Category: RIT

Engineering Schools in Burma

  • U Soe Paing

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    U Soe Paing
    U Soe Paing & Daw Saw Yu Tint
    U Soe Paing, U & Mrs. Hla Min

    Name: U Soe Paing

    Qualification: BS (Stanford), MS (Stanford), MSc. Computer Science (Southampton)

    Department: Electrical Communications
    Position: Assistant Lecturer, (Jan 1964 to March 1971)
    Reason for Leaving: Joined Universities’ Computer Center in April 1971.

    Engineering Alumni: Attended First Year Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University from June to December, 1958.
    Reason for Leaving: Awarded State Scholarship to study in USA.

    Occupation: Data Processing Adviser (Retired)

    Organization: United Nations

    Updates

    • Saya was my mentor at RIT and UCC.
    • He offered me and Saya U Aung Zaw (UCC, GBNF) to be his co-authors. We wrote programming texts, manuals and guides.
    • Saya was a prime mover to get the “RIT Alumni International Newsletters” and http://www-ex-rit.org started.
    • Saya would mention that I am a “Shay Hmi; Nauk Hmi. ရှေ့မှီ၊ နောက်မှီ”
    • Sayagadaw added: “Bay Hmi ဘေးမှီ as well’.
    • Saya wrote articles for the RIT Newsletter and selected journals & magazines. They can be accessed via SCRIB-D
    • He also gave an interview for MASTAA
    SP 2
    SP 3
    SP 4
    SP 5
    SP 6
    SP 7
    SP 8
    SP 9
    SP 10
    SP 11
  • 1963 – Present

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Events

    Many events are covered in my posts & Newsletter Updates.

    The following are some highlights for 1963 – 2025.

    • Spent five years studying at RIT.
    • Have spent 26 years paying back to my alma mater and my mentors.
    • Thanks to my family members for their support.

    1963

    Matric Exam

    • Took Matric Only exam in May
    • Stood 7th in the whole of Burma. Honored at a ceremony at St. Paul’s High School.
    7th in Burma
    • Won the Collegiate Scholarship of 75 kyats a month
    Scholarship Winners
    • OPA invited us to the Annual Dinner on June 30.
    OPA Dinner
    • A newspaper clipping describing the Dinner is shown below. From R to L : Khin Maung U, Min Oo, Myo San, Nyunt Wai, Thein Wai, me & Maung Maung Kyi
    • SPHS had five in the Top Five, seven in the Top Ten and ten in the Top Twenty in the Matric exam of 1963. Myo San (Freddie, 3rd), Maung Maung Kyi (11th) and Aung Thu Yein (13th) are now GBNF.
    • All our SPHS teachers except Saya Beatson (Physics, Boy Scout) are GBNF. Saya became a monk.

    Inter A

    • Attended the last ever I.Sc.(A) classes at Leik Khone.

    Rowing

    • Joined Rangoon University Boat Club with fellow Paulians Maung Maung Kyi (GBNF), Kyaw Wynn and Willie Soe Maung (GBNF). Our crew was Runners up for the Senior Novices. We were awarded Full Green.
    • Citing Security Concerns, the RUBC 40th Anniversary Regatta was canceled. Following the 7th July Anniversary protests, the University courses except Medicine & Engineering were suspended. The hostel students were ordered to return to their homes.
    • Sithu U Tin (President, GBNF) decided not to cancel the RUBC 40th Anniversary Dinner at Orient Hotel in Kandawgyi. Several members are now GBNF.

    1964 – 1969

    • The I.Sc(A) exam was held at the High Schools.

    RIT

    2nd BE
    • Attended first ever 2nd BE class at Rangoon Institute of Technology in November 1964.
    • I was admitted as the Top student based on the I.Sc(A) exam marks.
    Luyechun

    Luyechun

    • Selected Luyechun in 2nd BE. Attended the Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the summer of 1965 along with Ko Sein Shwe, Ma Khin Than Myint Tin and Ko Zaw Min.
    • The Luyechun program was started in the summer of 1964 with students from 7th to 10th Standards. In 1965, the program also included students from Universities & Institutes.
    • Some Luyechuns — Kyaw Sein Koe (IM1), Khin Aye Than (Chemistry), Tun Naung (Dental), Than Sit (Sagaing) and Aung Kyaw Nyunt (Myingyan) — are now GBNF.

    Associations

    • Served as Joint Secretary, Secretary & Magazine Committee member of the RIT EE Association
    RIT EE Association
    • Served as the last ever officially elected Treasurer and Vice Captain of Rangoon University Boat Club. The higher authorities abolished the Bye laws and prevented me from becoming RUBC Captain.

