Aga Khan Calls for Intellectual Excellence in Muslim Nations

Graduates of the MBBS programme read their oath

Held on December 6, 2003 in Karachi, the 16th annual Convocation of Aga Khan University (AKU) marked the graduation of 240 doctors, nurses and school teachers. His Excellency Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, was the Chief Guest and the ceremony was presided over by the Chancellor of the University, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. The Chancellor later inaugurated new facilities on the campus, including the building for cardiac services and residences for women working at the University, as well as laid the foundation of a cancer care facility.  

The gathering of over 3,000 guests included the Governor and Chief Minister of Sindh, ministers and secretaries, Chairman and members of AKU's Board of Trustees, Syrian Minister for Education, senior government officials, diplomats, as well as academicians, donors, prominent citizens and the University's faculty, students and their proud parents.

This year's 240 graduates included 17 from Afghanistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Kyrgyztan and USA.  Seventy-nine students graduated from the University's MBBS programme and 114 from its Nursing programmes, including the first batch of Master of Science in Nursing – the first in Pakistan. A graduate received a Master's degree in Epidemiology and 7 others their Master's degree in the joint disciplines of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. Five graduates of Master's in Health Policy and Management also received their degrees. Thirty-four graduates from AKU-Institute for Educational Development were awarded Master's degree in Education. Abdul Hakeem of the MBBS Class of 2003, received the Best Graduate of the Year award, while Shahnaz Ghulam Hussain Warwani from Diploma in Nursing programme received the highest number of awards.

Shahnaz Ghulam Hussain Warwani from Diploma in Nursing programme receives the highest number of awards.

The University has so far graduated 3,168 doctors, school teachers, and nurses. The graduates are drawn from all over Pakistan, including the rural areas. Through its needs-blind policy and Educational Support Programme, AKU ensures that deserving students are granted admissions irrespective of their economic background.  Forty-five per cent of AKU's students receive some form of additional financial assistance through scholarships and loans. Since its inception, the University has disbursed Rs. 174.11 million in financial assistance to students.

Shela Akbar Ali Hirani, recepient of highest number of awards and distinctions in four year BScN Generic programme.

At the Convocation, the University also honoured two academic luminaries by conferring Distinguished University Awards: Dr. Mohammad Afzal, former Chairman, University Grants Commission and former Federal Education Minister, for his services in several areas of higher education in Pakistan over the past 40 years, including the establishment of the Department of Administrative Sciences at the University of Punjab, and his role in establishing the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, the National Institute of Public Administration and the Administrative Staff College, Lahore; and Dr. Francis Sutton for his role as chief consultant and principal draftsman for the Harvard Committee Report on Aga Khan University (1983) and as secretary-member of the Chancellor's Commission on the Future Evolution of the Aga Khan University (1993-95) as well as his dedicated service to the cause of social sector development in the world, especially in Asia and Africa.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said, “It makes one proud to know that Aga Khan University has now carried Pakistan's flag beyond our borders, answering calls for help and assistance for Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. He said the University's teaching tests have been established in East Africa where teachers and educators, doctors and nurses and the people of the region are going to benefit from new health and education programmes that were developed, tested and fine-tuned in Pakistan. “We took forward to Aga Khan University playing a continuing role in this national quest for academic excellence.

Indeed the establishment of a new Faculty of Arts and Sciences in Karachi, and the offering of high quality general education, will be an important step in filling a critical gap in our higher education programmes,” the Prime Minister remarked. The Aga Khan sketched the plans for the University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences that is establishing a residential campus on 600 acres in Karachi.  The campus will cater to some 1,400 undergraduates and provide a broad curriculum covering the sciences, economics and information technology, as well as world history, Asian languages, elements of Muslim civilisations, history of South Asian and Persian-speaking cultures.

“Muslim universities,” said the Aga Khan, “have a unique responsibility: to engender in their societies a new confidence … based on intellectual excellence, but also on a refreshed and enlightened appreciation of the scientific, linguistic, artistic and religious traditions that underpin and give such global value to our own Muslim civilisations – even though it may be ignored or not understood by parts of the Ummah itself.” He recalled that even as heir to one of the greatest civilisations the world has known, the Muslim world “has inherited from history not of its own making, some of the worst and longest conflicts of the last hundred years, those of the Middle East and Kashmir.”In the face of “perils, and voids of understanding,” the Aga Khan spoke of a duty to tackle new challenges with particular urgency. Insisting that “faculty be challenged as a matter of university policy to expand the boundaries of human knowledge,” he said that AKU would “pledge its energies and imagination to advancing effective public policy.”

“This naturally follows the precepts of Islam that the scientific application of reason, the building of society and the refining of human aspirations and ethics should always reinforce one another.” He cited, in particular, AKU's applied research strengths in community health sciences and its productive relations with scientists and federal and provincial policymakers in fields such as nutrition, educational testing, maternal and child health, immunization strategies and vaccine development and epidemiology.“Yet another example of our growing emphasis on relevant research is the recent discovery by a group of our genetic researchers of a gene involved in the modulation of high blood pressure,” said Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President of AKU. He hoped that the groundbreaking discovery would eventually contribute to designing better treatment for patients suffering from this particular form of hypertension.

