Princess Zahra becomes AKU’s first pro-chancellor as 461 students graduate

Princess Zahra Aga Khan was formally installed as the Aga Khan University's (AKU) first Pro-Chancellor on Saturday as the institution graduated 461 students from 18 degree programmes at its 38th convocation in Pakistan.

As Pro-Chancellor, Princess Zahra will guide AKU in its continuing efforts to improve quality of life across the country.

"The university's geographic expansion has seen AKU's presence extend across Pakistan, into more cities and villages than ever before," said Princess Zahra. "From Karachi to Matiari, from Lahore to Gilgit, the university's health care professionals, educators, and researchers are part of the fabric of people's lives."

In his message, AKU's Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, noted that the university and its graduates carry "both an extraordinary responsibility and an extraordinary opportunity: to create, to disseminate, and to apply knowledge in ways that improve the quality of human life."

This year saw the graduation of the first cohort from the Institute for Educational Development's Bachelor of Education programme, which offers a rigorous blend of academic and field-based learning that prepares graduates to teach effectively in diverse educational settings.

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With nearly 70% of the graduating class being women, the university is actively addressing the gender gap in a country where millions of girls remain out of school.

Valedictorian Muhammad Taha Nasim thanked AKU's faculty, noting how they challenged graduates to "reach our highest standards while teaching us that excellence without empathy is empty."

AKU's graduates are filling important workforce gaps. In a country with a nurse-to-population ratio of just 5.2 per 10,000, AKU alumni now hold high-level leadership positions in approximately 80 schools of nursing and midwifery.

In 2025, the university secured more than $100 million in research funding. Across the university, 27 faculty members were ranked among the top two percent of scientists globally in a study conducted by a researcher at Stanford University.

"Pakistan's young people are inclusive, comfortable across faiths and perspectives, and aware that a divided society cannot meet shared challenges," noted Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin, president of AKU. "Digitally fluent, they see technology not as disruption but as opportunity, to expand knowledge, build skills, and apply learning in practical ways."

To ensure talented students with limited financial means are able to attend AKU, the university provides financial assistance to a large portion of the student body. In the last academic year, 72% of students across all classes and programmes in Pakistan received financial assistance.

Noorish Khan, Syeda Tasmiya Moheyuddin, Dr Hamzah Jehanzeb, and Sara Karim Sadruddin received Best Graduate Awards in their respective undergraduate programmes in Dental Hygiene, Education, Medicine, and Nursing.

Also present at the ceremony was Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Founding President of AKU and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia, a sister university of AKU within the Aga Khan Development Network.

The university also conferred Awards of Distinction upon several faculty and staff, recognising their sustained contributions to innovation, research and leadership. Professor Emeritus Mushtaq Ahmed received the President's Medal, one of AKU's highest honours, in recognition of his extraordinary service as an eminent surgeon and academic leader.