    Writing

    • Started free lance writing (article, poem, translation …)
    • Published the poem “Men on the Moon” in Guardian newspaper in July 1969. USIA sent a copy of the poem to NASA and the astronauts.
    Men on the Moon

    Graduation

    • Graduated with B.E (EC).
    • Of the 13 classmates, 12 graduated. Kyaw Soe, Aung Thu Yein, Chit Tin & Oo Kyaw Hla are now GBNF.
    EE69

    1970 – 1998

    Work

    UK
    • Universities’ Computer Center (UCC) : Computer Engineer, Sr. Systems Programmer, Business Application Manager
    UCC Course
    • Department of Computer Science (DCS) : Senior Lecturer
    • Institute of Computer Science and Technology (ICST) : Associate Professor
    • Tech Companies in the Silicon Valley : Member, Senior Member & Principal Member of Technical Staff

    Publications & Projects

    • Articles & translations in Guardian, Working Peoples’ Daily (WPD), Forward Magazine, Veda ဝေဒ Magazine, and Pan ပန် Magazine.
    • Assisted Saya Dr. Chit Swe’s projects including High School Mathematics, Children’s Treasury of Knowledge (CTK), Team of System Specialists (TOSS)
    • Wrote Computer Science, Programming & Lecture guides and UCC manuals with Saya U Soe Paing and Saya U Aung Zaw (GBNF).
    U Soe Paing
    • Per request from U Myint Sein (Principal, BARB), I assigned Ko Win Latt and Ko Zaw Tun Veda projects and supervised them. Their programs are used by Veda sayas, students & practitioners.
    With Veda Sayas

    1999

    Newsletter

    Newsletter
    • Started “RIT Alumni International Newsletter”
    • It started with the news and photos of some gatherings back in Burma. (a) 30th Anniversary of the Graduation of the Class of 69 — reported by Ko Daniel Tint Lwin and Ma Saw Yu Tint (Alice)
      (b) Mini-gathering with Sayagyi Dr. Aung Gyi and other sayas and senior alumni — reported by Saya U Soe Paing

    2000

    SPZP-2000

    SPZP-2000
    • First RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in San Francisco, USA in October 2000
    • Commemorative web pages (thanks to KMZ)
    • Commemorative Issue of the RIT Alumni International Newsletter by me and team
    My Poem
    • 64 Countdown to the Reunion posts
    • 36 Post-Reunion posts

    2002

    SPZP-2002

    • Second RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Singapore
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung”
    • by Saya U Moe Aung and team
    • Reprinted my “SAYA PUZAW PWE” poem as Back Cover

    2004

    SPZP-2004

    • Third RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Yangon
    • Mild earthquake did not rattle the attendees

    2006

    Three Gatherings in Sydney

    • Visited Sydney, Australia to attend three gatherings
    • RIT Alumni Dinner organized by Saya U Hla Myint, Saya U Myo Win (GBNF) & team
    RIT Gathering
    • UCC Alumni Gathering hosted by Saya U Aung Zaw (GBNF) and Daw Kyawt
    UCC Gathering
    • BOB Gathering at Olympic Park organized by Dr. Thann Naing (Bonnie Kywe)

    2007

    SPZP-2007

    SPZP-2007
    • Fourth RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Singapore
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” by Saya U Moe Aung and team
    • Contributed a poem “SWE DAW YEIK”

    UCC Gathering

    • UCC gathering in Yangon hosted by Saya U Soe Paing & Daw Saw Yu Tint
    • Ko Soe Myint & Ma Nge are now GBNF.
    UCC Gathering

    2010

    SPZP-2010

    • Fifth RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Singapore
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Sar Saung” by Saya U Moe Aung and team
    • Contributed an article : Sad and short clip — EE sayas

    2012

    SPZP-2012

    SPZP-2012
    • Sixth RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Yangon
    • True “Home Coming” in the Gyogone Campus
    • Special publication : History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar by Saya U Aung Hla Tun & team (Ko Ohn Khine & I compiled the CD supplement for the book)
    • Publication: Selected RIT Cartoons
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Magazine” by U Saw Lin & team
    • Limited reprints of 23 RIT Annual Magazines

    2013

    SDYF

    SDYF
    • Swel Daw Yeik Foundation
    • Contributions for various projects
    • Health care for the sayas and sayamas

    Soon Kyway

    • For Golden Jubilee
    • Gifts from KMZ, Zaw Tun & Kyu Kyu

    2014

    RIT Shwe YaDu

    GJ of Admission
    • 50th Anniversary of the opening of RIT in 1964
    • Planted 50 Swel Daw Bins
    • Commemorative Issue of “Swel Daw Yeik Magazine” by Saya U Moe Aung & team (Contributed an article : “Recollections of a 69er”)
    • Paved Shwe YaDu lane and set up Swel Daw Yeik benches
    • Translated Saya U Moe Aung’s Shwe YaDu poem

    2016

    SPZP-2016

    • RIT/YIT/YTU Alumni Association
    • Seventh RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in Yangon
    • 10000+ attendees
    • Free food and fun (all day and all night long)
    • Platinum Jubilee for the Class of 69
    • Hosted by some 69ers for their friends (in their sunset)

    Appreciation Awards

    • Soonkway at Half Moon Bay Monastery (organized by U Maurice Chee)
    HMB
    • Received Alumni Appreciation Award from alumni worldwide
    Award 1
    • Annual Dinner by Northern California RIT Alumni Association
    NorCal RITAA
    • Received plaque signed by Saya U Myat Htoo (Chair, BOD), U Kaung Kaung Oo (Gordon, President), and U Thaung Nyunt (Secretary)
    Award 2

    Gatherings

    • Attended SPZP-2016 and Platinum Jubilee of the Class of 69
    SPZP-2016

    2017

    Post-SPZP

    • Attended Post-SPZP2016 Gatherings

    DTM

    • Awards : Distinguished Toastmaster

    2018

    UCC & ICST

    • Attended 5th Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe of ICST/UCSY
    • Memories of UCC : 40+ posts
    • Trivia : 2000+ posts
    • Archived and revised posts in hlamin.com

    2019

    69er GJ

    • Golden Jubilee of Graduation of the Class of 69

    ILF

    • Panelist, 5th Irrawaddy Literary Festival

    2020

    • PSA Tour in Jan 2020
    • After announcement of pandemic in Feb 2020, many social activities were paused.

