Report of the Second Chancellor's Commission

Reflections on t​he Future o​f the Aga Khan University​

Launched during a global pan​demic and intersecting with significant changes at the Aga Khan University [AKU] and across the communities it serves, the second Chancellor’s Commission has completed its deliberations. Our report, Reflections on the Future Aga Khan University, draws on the diverse perspectives and expertise of the 15 individual Commissioners, while presenting our shared guidance on diverse paths forward for the institution.  

The report provides a model for growth that reflects the institution’s mission, values, and foundational strengths; the exigencies, opportunities, and challenges in its operating contexts; and its constraints in financial, human, and technical resources. We also set out strategic planning and operating principles that can inform both the University’s immediate decisions and longer-term ambitions, including expansion into areas of greatest potential and need. ​

Preface

1. Introduction​​

• Background and Rationale

• The Second Chancellor's Commission

• Organisation of this Report

• Acknowledgments

2. Changes in the World Since 1994 and Their Implications for the Future AKU

• Climate Change
  

• Global Health: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
  

• Global Demographic Shifts
  

• Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence
  

• Growing Inequality and Shifting Geopolitics
  

• Aga Khan University in an Unstable World
  

3. Changes in Global Higher Education Since 1994 and Their Implications for the Future AKU​

• The Private Sector in Higher Education: Spectacular Expansion and Enduring Disparities
  

• Benchmarking and Measurement
  

• Novel Pedagogies and Purposes
  

• Global Mobility, Distance Learning, International Networks
  

• Research and Innovation as Revenue Sources
  

• Academic Freedom and Intellectual Integrity
  

• AKU in These Contexts: Navigating Uncertainty and Change
  

4. Navigational Aids for the Future AKU: Mission, Values, and Planning Principles​

• Mission, Vision, and Values
  

• Planning Principles and Processes 

5. Envisaging a Future AKU: Operational Planning and New Initiatives​

• Operational Principles and Applications
  

• New Priorities: Healthier Populations on a Healthier Planet
  

• New Priorities: Pluralism Internalised
  

6. Conclusion: AKU Onwards​​

• Overview
  

• A Renewed Commitment to AKU's Mission and Values
  

• Strategic Planning Principles and Processes
  

• Operational Principles and Applications
  

• New Priorities64

• Our Vision of the Future AKU
  

Appendix A: Members of the Chancellor’s Commission​

Appendix B: Resources Used or Consulted by the Commission​​​

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