The Aga Khan University on Saturday celebrated the graduation of the class of 2022, its first founder's day and the university's 40th anniversary at ceremonies simultaneously held in Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and broadcast online internationally.
Princess Zahra Aga Khan attended the ceremony in Karachi and shared a message from her father, Prince Karim the Aga Khan, who is the founder and chancellor of the AKU. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was the chief guest on the occasion.
A total of 777 students graduated from AKU's global campuses with diplomas and degrees in 19 fields, bringing the total number of diplomas and degrees awarded by the AKU to more than 19,000, including more than 4,500 in East Africa. In Pakistan, the School of Nursing and Midwifery graduated its 5,000th student. The students graduated in nursing, medicine, education and media and communications.
"Graduands, my wish today is that you will know the joy of planting hope in people's lives, of building bridges of understanding, of venturing into the uncharted waters where new knowledge is discovered," His Highness the Aga Khan said. "May your futures be rich in challenges embraced and overcome."
The AKU dates its inception from the receipt of its charter from the government of Pakistan on March 16, 1983, making this its 40th anniversary week. Founder's Day is a new annual tradition at the AKU. On founder's day, the university reflects on the vision of His Highness the Aga Khan, celebrates AKU's impact and recognizes all those who are making the founding vision a reality: faculty, staff, donors, volunteers, students, alumni and partners.
Princess Zahra Aga Khan expressed her gratitude to the global university community for the "magnificent gift" of its support for AKU over the past four decades. "As we mark its inaugural Founder's Day, its 40th anniversary and the graduation of the class of 2022, the AKU has never had more to celebrate," she said. "I am deeply, deeply grateful to everyone who has made its journey possible."
President Sulaiman Shahabuddin paid tribute to the prince and "his vision of a university that reconciles loyalty to international standards with service to those in need, that prepares its students to use knowledge to identify and solve problems, that demonstrates that science is the property of no single culture, but of all humanity."
While addressing the ceremony, the chief guest, Chief Minister Shah, said, "I am glad to be able to take this opportunity to thank the members of the AKU community who came to the aid of their fellow citizens in their hour of need, whether as volunteers or as donors. The fact that so many AKU students participated in the university's flood response speaks highly of them and of the education that they have received here."
AKU's 40th year will see the launch of several new academic programmes. In Pakistan, classes will begin at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In East Africa, the university will begin offering a six-year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and a four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In Kampala, Uganda, the university is building a new campus that will include a university hospital and academic centre.
In his message, the Aga Khan traced AKU's 40-year journey from 1983 to the present, calling the AKU a source of hope and expressing pride in its achievements and confidence in its future.
In his valedictory speech, Mian Arsam Haroon urged his classmates to "transform into action the knowledge you have received in the halls of this university and honor the commitment of the village that raised you".
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2023.
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