“We live in a knowledge society today where access to good quality education and research leads to sustainable development. It is our aspiration that the University of Central Asia will offer teaching and research on the challenges and prospects of the mountainous areas of Central Asia and the twenty to thirty million people who inhabit them.”
His Highness the Aga Khan
November 2014
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On 2 November 2014, University of Central Asia (UCA) Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan arrived in Bishkek, capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, for a four day visit. UCA was founded in 2000 through an international treaty and charter signed by the Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan and the Aga Khan, ratified by the parliaments of the Founding States and registered with the United Nations. UCA is the first internationally chartered university in the world. A regional university, UCA is advancing construction of three residential campuses in Khorog, Tajikistan; Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic; and Tekeli, Kazakhstan. The University brings with it the commitment and partnership of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
In a series of high-level meetings in Bishkek on 4 November 2014, His Highness the Aga Khan met with the Kyrgyz President His Excellency Mr Almazbek Atambayev, Speaker of the Parliament Mr Asylbek Sharypovich Jeenbekov, Prime Minister Mr Djoomart Otorbaev and former Minister of Education Mr Kanat Sadykov to discuss cooperation between the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
His Highness the Aga Khan was pleased that construction is on schedule and that the first undergraduate class of students will be enrolled in September 2016. Students will be admitted on a merit basis regardless of their ability to pay.
“We live in a knowledge society today where access to good quality education and research leads to sustainable development. It is our aspiration that the University of Central Asia will offer teaching and research on the challenges and prospects of the mountainous areas of Central Asia and the twenty to thirty million people who inhabit them,” explained the Aga Khan.
“I am pleased that UCA’s Naryn campus will be the first to admit students, starting in 2016. They will benefit from a unique curriculum developed in partnership with world-renowned universities, as well as some of the best academic and residential facilities in the region.” he added
UCA’s School of Professional and Continuing Education in Naryn town, which offers 35 programmes in eight areas of study and is a leading educational publisher in the region. Since 2006, SPCE has reached over 19,000 learners in the Kyrgyz Republic and over 74,000 learners in the region.
Renowned Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and his firm, Isozaki, Aoki & Associates (IAA) developed the design for UCA’s three campuses.
More information and additional photos in the UCA newsletter.
Ismailimail 