Aga Khan University

Aga Khan University
جامع آغا خان

Seal

AKU Seal
Type Private
Established 1983 (1983)
Chancellor His Highness the Aga Khan
President Firoz Rasul
Students 2,496
Campus Karachi, Pakistan
Nairobi, Kenya
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Kampala, Uganda
London, United Kingdom
Colours White, green          
Nickname AKU
Website www.aku.edu

The Aga Khan University (Urdu: جامع آغا خان‎) (abbreviated AKU) is an independent research university with its primary campus in Karachi, Pakistan, with additional campuses and training programmes in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and Afghanistan.[1][2]

Its facilities include teaching hospitals, faculties of Health Sciences with Schools of Nursing and Midwifery and Medical Colleges, Institutes for Educational Development, an Examination Board and an Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. The Graduate School of Media and Communications, the East African Institute, the Institute for Human Development and the Kiswahili Centre have been launched recently while several Graduate Professional Schools and Faculties of Arts and Sciences are to be set up in Pakistan and East Africa.

The Aga Khan University is one of nine agencies in the Aga Khan Development Network.

Scientific research and clinical trials

The Aga Khan University accounts for 75% of all biomedical research in Pakistan while the remaining 25 percent is shared by all the other institutions.[3] AKU publishes more research articles in peer-reviewed, indexed internationally recognised journals than any other university in Pakistan.[3] Faculty promotions are dependent on publications in indexed journals while most medical students have published by the time they graduate. Undergraduate medical students have published up to 50 research papers in indexed health journals.

It is the one of the few universities in Pakistan to provide research facilities to students at the undergraduate level.

The university maintains a research office to guide and support research conducted at the university.[4] A University Research Council also funds grants after a competitive review process facilitated by a Grants Review Committee.[5] Particular emphasis is also placed on community related health sciences research. AKU organizes international and national research workshops and seminars. A Health Sciences Research Assembly is held annually in which faculty and students present their research.[6]

The university is a site for NIH clinical trials.[7]

Campuses and facilities

The Aga Khan University is an international university, operating on campuses in Central and South Asia, the African Great Lakes, Europe and the Middle East.

In Pakistan, the university is an 84-acre campus including a hospital with two on-campus male and female hostels with a capacity of 300 each. It has a sports and rehabilitation center which is one of the best in Pakistan, with an Olympic-standard swimming pool, cricket practice nets, tennis courts, indoor gymnasium with wooden flooring, squash courts and gyms. It has cricket and football grounds with jogging tracks.

Free WiFi is available all over the campus. Hostels are three storey buildings and two blocks. There are common rooms on each floor along with Kitchens, and laundry rooms facilitated with washing machines and dryers.Meals are served at the main cafeteria which is open 24/7 with discounts for students and staff. Saturdays and Sundays are off for year 1 and 2 students while seniors have different schedules.

Existing campuses and international programmes include:

Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB)

Established in 2003. AKU-EB is a federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary education in Pakistan. AKU-EB examines students at SSC and HSSC level.

AKU - Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED)

AKU-IED is a center for developing teachers, educators, education managers, researchers and policy makers. Apart from teacher training, AKU-IED offers M.Ed (Masters of Education) and PhD. in Education as well.

Impact of AKU on society

AKU played a major role in the relief efforts after the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.[12]

Role of religion in the university

Seal

The seal (logo) of the Aga Khan University is a visual representation of the principles which underlie the founding of the university.[13] The circular form of the seal has its roots in the rosettes of early Islamic periods. It also symbolizes the world and reflects the internationality of the Aga Khan University. At the centre of the seal is a star or sun representing light – a universal symbol of the enlightenment that education provides. The light is also symbolic of Nur (divine light). The star incorporates 49 points to commemorate the university's founding by Prince Karim Aga Khan, the Forty-Ninth imam of the Ismaili Muslims.

The outer ring circumscribes a Quranic Ayat (3:103) rendered in classic thuluth script and reads as follows:

وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتََ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ اِذْ كُنْتُمْ اعْدَاءً فَالَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَاصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ اِخْوَنًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنْ النَّارِ فَانْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ ءايَتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

The English translation reads:

And hold fast,
All together, by the rope
Which God (stretches out for you),
And be not divided among yourselves,
And remember with gratitude
God's favour on you:
For ye were enemies
And He joined your hearts
In love, so that by His grace
Ye became brethren
And ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire,
And He saved you from it.
Thus doth God make His Signs clear to you
That ye may be guided.

Notable alumni, professors and staff

Professors and staff

Notable alumni

Aga Khan University in popular culture

In international news

See also

References

  1. ↑ "AKU values". Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "About AKU". Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Need stressed to promote research". Retrieved 2007-03-29.
  4. ↑ "AKU Research Office". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  5. ↑ "AKU Grants Review Committee". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  6. ↑ "Health Sciences Research Assembly 2006". The Aga Khan University Newsletter. 7 (2). September 2006. p. 4. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  7. ↑ "NIH trials at the Aga Khan University". Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  8. ↑ "HARVARD TO AID IN DEVELOPING PAKISTANI TEACHING HOSPITAL". The New York Times. 1981-12-21.
  9. ↑ "Aga Khan University Announces the Faculty of Health Sciences in East Africa". Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  10. ↑ Payette Associates
  11. ↑ "Aga Khan Announces the East African Community's First Regional University to be based in Arusha". Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  12. ↑ "News on AKU Efforts for the Earthquake Relief Operations". Retrieved 2006-12-02.
  13. ↑ "The Seal – AKU Convocation 2006". Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2006-12-02.
  14. ↑ Aga Khan University Profile Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ CSPH Names Adil Haider, MD, MPH as New Director. Brighamandwomens.org. Retrieved on 2016-07-03.
  16. ↑ "Liberty Dialysis Physicians Fahim Rahim and Naeem Rahim to Receive Ellis Island National Medals of Honor for Their Contribution to Achievements in Dialysis and Kidney Care". Business Wire. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dr. Naeem Rahim, MD". Health Grades. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  18. ↑ "Rahim Farhim and JRM Foundation reach out". Idaho State Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  19. ↑ "AKU leading the Y2K campaign". BBC News. 1999-08-24.
  20. ↑ "The Mystery of the Persian Mummy". Retrieved 2001-09-20.

External links

Coordinates: 24°53′34″N 67°04′29″E / 24.8928°N 67.0747°E / 24.8928; 67.0747

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