Nairobi, Kenya: Aga Khan University aims to raise the bar in university education

Source: Aga Khan University Press Release

June 11, 2021

The Aga Khan University (AKU) received its Charter from President Uhuru Kenyatta and inaugurated its new $50 million (Ksh 5 billion) state-of-the-art University Centre in the President’s presence on Friday at a ceremony featuring an address by His Highness the Aga Khan. Professor Chacha Nyaigotti-Chacha, Chairman of the Commission for University Education, and AKU President Firoz Rasul also addressed the audience.

The Charter details AKU’s functions, powers, obligations, and governance. It sets forth the University’s mission, which is to improve quality of life by educating individuals for leadership in the knowledge-based economy, by generating and sharing problem-solving knowledge and innovations in partnership with other institutions, and by meeting international standards of quality.

Located opposite the Aga Khan University Hospital in Parklands, Nairobi, the University Centre will be AKU’s main campus in Kenya, housing its Graduate School of Media and Communications, Medical College, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Institute for Human Development, Brain and Mind Institute and other programmes. It features 23 floors above and below ground, encompasses 37,500 square metres (400,000 square feet), and was designed by the internationally renowned architecture firm Payette, which has designed buildings for Harvard, MIT, Princeton and Columbia. This development is a further testament to the Aga Khan Development Network’s ongoing commitment and contribution to Kenya’s development.

“The phrase ‘Aga Khan’ has become synonymous with elevating educational standards and delivering holistic training,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta. “From pre-school to tertiary learning, its footprints are felt in this nation and region as a whole; with the present university that we are awarding a Charter today, being the latest testament of the journey of academic excellence that is, the Aga Khan brand.”

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