    2021 – 2023

    Visits

    • Short visits (e.g Singapore, Malaysia)

    NorCal RITAA

    • Some social activities were resumed.

    2024

    Visits

    • Short visits to Thailand and Laos
    • Attended EE85 Reunion as Guest of Edward Saw (Yu Ket).

    Celebrations

    • NorCal RITAA celebrated Centennial of Engineering Education in Burma & 60th Anniversary of RIT
    • Saya U Nyunt Htay, Mg Mar Ga & team organized the recording of video messages of some sayas & sayamas. They can be accessed from YouTube channel & website of NorCal RITAA.

    2025 – 2026

    Hla Min
    • Still have good physical & mental health.
    • Updating posts in my website
    • Posts for RIT Updates
    • Posts for Old Paulians
    • Posts for Old Burma Group

    Thanks

    • My ancestors
    My Beloved Father
    My beloved parents
    My parents & Mother-in-law
    • Family members
    • သင်ဆရာ၊ မြင်ဆရာ၊ ကြားဆရာ
    • Benefactors
  • Three Anniversaries in 2024

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    2024 — နှစ်ပတ်လည် သုံးခု

    Centennial of Engineering Education in မြန်မာပြည်

    * 1924 — RU တွင် မြို့ပြအင်ဂျင်နီယာ သင်တန်း ဖွင့်လှစ် Civil Engineering class was offered at Engineering Department, Rangoon University

    * B.Sc ဘွဲ့ ရ ကျောင်းသား များ နဲ့

    I.Sc အောင် ကျောင်းသား များ

    ကို စီစစ် လက်ခံ

    60th Anniversary of RIT

    * 1964 — တက္ကသိုလ် များ reorganize

    * ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် Rangoon Institute of Technology

    ပါမောက္ခချုပ် — ဦးရုံးမို U Yone Mo (Rector)

    * ပထမနှစ် သင်တန်း — တက္ကသိုလ်ဝင်စာမေးပွဲ အောင် တွေကို ILA နဲ့ရွေး 1st BE

    * ဒုတိယနှစ် သင်တန်း — I.Sc(A) အောင်တွေကို အမှတ်နဲ့ရွေး 2nd BE

    * တတိယနှစ် သင်တန်း — I.Sc(B) အောင်တွေကို အမှတ် နဲ့ ရွေး 3rd BE

    Silver Jubilee of RIT Alumni Newsletter

    * 1999 — ရန်ကုန်စက်မှုတက္ကသိုလ် ကျောင်းသား ဟောင်းများ အတွက် သတင်း၊ ဓာတ်ပုံ၊ ဆောင်းပါး

    * Founder / Editor: လှမင်း Hla Min

    Newsletter

    Contributions of U Hla Min

    အဖွဲ့ဝင် Member

    မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အင်ဂျင်နီယာ ပညာရေးသမိုင်း HMEE

    HMEE Book

    CD Supplement

    Compiled for the HMEE Book with အုန်းခိုင် (M70) Ohn Khine

    CD

    HMEE စာအုပ် ကို RU စာကြည့်တိုက် မှာလှူ
    Donated HMEE book to Universities Central Library & YTU Library

    Book Donation

    Highlights

    • 1964 မှာ 2nd BE တက်ခဲ့
      Admitted to 2nd BE as Top student (Roll Number One)
    2nd BE
    • လူရည်ချွန် — 1965 Summer (အင်းလေး)
      Selected Luyechun (Outstanding Student) to the Inlay Khaung Daing Camp in the Summer of 1965
    Luyechun
    • Organizer, SPZP-2000
      First RIT Grand Reunion and Saya Pu Zaw Pwe
      Received “Alumni Appreciation Award”
    SPZP-2000 Organizers
    • Received three Alumni Appreciation Awards (a) at SPZP-2000 (b) from worldwide alumni in Aug 2016 (c) from Northern California RIT Alumni Association in Sep 2016
    Award 1
    NorCal RITAA
    Award 2
  • 1973 Engineering

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    မှတ်တမ်း (တချို့)

    M73 Hovercraft Project

    M73
    • Project Supervisor : ဆရာ ဦးတူးမြင့်
    • ဦးလှဝင်း၊ ဦးခင်မောင်ချို နဲ့ အဖွဲ့

    Dr. Myint Thein / Dr မြင့်သိန်း (M73)

    • Georgia Tech က ပါရဂူ
    • Pen name : ဘသိန်း (Atlanta)
    • ဇနီး — ဒေါ်ညိုညိုဝင်း (T73)

    Dr. L Sein Myint / Dr L စိန်မြင့် (M73)

