Management; Mr. Hari Krishna Saiju, Biotechnology Department and Mr. Shyam Krishna Maharjan,
Plus Two Program) one after another. The program ended with group photographs with the prize winners.