The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), founded in 1959, is an international organization for higher education situated 40km north of Bangkok, Thailand.

It aims to promote technological change and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region, through higher education, research, and outreach.

The Asian Institute of Technology Enabling Act was published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette in November the same year.

[8] Ambassadors of 14 countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam – are members of the AIT Board of Trustees.

[17] AIT operates as a self-contained international community at its campus in Pathumthani Province, some 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Bangkok, Thailand.

Besides laboratories and academic buildings, the main campus includes housing, sports, and medical facilities, a conference center, and a library with over 230,000 volumes and 830 print and online periodicals.

In August 2010, a new "Charter of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)" was adopted and signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

[19] Signatories to the new charter included Seychelles, Cambodia, Japan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Sweden, Timor-Leste, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, and UNIFEM.

The new charter came into force on 30 January 2012 as Sweden, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal deposited their instruments of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

Since its inception, SET's mission has been to develop highly qualified engineers and technologists who play leading roles in promoting the region's industrial competitiveness in its integration into the global economy.

SERD responds to regional needs by mobilizing and enhancing capacities for socially, economically, and environmentally sound development in partnership with public and private sectors.

Its goals are to impact the quality of management education and practices in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world, and to promote sustainable development, technological leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, wealth creation, and pride.

In 1989, AIT received a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Peace and International Understanding "for shaping a new generation of engineers and managers committed to Asia, in an atmosphere of academic excellence and regional camaraderie.

The citation credited AIT and it said,[28] "Yu fell in love with nature early on, having been raised in Yunnan, a province of amazing beauty and home to three of the largest rivers in the world: Nu, Yangtze, and Mekong.

His interest in the environment was cultivated during a stint in the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, and was further deepened when he attended the Asian Institute of Technology, where he earned a master's degree in watershed management.

Prominent alumni in Thailand include Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, former Governor of Bank of Thailand;[52] Gen. Boonsrang Niumpradit, former Thai Army Chief;[53] Dr. Somchet Tinnapong, managing director of Dawei Development Company; Dr. Prasert Patramai, Chairman of Board of TEAM GROUP,[54] Mr. Chaiwat Kovavisarach, President and chief executive officer of Bangchak Corporation,;[55] Somprasong Boonyachai, Director, Intouch Holdings, and Vice Chairman of Board of Advanced Info Service;[56] Sumate Tanthuwanit, CEO, Ngow Hock Group, TIPS Co Ltd. Thai Prosperity Terminal Co.,ltd., and Sintanachote Co.Ltd;[57] Chaovalit Ekabut, Former President, SCG Investment and CFO Siam Cement Public Company Limited;[58] Dr. Chainarong Na Lamphun, President and CEO, INDEX International Group; Preecha Ekkunagul, President and CEO of Central Pattana Public Company Limited;[59] Vichai Bhucharoen, chairman, Board of Directors, GMS Corporation Ltd.; and Dr. Yanyong Phataralaoha, managing director, Thai Pipe Industry Company Limited; International alumni include Mao Chi-kuo,[60] Premier of Taiwan, Yu Xiaogang,[61] winner of Ramon Magsaysay Award), Imtiaz Gilani, Provisional Minister of Education for the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Rafiul Ahad, Vice President, Software Development, Oracle Corporation; Huỳnh Ngọc Phiên, President, AMATA Group; Phạm Lê Thanh, chairman, EVM Vietnam Electricity, Boun Oum Syvanhpheng, CEO, Électricité du Laos; Nadeem Amjad, Member (National Resources) Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC);[62] Muhammad P Aftab, Vice President, National Engineering Services (NESPAK); MALWILA DISSANAYAKE, Malwila Dissanayake, chair, Environmental Science, Lakehead College, Canada; Wachchi Patabendege Ranjith Premalal De Silva; Vice Chancellor, Uva Wellassa University; Dr. Bindu Lohani, former Vice President of Asian Development Bank; and Dr. Tong Ki Woo, Governor of Education, Daegu Metropolitan City, Korea, and former president of Yeungnam University[63] AIT administered .th, the country code top-level domain for Thailand until 2007 when the administration was transferred to the Thai Network Information Center Foundation.