    • Organizer, East Coast RIT Alumni Reunion

    U Nyunt Htay ဦးညွန့်ဌေး (Met73)

    • High School လူရည်ချွန်
    • RIT ဆရာ ငြိမ်း
    • မောင်ညွန့်ဌေး — အထက်မင်းလှ
    • ကဗျာ ဆရာ၊ စာတည်း

    U Aung Moung ဦးအောင်မောင်း (M73, ကွယ်လွန်)

    Volunteer for HMEE, SPZP, SDYF, ARITA

    General အထွေထွေ

    Computer Science M.Sc ဘွဲ့ရ

    • U San Lin ဦးစံလင်း (EC73)
    • U Htun Aung Kyaw ဦးထွန်းအောင်ကျော် (EC73)
    • U Khin Maung Aye ဦးခင်မောင်အေး (M73, ကွယ်လွန်)

    Hovercraft Project Interview

    • စီစဉ်သူ — တက္ကသိုလ်မိုးဝါ

    ဦးကြည်အောင် (ChE73)

    • Donor
    • Class photo ပို့ပေး
  • Belles

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Female Engineering Students

    • In the old Education System, there were only a handful of female Engineering students
    • The first batch of five female students graduated in 1961.
      Four were from Textile : Tin Tin Ohn (Amy Thwin), Julie Han (later Dr.), Yin Yin Kyi and Mi Mi Lay. Pauline Reynolds was the first female Chemical Engineering graduate.
    Julie Han
    Pauline Reynolds
    • In 1962, Khin Than Nwe (Margaret, Tex) was the lone female engineering graduate.
    Khin Than Nwe
    • Ma Ni Ni Thwin, Ma Khin Thein Yi, Ma Tin Myint, Ma Pyi Aye, Ma Khin Khin Kyu, Nancy Hla Aung, Maywaddy Tun Tun, Ma Yi Yi Aung, Ma Mya Mya Than, Ma Nyunt Nyunt Zaw, Ma Cho are grads from 1963 – 68.
    Nancy & Yi Yi Aung
    • The new Education System saw more female students.
    • There were about 45 female students in the 1st BE intake in 1964, and about 30 female students in the 2nd BE intake in 1964. G-Hall accepted most female students.
    • There were more in the 1st BE intake in 1965.
    Archi

    Ushers at RIT Graduation

    Annotation : Daw Mae Khin Nyunt (Rosie, ChE71)
    Editor for “Swel Daw Yeik Magazine”
    Organizer for Combined 1st BE Intake of 64 and 65

    • We all served as ushers at the Graduation Dinner in late 1966.
    • Graduation took place at RIT as well as the Dinner, at “aw bar lan” area.
    Ushers

    Right to Left

    • Sandi Hlaing — Ch 66 intake
    • Mai Khin Nyunt (Rosie Gyi) — Ch 65 intake
    • Nila Mya Aung — M 64 intake
    • Jessie Htwe — M 66 intake
    • Annie Ba Htaw — Tex65 intake
    • Aye Aye Than (Pauk Pauk) Ch 66 intake (UK)
    • Tin Tin Myint (Emma Myint) — Ch 64 intake (Singapore)
    • Than Than Yi (GBNF) Tex 65 intake (my best friend who passed away in Sept 2013, USA)
    • Phyu Phyu Latt (Christine Latt) — Ar – 64 intake (Australia)
    • Min Thet Mon (Pamela Myo Min) — Ar -64 intake

    Tazaungdaing Festival

    Photo provided by Daw Tin Aye (C73).
    Initially took Mechanical Engineering and helped with “Set Hmu Thadin Zin” (founded by U Win Thein).
    Played Volley for Civil Engineering
    Volunteered for SPZP-2012 and SPZP-2016

    Annotation : Daw Mae Khin Nyunt (Rosie, ChE71)

    Right to Left

    • Aye Aye Than (Pauk Pauk, Ch 66-72, UK)
    • Tin Tin Myint (Emma Myint, Ch 64-70, Singapore)
    • Hla Hla Aye (She was as a cover girl at one of the “Shay Tho Sar Saung”, and inside the Sar Saung had an article about RIT activities with photos. I kept that Sar Saung, but unfortunately (after so many years) now I only have a page left with a photo taken at the Chemistry lab, which included Ma Khin Myat Swe (spouse of Saya U Moe Aung), Henry Koe, my spouse Ko Khin Mg Miynt and myself).
    • Tin Aye (C )
    • Nelly Khin Myo Win (GBNF) (Ch 65-71, Mandalay)
    • Could be Margaret Yi (Ch 65)

    All are from G -Hall at one of the Tha Din Gyut or Da Saung Taing Pwe at Shwe Dagon Pagoda, organized by G -Hall.

    Reunions

    Daw Pwint Than

    Daw Pwint Than and Daw Cho Cho Tin
    • Selected High School Luyechun from Loikaw twice : Ngapali Camp in the Summer of 1964 and Inlay Camp in the Summer of 1965.
    • Graduated with Electrical Power in 1971.
    • Joined EPC.
    • Spouse : U Htun Aung (EP, Intake of 1964)

    Daw Cho Cho Tin

    Five Belles
    • Pen name : Ma Sandar
    • Award winning author / novelist
    • Sample hit : “G Hall Thu”
    • Graduated with Architecture in 1971.
    • Spouse : U San Maung (A, intake of 1964)

    Daw Than Yi

    • Maubin Ma Shwe Than

    Rosie Gyi

    • Editor, Swel Daw Yeik Magazine

    Rosie Tin Maung

    • Vocalist
    • Bilingual Author

    SPZP

    • Attendees
    Belles 1
  • October 2017

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    69ers

    The Class of 69 (mostly M69) paid respect to Sayagyi U Ba Than on October 1, 2017. U Aung Min organized the visit.

