The university was set up to be elite without being elitist — that is, to provide high quality education without being exclusive.
The pluralism of the institution is very important. If you like, we are riding on a philosophy to recreate the University of East Africa, which in its days managed to bind the region together and had stand-alone campuses in the three countries, with each a unique centre of excellence in itself — law in Dar, engineering/medicine in Nairobi, arts in Makerere.
Hence we hope to grow with the East African region, and are working to set up a truly East African university.
Daily Nation | By CHURCHILL OTIENO | Published Thursday, March 12, 2015
FIROZ RASUL, is the President of Aga Khan University (AKU), which just announced a $1.1 billion (Sh100 billion) expansion plan in East Africa as it marks 15 years in the region. CHURCHILL OTIENO interviewed him on the thinking driving this investment.
East Africans today have quite a choice in university education. What distinguishes AKU?
AKU was conceptualised in the mid-1970s. The founders wanted to create a university in the developing world, for the developing world, and of international standards to improve quality of life.
Its focus has been in South Asia and East Africa, the places where our activities were more prevalent, and therefore where we had the most knowledge.
The university was set up to be elite without being elitist — that is, to provide high quality education without being exclusive.
Read the complete interview at Daily Nation | FIROZ RASUL Recreating the University of East Africa
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