Our Impact
With nearly 2,500 students spread across campuses and programmes in five countries, the University is both a model of academic excellence and an agent of social change. In all of the societies in which it works, AKU is:
Educating Leaders. Because a single leader can have an enormous impact, we equip our graduates with the expertise, outlook, values and skills needed to become effective agents of change.
Embodying Excellence. In places where resources are scarce and few institutions are effective, we meet the highest quality standards and demonstrate that excellence is a powerful force for transformation. In Pakistan, we are the #1 ranked health sciences university.
Discovering What Works. One of the developing world’s leading sources of health and education research, we are creating new knowledge that saves and enhances lives in some of the world’s poorest societies.
Serving the Community. Over the last 30 years, our Patient Welfare Programme has provided more than 1 million patients with free or reduced-cost care worth more than US$83 million. Our prize-winning and influential Urban Health Programme, which has significantly improved life in squatter settlements in Karachi, is just one of many examples of our community service.
Providing Access to All. We believe poverty should not prevent anyone from receiving a quality education, which is why admission to AKU is based on merit, without regard to financial need. We also work to find talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds and to prepare them for a rigorous, English-language university education.
Empowering Women. Nearly half of our faculty and three of every five AKU students are women. Moreover, our leadership in maternal and child health research is internationally renowned. Providing girls and women with opportunities to thrive will always be one of our top priorities.
Fostering Pluralism. Through our research, curricula, admissions and culture, we build respect and understanding across religious, ethnic, communal and national boundaries.
Always Connecting. AKU has a long record of partnering successfully with other institutions, and goes out of its way to forge connections between the private and public sectors, the developed and developing worlds, urban and rural areas, ideas and faiths. Our supporters and partners include the governments of France, Germany, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the University of California, San Francisco; Johnson & Johnson; the World Bank; the World Health Organization and many others.
Planning for the Future. Today, AKU educates doctors, nurses and teachers, and the majority of its students are located in Pakistan. But with knowledge becoming ever more indispensable for individual and societal success, and with Africa desperately in need of excellent universities, we are planning an ambitious expansion. In both East Africa and Pakistan, our Faculty of Arts and Sciences will provide promising young people with an outstanding liberal arts education and offer graduate professional education in fields such as media and communications and leadership and management. The University is also planning to launch new programmes in East Africa to train the health care leaders the region requires.