    Sayagyi’s birthday is October 2.

    U Ba Than

    The group attended the birthday celebration ceremony and received blessing from sayargyi. The group handed over garawa birthday gifts that they had collected before and on the monthly breakfast gathering held earlier that day.

    Sayagyi U Ba Than

    Sayagyi usually performs dana with the Garawa money he received for his birthday and for attending the SPZPs and mini-SPZPs.

    Sayagyi has supported various charitable associations for the needy, the sick, the blind, the deaf and dumb, old people and “Nar Ye” . They include

    • Little Sisters for the Poor
    • U Hla Tun Foundation
    • Jivitadana ဇီဝိတဒါန
    • Hnin Si Gone Bo Bwa Yeik Tha နှင်းဆီကုန်းဘိုးဘွားရိပ်သာ
    • Mary Chapman
    • Kyaw Thu Nar Ye (နာရေး အဖွဲ့)
    • Medical Clinics

    On his Birthday every year, Sayagyi offers “soon kwyay” ဆွမ်းကျွေး at Yaw Sayadaw’s monastery.

    The Soon kwyay held on October 2, 2017 was attended by sayas, alumni, relatives and friends.

    Updates

    • During the pandemic, physical gatherings were put on hold. Celebrations were done virtually, e.g via Zoom
    • U Tin Htoon compiled a Photo Album for Sayagyi’s 90th birthday in 2020.
    U Ba Than
    • Sayagyi passed away peacefully after his 94th birthday.

    Posts

    • B (Names)
    • Dana
    • Engineering Library
    • Garawa
    • HMEE
    • Mechanical Engineering
  • COVID

    by Hla Min

    Update : May 2026

    2019

    • Disease caused by Corona Virus
    • Discovered in Wuhan, China in 2019
    • Took a long time before it was declared to be deadly and contagious by Health Authorities around the world.

    2020

    Restrictions

    • Quarantine
    • Curfew
    • Lock down
    • Stay at home
    • Circuit breaker
    • Mask wearing
    • Social distancing

    Impact

    • Work from home
    • Online classes
    • Massive unemployment
    • Zoom (for Dana & last journey)
    • Home delivery services
    • Cancellation or downsizing of events (Olympics, Sports, SPZP)
    • Say mee toe (some detrimental)
    • Fast track clinical trials for vaccination
    • Untimely demise of front line health care workers
    • Overrun of hospitals
    • Shortage of crematorium

    2021 – 2025

    Issues Remain

    • The Origin of Covid was debated, but did not produce answers
    • Multiple waves of Covid
    • Mutations & variants
    • Some had multiple doses of Covid vaccines, but still test positive

    Relatives

    • Four relatives succumbed to Covid.
    • My cousin nephew Dr. Peter Khin Tun (MRCP, former Associate Dean of Oxford University) was an early victim of Covid. I chronicled his last days.
    Dr. Peter Khin Tun
    • Two cousins (Dr. Myo Tint & Daw Aye May) and an aunt (Daw Than Than Yi) also passed away.
    Dr. Myo Tint

    69ers

    • 18 members of the RIT Class of 1969 succumbed to Covid. Saw most of them last at the Dinner for the Golden Jubilee of 69ers Graduation.
    • Some 69ers lost their family members — spouse and/or children
    GBNF

    Covid might not go away

    • Some say that we may have to take annual Covid vaccines
    • A few do not want to take booster doses for Covid.
  • BIT to YTU

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Burma Institute of Technology

    • BIT was opened at the Gyogone Campus in 1961.
    • The degree offered was B.Sc. (Engg).
    • Saya U Yone Moe was the Dean (since BIT was then Faculty of Engineering of Rangoon University).
    • U Sein Hla (MIT alumnus) was the Registrar.
    • Dr. Aung Soe (C61), Dr. San Tint (EE61) and U Maung Maung Win (M61) joined BIT as Assistant Lecturers.
    • Mao Toon Siong (M62), S Arya (M62), Dr. Tin Win (M62), U Aye (M62), U Tin Win (M62), U Hla Myint (M62), U Than Se (Richard, ChE62), U Aung Gyi (Simon, ChE62), Chow Seik Lim (EE62), and Daw Khin Than Nwe (T62) are some of the students who attended the Final Year classes at BIT.
    • U Aye (M62) and U Shwe Kyaw (M63, GBNF) represented RU and BIT in Volleyball.
    BIT Volleyball
    • Coup d’etat occurred on March 2, 1962. The final exam for the Class of 62 was delayed for an hour or so.