AKU genetic researchers recently pinpointed a gene involved in the modulation of high blood pressure. This new finding will make it possible to predict which individuals will respond to particular treatments better. It may also contribute to forming the basis for the development of genetic tests aimed at assessing an individual's genetic susceptibility to essential hypertension. Reflecting on the progress made by the University, President Kassim-Lakha said, “Thus, twenty years after its founding, the academic quality, and the human resource capacity developed by Aga Khan University in Pakistan have enabled it to move beyond Pakistan to establish programmes on three continents, with 10 teaching sites spread over Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Afghanistan, Syria and the United Kingdom.” The spirit of the Convocation was aptly summed up in the words of valedictorian Sara Hanif of the MBBS programme, that “the magic of Aga Khan University cannot be expressed in words, for it is something that touches each student who enters this wonderful world - be it an aspiring nurse, a teacher, a doctor, an epidemiologist or a health policy manager.

Today, it binds 20 years of graduates together, all as part of the AKU family. A world where you are not merely a role number and what you learn isn't merely “work” for the future… it is your life.”AKU is a non-denominational institution open to all. Through its high academic standards in programmes relevant to the needs of developing societies, and its work as a dialogue partner with government on issues of health and education policy, the University continues to exert an impact in the countries where it operates. It represents a network of campuses and programmes in South and Central Asia, East Africa, Europe and the Middle East. AKU is an important component of Aga Khan Development Network, a group of private, non-denominational development agencies and institutions working to improve living conditions and opportunities in 20 countries of the developing world. In East Africa, the University has already been recognised by the governments of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, in nursing.

The University launched Advanced Nursing Studies programme in Uganda in 2001, as part of a regional initiative aimed at developing skills and career advancement opportunities for professionals in East Africa. After the establishment of AKU's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, the University's new projects under way include the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Human Development.

Chancellor Inaugurates New Facilities at AKU
Later in the day, the Aga Khan  inaugurated new facilities for cardiac care and residences for women, and laid the foundation for a cancer care building. The new facilities, the Khimji Building for Cardiac Services and the Karimi, Noor and Arman Rupani Residences for women, are a testament to the University's mission of setting the highest standards possible in teaching, research and service, as well as reflect the generous support of donors towards the benefit of patients. As Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) continues to broaden its range of services to meet growing demands for high quality care services in Pakistan, it ensures that patient convenience is not compromised at any stage.

The Khimji Building for Cardiac Services reflects this priority. “Cardiac ailments remain an important killer of mankind, and coronary artery disease in particular claims more lives than any other disease. In a developing country like ours, a dramatic increase in the incidence of this disease has been seen,” said Dr. Shahid Sami, Chief of Cardiothoracic Section at AKUH, at the inauguration. Costing US$ 6.6 million and spread over 20,000 sq. ft, the Khimji Building has a 16-bed Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and a teaching room on the ground floor, and the first floor houses three operating theatres.  Two are dedicated to cardiac surgery, and a third to general surgery. Recovery facilities are also provided on the first floor. Lounges, lockers and a teaching room are located on the second floor and on-call rooms on the third floor. AKU places great emphasis on the advancement of women in its programmes and recruitment.  It attracts women from all over Pakistan who seek career development in a safe and attractive environment. The residences for professional women consisting of the Karimi Residences, the Noor Residences and the Arman Rupani Residences will meet the housing needs of out-of-station professional women.

The Residences will offer safe, secure and convenient on-campus facilities. The built area of the Residences is 64,500 sq. ft, on 8.6 acres. The design is in harmony with the University's architectural idiom, offering a pleasant environment with good living conditions. The total cost of the project is US$ 6.3 million.Finally, foundation was laid for the Oncology Services Building, which is expected to be completed in 2005. Costing an estimate US$ 7.6 million, the Oncology Services Building will be a comprehensive cancer centre offering state-of-the-art screening, diagnostic and treatment services. In his address, Dr. Amyn Alidina, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, described the facility as one that would fill a significant void in cancer care services in Karachi, and will raise the standards of cancer care to new heights.  “We are indebted to the many donors who made this project possible.  Their generosity will save lives, and improve the quality of lives, of patients for many years to come,” added Dr. Alidina. The 27,000 sq. ft. Oncology Services Building will be part of a growing Ambulatory Care Complex at AKUH. Patient care will also focus on prevention, with screening for common cancers and AKUH sponsored health awareness programmes. As is the Hospital practice, cancer patients in need will also be provided financial assistance through the Patient Welfare Programme and zakat funds contributed to the Patients' Behbud Society for AKUH. Since the beginning of the Programme, over 190,000 patients have benefited from AKUH's Patient Welfare department, and Rs. 960 million has been disbursed through this programme.

AKUH, which started operations in 1985, is an integrated, health care delivery component of Aga Khan University. It is a philanthropic, not for profit, private teaching institution committed to providing the best possible option for diagnosis of disease and team management of patient care, fortified by the highest doctor/patient and nurse/patient ratios and support services in the region. It aims to provide high quality of patient care in a broad range of secondary and tertiary care services with the help of professional staff and facilities that are among the best in the region.  AKUH is the first teaching hospital in Pakistan to be completely ISO 9001 certified. The Hospital also serves as a primary teaching site for AKU's Medical College and School of Nursing. The University is a non-denominational institution open to all. Through its high academic standards in programmes relevant to the needs of developing societies, and its work as a dialogue partner with government on issues of health and education policy, the University continues to exert an impact in the countries where it operates.