Anil Walji, 57
Physician and professor, University of Alberta
African dream: Chairman of an international team developing a new Kenyan medical school funded by the Aga Khan, meant to train well-rounded, homegrown doctors in East Africa. The team hopes to open it by 2015, and is fast-tracking its unique curriculum.
The teacher: Dr. Walji was educated in Kenya and the U.K. before coming to Alberta 23 years ago. He’s overhauled the programs of two medical schools, including one in Pakistan backed by the Aga Khan, and will build this one from scratch. “We’re trying to create graduates who are going to be thinkers, leaders and innovators,” he says. The challenge? “We’re going to have to create incentives for these graduates to stay in East Africa.”
His 2011 moment: In January and July, Dr. Walji and his team will meet in Nairobi to put the finishing touches on the middle “pre-clerkship” stage of the six-year academic program they’re developing.
Ismailimail 