    Hall Tutors & Warden

    • U San Tun (M59) was a Gold Medalist in his class and joined the Faculty. He studied for his Masters at MIT. Upon his return, he taught at BIT and also served as a Hall Tutor.
    • U Kyaw Tun (EE, saya of our sayas) was the Hall Warden.
    • U Myo Kyi (EE59), U Tun Shwe (EE60), U Maung Maung Win (M61), Dr. San Tint (EE61) and Saya U Shwe Yi (T61) were Hall Tutors.

    Social and Reading Club

    BIT S&R Club
    • BIT had “Social and Reading Club” (သဟာယနဲ့စာဖတ်အသင်း Tha ha ya and Sar Phut Ah Thinn).
    • Most halls in Rangoon University have Social and Reading Clubs. For example, Shwe Ku May Hnin described S&RC and the notable members (who became known in the Literary Circle in Burma and beyond) in her book, “Nga Doh Khit Tone Ga Tekkatho”.
      She gave me an autographed copy during her visit to the US.

    Rangoon Institute of Technology

    • BIT was renamed as Rangoon Institute of Technology (RIT).
    • The name change took place in 1964 with the introduction of the New Education System.
    • RIT became an autonomous Institute. U Yone Moe became the Rector.
    • The degree was renamed as B.E.

    First Intakes at RIT in 1964

    • ​In November 1964, there were three Intakes.
    • 450+ students were admitted to the 1st BE based on the ILA system.
    • 320+ students were admitted to the 2nd BE based on the marks from the I.Sc.(A) exam.
    • About 200 students were admitted to the 3rd BE based on the marks from the I.Sc.(B) examination. They were joined by a few students who took sabbatical in the last First Year of Engineering (in the old system).

    Engineering Departments

    In 1964, there were eight engineering departments.

    • Architecture (Acting Head : U Tha Tun)
    • Chemical (Head : U Khin Aung Kyi)
    • Civil (Acting Head : U Min Wun)
    • Electrical (Head : U Sein Hlaing)
    • Mechanical (Acting Head : U Ba Than)
    • Metallurgy (Head : U Thit)
    • Mining (Head : U Soon Sein)
    • Textile (Head : U Maung Maung Than)

    Supporting Departments

    Several departments were placed in-house.

    • English (Head : Daw Yin Yin Mya)
    • Burmese (Head : U Tein Kyi)
    • Maths (Head : U Sein Shan)
    • Physics (Head : Daw Nyein)
    • Chemistry (Head : U Kyaw Tun)

    There were several Visiting Lecturers (e.g. for Sociology, Industrial Management, Electrical Inspection) and Part-time Lecturers.

    What’s in a name?

    • We are not sure if “BIT Rangoon” was considered as an alternative to RIT.
    • Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has several campuses. The five oldest IIT campuses and their establishment dates are:
      (a) IIT Kharagpur IITKGP 1951
      (b) IIT Bombay IITB 1958
      (c) IIT Kanpur IITK 1959
      (d) IIT Madras IITM 1959
      (e) IIT Delhi IITD 1963 [founded in 1961]
    • Many IIT graduates continue their studies at the prestigious universities in the USA.
    • Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) presumably was designed as a school for South East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO).
    • Some states (e.g Massachusetts, Illinois, California) in USA are known for their Institutes of Technology.
    • Dr. Freddie Ba Hli received his Sc.D. in EE from MIT. He was an informal adviser to Dr. Aung Gyi and U Min Wun, who were among the first three engineering undergraduates to be chosen under the “Twining Program” initiated by U Ba Hli, first native Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Rangoon University.

    Further Name Changes

    RIT was renamed as YIT (Yangon Institute of Technology) and later as YTU (Yangon Technological University).

    Placeholder

    In 1999, I started the “RIT Alumni International Newsletter” partly because my alma mater was called RIT during our days, but I have mentioned repeatedly that “RIT” is simply a placeholder for all the engineering schools in Burma/Myanmar that precede RIT and succeed RIT.

    Highlights and Lowlights

    Adhamma Era

    Our alma mater had its ups and downs. The classes were forced to close citing “disturbances”. There were no convocations for the years 1988 to 1991. It was branded as “Tha Bone Kyaung သူပုန်ကျောင်း” during the “Adhamma Era”. The classes were relocated to far away places, and “Swel Daw Bins” were decimated. The A to G Halls were transformed into make-shift quarters. Wall clocks stopped. Bushes sprang up. A video of that time brought tears and anger, and the notion that “we might not live to see our alma mater in its former glory for decades to come”.

    Pwint Linn Era

    With the dawn of the some-what “Pwint Linn Era”, our alma mater rose from the ashes. Per request from H.E. U Aye Myint (EP 72), the alumni — young and old, near and far — provided physical, monetary, and spiritual support to help the alma mater in every way possible.

    Home Coming

    The first true “Home Coming” took place in December 2012. There were tears of joy.

    3000 copies of the Swel Daw Yeik Magazine were sold out in a couple of days.

    Limited reprints of the 23 RIT Annual Magazines were also sold out.

    Autographed copies of “Selected RIT Cartoons” were also sold out.

    Some copies of “History of University Engineering Education in Burma/Myanmar” were donated to RU Central Library and YTU Library.

    RUESU

    Six Annual Magazines published by RUESU (Rangoon University Engineering Student Union). Saya U Moe Aung learned and refined his publication skills as an editor/publisher of the magazine.

