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At a ceremony
held in Kampala, Uganda, 57 Ugandan students of Aga Khan University
(AKU) received their degrees, diplomas and certificates at the University's
first graduation ceremony outside Pakistan. Chartered in 1983 as
Pakistan's first private, international University, AKU launched
programmes of Advanced Nursing Studies and teacher education in
Uganda in 2001. Uganda's Minister in Charge of the Presidency, Honourable
Professor Gilbert Bukenya, the chief guest at the ceremony, said, "Uganda was fortunate to be a partner of Aga Khan Development
Network and Aga Khan University in the development of its human
resources," and offered every support for future programmes
of AKU.
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| Margaret
Mukobe receiving her Master's degree in Education from Shamsh
Kassim-Lakha from Aga Khan University in Uganda. |
Addressing the
graduates and guests, Professor Bukenya said this graduation was
an important milestone in the government's efforts to upgrade the
quality of education and health care in Uganda. He said, "We
are delighted that AKU has established its academic programmes in
Uganda. The future growth of our country is strongly linked to the
development of our human resources. Uganda needs educated, committed
and caring nurses and teachers to ensure healthy bodies and healthy
minds in all our citizens."
Welcoming over
300 guests and family members of the graduates, AKU President, Shamsh
Kassim-Lakha recalled the words of AKU's Chancellor, His Highness
the Aga Khan, at convocation ceremonies in Karachi in 2000. Announcing
plans to open its first campus overseas, His Highness said, "The
establishment of the Advanced Nursing Studies programme in East
Africa, and the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
in London, will give life to the University as a Pakistani institution
with an international mandate, reaching out as an expression of
Pakistan into the international community."
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| Faculty,
Trustees and Graduands of the 1st Graduation Ceremony of Aga
Khan University in Uganda |
Kassim-Lakha
said nurse and teacher education programmes established in Uganda
last year were part of a regional initiative in Eastern Africa aimed
at developing skills and career advancement opportunities for professionals
in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. He said the Advanced Nursing Studies
programme enables practising nurses and nursing managers to continue
their professional education without leaving their work places or
homes for extended periods. Kassim-Lakha said AKU's teacher education
programme, developed jointly in Pakistan and Uganda, was established
in consultation with the Ugandan government to introduce new teaching
and learning methods and philosophies to the country. He further
stated, "The authorities in Uganda showed great foresight in
facilitating and encouraging higher education programmes that both
upgrade human resources and, at the same time, contribute to the
quality of health care and education in the country."
Now also accredited
in Kenya and Tanzania, the University is expanding its nurse and
teacher education programmes, and planning is underway to offer
postgraduate medical education for doctors at Aga Khan Hospitals
in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam.
Ugandan Minister
in Charge of the Presidency, Honourable Professor Gilbert Bukenya,
was the Chief Guest who presented certificates to 57 nurses, teachers
and school administrators, including two who earned their Master
of Education degrees following studies at Aga Khan University in
Pakistan.
Attending the
graduation was Dr. Robert Buchanan, former Dean of Cornell University
Medical College in Ithaca, and a founding Trustee of AKU. He said, "The graduates today are a manifestation of the vision of His
Highness the Aga Khan that focuses on preparing talented young people
for leadership, with a special emphasis on programmes for women."
The launching
of overseas programmes in the last two years has established AKU
as an international institution. It has seven teaching sites in
five countries, representing 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.
AKU's most recent
initiative is an Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
in London. Its mission is to develop a better understanding of different
Muslim civilisations throughout the world, the contributions made
by Muslim scholars and scientists to contemporary society, and the
special challenges faced by Muslim societies in developing countries.
Planning has begun for a new Faculty of Arts and Sciences on a new
500-acre campus just outside Karachi. A regional institution offering
high quality liberal arts programmes, it will move AKU beyond professional
education to become a comprehensive university in its classical
form.
Address by
AKU President, Shamsh Kassim-Lakha
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