Aga Khan University Expands on Three Continents

On October 21, 2000, in a ceremony combining the pageantry of academia with the intellectual traditions of Islam, the Chancellor of Aga Khan University, His Highness the Aga Khan, presided over the University's 13th Convocation. General Pervez Musharraf, Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, was the Chief Guest. His Highness the Aga Khan was accompanied by the Begum Aga Khan and General Musharraf, by Begum Pervez Musharraf.

The gathering of over five and a half thousand guests also included the Chairman and members of AKU's Board of Trustees, the Governor of Sindh, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, federal and provincial ministers and secretaries, senior government officials, diplomats, national and international academicians, donors, prominent citizens and the University's faculty, students and their proud parents.

Both His Highness the Aga Khan and General Musharraf congratulated the 200 graduates who had successfully completed their academic programmes. There were 89 graduates from the School of Nursing, including 58 Nursing Diplomas holders and 31 receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Seventy-fourcompleted their MBBS programme and eight Master in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Master of Education degrees were awarded to 29 students from the Institute for Educational Development. The graduates, though predominantly from Pakistan, also came from Canada, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Shaheena Mithani from the Medical College gave the valedictory speech. The Chief Guest presented Aga Khan University's coveted Gold Medal, which has been awarded only five times in the previous twelve convocations, to Dr Rushida Zareen Yusuf. This medal recognises an outstanding medical graduate who tops three of the four certifying examinations, including the finals. This year's recipient topped all four certifying examinations. Mildred Kwanboka Ongere from Kenya was conferred the Outstanding Graduate Award in the three-year Diploma programme of the School of Nursing, and Shirin Amirali Vellani and Laila Abdul Ali Sukhyani shared top honours in the two-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing programme.

Explaining extensively researched long-term expansion plans, His Highness the Aga Khan announced the implementation of the University's first international academic initiatives and thanked AKU's many generous donors, present and absent alike. An Institute of Islamic Civilisations (IIC) in London will seek to "engender a critical humanistic approach to the study of Islamic civilisations" and an Advanced Nursing Programme will offer continuing and higher education in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

General Musharraf commended AKU for its role as "a standard setter and role model for other private and public universities in our country" and for its "ability to attract and maintain an outstanding faculty." Lauding especially the University's approach to accessibility, General Musharraf noted that the "Educational Support Programme ensures that deserving students are not excluded due to their financial handicap."

His Higness the Aga Khan outlined the broad content of IIC's initial activities: indexing and creating an electronic archive of published works on Islamic civilisations in various languages, sponsoring thematic research in fields that have escaped attention and its dissemination via the Internet, as well as full-time and part-time academic programmes. General Musharraf underlined the relevance of this initiative "in view of the widening gap between the reality of Islam and its perception in Western thought."

At the invitation of governments of three East African countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – AKU will commence the Advanced Nursing Programme to provide in-service training and postgraduate courses in nursing practice, research and administration. His Highness the Aga Khan cited the programme as an example of South-South technical assistance.

Announcing a US$ 20 million grant to commence development of a College of Arts and Sciences on a 400-acre site given by the Government of Sindh, His Highness the Aga Khan described the undergraduate programme which will precede establishment of a postgraduate programme. Based on the ‘liberal arts' model, the College will aim to develop "the skills of critical thinking and analysis and a high order of proficiency in verbal and written communication," whilst "an emphasis on ethics, especially of Muslim societies, and on community service, will infuse all of its programmes." The latter theme was echoed in an impassioned exhortation by General Musharraf to the graduating students to recognise Pakistan's many attributes and to base their futures on sound moral premises.

Describing a "new pattern that would magnify the impact of the resources of AKU throughout important regions of the country," His Highness the Aga Khan mentioned the Professional Development Centre that he inaugurated in Gilgit in the remote Northern Areas earlier, as well as a hospital he has committed to develop in the same region. Teachers and educational managers trained at the Centre will be taught by faculty, and receive certification, from the University's Institute for Educational Development. The proposed hospital will strengthen the linkage between AKU and the University Hospital on the one hand, and rural health centres on the other.

His Highness the Aga Khan also took the opportunity to brief the gathering about a sibling institution of AKU that he launched last month (September 2000) with the Presidents of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. The University of Central Asia will be a private, autonomous and secular university that will focus on the problems and potentials of the 30 million people who live where the world's highest mountain ranges converge.

A unique feature of this year's Convocation was the presentation of two Distinguished University Awards. Reading the citations, Dr Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President, AKU said, "These awards recognise outstanding persons whose contributions have had a significant impact on society and the University."

Professor David Elliot Bell, who served as a founding trustee on the Board of the University for 15 years, received the degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters. Sadly he passed away last month (September 2000), and Ms Susan Barry Bell accepted the award on her father's behalf. Professor Bell was a distinguished economist, occupying significant positions both in the United States and internationally, such as vice president for international affairs at the Ford Foundation. He was also an eminent academician, committed to helping developing countries evolve a sustainable infrastructure for widespread growth. As head of the Harvard Advisory Group for economic policy, he assisted the Planning Board of the Government of Pakistan develop its first five-year plan in the early 1950s, which remains a benchmark for both this country and others in the region. In recognition of his invaluable services to AKU, His Highness the Aga Khan has also established the David E. Bell Professorship, dedicated to advancement in the field of economics.

The second honour granted by His Highness the Aga Khan was the title of Professor Emeritus on Dr Cheves Smythe. In 1982, and until 1985, Dr Cheves Smythe was the first Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and a Professor of Medicine at AKU. He was earlier the founding Dean of the University of Texas Health Centre at Houston in the United States, where he continues as a Professor of Medicine. His wisdom and insightful leadership in the crucial, formative years of the School of Nursing and the Medical College helped to lay the foundations for their subsequent successful development.

In his welcome address, Dr Camer Vellani, Rector, AKU, highlighted the centrality of research in the new and existing units of the University to ensure sustainable progress based on sound knowledge and evaluation. Last year, 33 per cent of all research publications from Pakistan originated from the University. Dr Vellani also acknowledged His Highness's generous contribution of US$ 5 million to the University-wide research fund. "Reasoned inquiry is essential for valid assessment of need and effectiveness of services, and for enabling meaningful development and change," he said, and encouraged the graduates to use their expertise wisely for the benefit of society. He noted that the "University is a national and regional resource for development of skilled manpower, appropriate for the needs of developing countries."

With campuses in Europe and Africa, innovative academic programmes and a new liberal arts college in Pakistan, Aga Khan University's potential as one of South Asia's and the developing world's leading institutions of higher education, has now been considerably enhanced.

Earlier, on October 20, 2000, His Highness the Aga Khan inaugurated three new facilities on the main AKU campus. The Ibn Ridwan building housing the Community Health Sciences Department provides 20 per cent of the undergraduate medical curriculum through instruction, community work and the practice of family medicine. The Juma building provides facilities for research, using the latest technologies. The Sports and Rehabilitation Centre is one of the most modern and well-equipped facilities in the country, and the only one with facilities for rehabilitation of patients through exercise and other physical therapy. He also laid the foundation stone for the Nazerali-Walji ambulatory care building, which will provide an increasing number of outpatients with greater access to medical services at Aga Khan University Hospital.