    Ban by BSPP

    The student unions and all professional organizations were banned following the coup d’eat in March 1962. Censorship increased with subsequent regimes.

    Alumni Association

    We now have an official alumni association. It sponsored the Seventh RIT Grand Reunion and SPZP in 2016.

    Shwe YaDu

    Shwe YaDu Celebrations were held in 2014. Fifty Swel Daw Bins were planted and maintained. The sayas and alumni donated for the Shwe YaDu Lann, Shwe YaDu benches and much more.

    SPZP

    The world wide SPZP scheduled for December 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic.

    Library

    YTU Library Modernization Project was launched to satisfy a requirement for the accreditation of YTU. There were hiccups in the design and implementation, but thanks to the generous supporters — young and old, far and near — the first phase of the project was completed recently. Students will be provided access to the new YTU Library.

    Acknowledgement

    Thanks to the Ko Htu’s and Ko Hta’s ကိုယ်ထူ ကိုယ်ထ our alma mater မိခင်ကျောင်းတော်ကြီး is on track to achieving its former glory.

    Kudos to the sayas and alums for keeping the RIT (Swel Daw Yeik စွယ်တော်ရိပ်) Spirit alive and well.

  • Intake of 1964

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    1st BE Intake in 1964

    Most members graduated in 1970. Some left RIT before graduation. A few took Sabbatical & graduated later.

    U Ohn Khine (M70) reports the Gone But Not Forgotten (GBNF) list periodically.

    An entry contains

    • Name (Alias or nickname)
    • Roll Number in 1st BE
    • Major/Discipline
    • Date of demise (if known)

    Status

    As of June 20, 2025, there were 143 entries in the GBNF list.

    • Tommy Shwe 2 : RIT Selection for Badminton; Moved to Taiwan & USA; Kidnapped & murdered by his Handyman
    Tommy Shwe
    • Cho Aye 3 Mech 7/8/18 : RIT Hiking & Mountaineering; Organizer for the Group
    Cho Aye (Standing rightmost)
    • Peter Pe 4 Mech : RIT Swimming & Water Polo; Fell off from a horse
    • Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay) 8 Elec : Entrepreneur; Multiple Golden Sponsor for SPZP; Philanthropist; Steeve & Helen Kay Health Care Fund for RIT Sayas; CABA; Kay Family Foundation
    Thaung Sein (Steeve Kay) at 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles
    • Victor Jones 41 Civil
    • Ne Win 45 Tex
    • Tin Ohn 49 Mech
    • Naing Win 54 Mech : Spouse Polly Ba San was Burma Selected in Swimming
    • Mya Daung 58 Mech/Agri
    • Lay Myint 60 Civil
    • Khin Maung Pun 66 Petro ?/10/16 : Named after his birthplace Papun
    • Myo Thaw 68 5/15
    • Aung Kyan 71 Mech/Auto
    • Thet Win 75 Mech
    • Hla Min (Pauk Si) 82 Elec : Chief Operator at UCC; Passed away in his 30s
    • Mg Mg Myint (Japu Sein) 93 Mech : RIT Selection for Soccer
    • Soe Tint (Nevil Kyi Mg) 94 Civil
    • Mg Mg Than 97 Mech 8/7/18
    • Le Le Win (Lilian Tha Mya) 100 Mech
    • Nan Lwin 102 Elec
    • Myat Khine (Tha Aye) 104 Mech
    • Han Kyu Pe 110 Arch : Paulian
    • Than Tun (Ivan Win) 114 Mech/Agri
    • Aung Win 120 Chem
    • Aye Thin 122 Chem
    • Chit Khin 124 Arch 23/6/15
    • Than Sein 130 Mech
    • Aung Kyi 135 Mech
    • Khin Mg Saan 139 Civil
    • Ko Ko Tin (Winston Hla Mg) 141 Mech
    • Saw Pae Pae 143 Met
    • Win Maw (George Hock) 146
    • Ma Yin Shwe Tun 150 Tex
    • Myat Myat Moe 154 Arch
    • Ma Htay Htay Win (Marlene Mg Mg) 158 Chem
    • Than Myint 168 23/1/13
    • Myint Thein 172 Mech
    • Phone Thwin 177 Min
    • Than Nyunt Win 181 Civil
    • Khin Mg Kyu 183 Mech
    • Win Thein 185 Elec
    • Ma Khin Mya Oo 188 Met
    • Kyaw Naing (Sin Gwan) 191 Elec : RIT EE Saya
    • Mg Mg Yu 194 Mech/Agri
    • Tin Aye 195 Mech/Agri
    • Htike Nyan 198 Elec 26/10/15
    • Aung Khin 203 Mech
    • Kyi May Nwae 206 Met
    • Tin Win 209 Chem
    • Myat Swe (Myint Swe) 215 Elec 22/3/15
    • Kyaw Win Mhan 234 Arch
    • Ma Yaw Ze 243 Chem
    • Hla Shwe 247 Mech Lar Gyi
    • Min Thant (Maurice Bo Ni) 254 Elec
    • Tin Win (Arthur) 256 Mech
    • Aung Htay 277 Civil
    • Michael Shein Myint 280 Chem
    • Mar Mar 292 Civil
    • Thein Htun 304 Mech 29/8/18
    • Mg Mg Oo 312 PP
    • Myo Tint (Stanley Hla) 313 PP
    • Mg Mg Swe 314 Mech ?/1/18
    • Min Swe 318 Mech
    • Ye Myint Aung 323 Mech
    • Toe Nyunt 326 Elec
    • Tin Ko 330 Met
    • Aung Law Ha 342 Mn 30/1/16
    • Ma Tin Tin 348 Mech/Agri
    • Kyaw Swe Thet 354 Mech 2017
    • Kan Myint 371 Mech
    • Aye Than 385 Elec 25/4/16
    • Khin Soe 388
    • Khin Than Win 389 Tex 3/9/18 : Silver Pearl Diary co-owner
    • Maung Maung 398 Tex 31/8/14
    • John Krasu 402 Mar 2016
    • Shein Kee Gae 407 Elec
    • Ohn Kywe 408 Elec
    • Kan Win 409 Mech
    • Win Aung 413
    • Onward Taw 419
    • Sein Sein 418 Tex 19/2/15
    • Tin Oo 428 Arch
    • Nay Daung 435 Civil
    • Oo Myint 445 Min
    • Khin Mg Shwe (Kenneth) 446
    • Thein Han 463 Elec 18/5/12
    • Hla Kyaing 467 Min
    • Tin Win 475
    • Zaw Nyein 482 Tex 10/2/14
    • Myo Nyunt Saw 485 Elec
    • Mya Thaung 487 Mining Ye Baw Pae Hlaw
    • Sai Maung Lin 73 Mech
    • Maung Myint 332 Tex
    • Htay Lwin 367
    • Stanley Lim 51
    • Aye Win Kyaw 169 Civil : RIT Civil Saya
    • Zin Maung Oo 328 Civil
    • Khin Nyo 352
  • Steeve Kay

    by Hla Min

    Updated : May 2026

    Highlights

    • Thaung Sein
    • Attended Hwa Kyone. Sponsored publication of Hwa Kyone Centennial Magazine
    • Attended GTI briefly
    • Took Language Courses
    • Matriculated with Distinctions in Maths, Physics & Chemistry.
    • Admitted to 1st BE in Nov 1964 with Roll No. 8
    • Graduated with Electrical Communications in 1970
    • Moved to USA
    • Successful careers as IC Designer, CEO of QTC, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
    • Never forgot his Roots, Alma Mater, Mentors & Motherland. He sang “Shwe Mi” at 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles.

    Special Name

    • An administrator entered the name as Steeve (instead of Steve). He appreciated the name for being special.

    Education

    • MS from Stanford University
    • MBA from Pepperdine University

    Work & Experience

    S 1
    S 2
    S 3
    S 4
    • Electronics Engineer : Designer of Power IC Chip
    • Co-founder & CEO, QTC Management : His sister Dr. Lay Kay had patents for processing disability claims & requested Steeve to found QTC.
    • After private investors showed interest in his company, he retired but continued to lead a multiple-purpose career
    • Visiting places of the world’s leading religions
    • Incubating projects of young professionals
    • Supporting education (e.g. as trustee of UC Irvine & selected Colleges)
    • Maintaining diverse business portfolio
    • Helping those in need (via Kay Family Foundation & CABA)
    • Continue paying back the metta & cetana of his mentors
      as Golden Sponsor of RIT Reunion & Saya Pu Zaw Pwes,
      Helen and Steeve Kay Health Care Fund for the RIT Sayas and Sayamas.

    From the SPZP-2000 Archives

    RIT Poet Laureate Ko Hla Min:

    I must admit that I was suffering from a Monday morning “hangover”, having been intoxicated with emotional overdose over the reunion weekend [in October 2000].

    Judging from the post-reunion emails I read, I am not alone. What a reunion!

    By all measures, it was a success and did satisfy the alumni’s tremendous pent-up desire to reconnect with each other after many decades of separation. The dedication of the members of the organizing committee is second to none.

    With the assistance of his lovely wife, Benny Tan devoted practically full-time to this project for several months. I had a first-hand experience to see how meticulous he was when he was designing the RIT T-shirt. It came out a winner!

    I do appreciate the sensitivity the organizing committee displayed in making this event non-religious and non-political. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult for me to attend. The only regret is that I failed to locate the whereabouts of my buddy Ko Aung Min of Taunggyi (ME 70). I heard he went to Singapore, but so far my search has ended in “no find”.

    Now that the grand reunion is over, everybody is slowly recovering from the “hangover”. The big question is who would go to Singapore in 2002, and how do we go about doing it?

    With best regards,
    Steeve Kay (Ko Thaung Sein)

    Steeve (Center) at Benny’s house
    SPZP-2012
    Steeve (Center) in Yangon
    • SPZPs (starting with SPZP-2000 in US)
    • 40th Anniversary of “Arrival in US”
    Celebrating 40th Anniversary of Arrival in USA
    • Celebrating the Success of QTC
    • Acariya Pu Zaw Pwe(s) for the Combined 1st BE Intake of 64
    • 2015 RIT Alumni Reunion in Los Angeles
    2015
    • Special PZP and Reunion in Yangon (after doctors advised against Long Trips)
    Special Reunion & PZP