Aga Khan University to open a graduate school for media

The Aga Khan, the chancellor of Aga Khan University, speaking when he conferred diplomas and degrees in nursing and medicine at a graduation ceremony that marked the university's 15th anniversary in East Africa on March 2, 2015. PHOTO | BILLY MUTAI |

What you need to know:

  • “Over 15 years, the total investment in Kenya for these programmes will exceed $350 million (Sh31.5 billion),” added the Aga Khan when he officiated at the university’s 15th graduation ceremony in Nairobi on Monday.
  • The Aga Khan, who is also the Chancellor of AKU, said with the institution now having acquired a charter in Tanzania, it was on its path to prosperity and expansion while offering quality education and leadership skills.
  • “As we expand our work in Kenya, one of our highest priorities is to achieve international standards of health care-especially for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes,” he added.

The Aga Khan University (AKU) will this year open a graduate school of media and communication in Nairobi as part of a major expansion in East Africa.

Other graduate schools are in the pipeline, specifically designed to advance a healthy civil society, the Aga Khan said on Monday.

They include schools of leadership and management; hospitality, leisure and tourism; architecture and human settlements; government, civil society and public policy; economic growth and development; law; and education.

The planned schools are part of a Sh90 billion investment in education that the university will make in the East Africa region over the next 15 years.

Out of this, more than Sh31.5 billion will be invested in Kenya and will go towards putting up the various institutions of higher learning.

According to the Aga Khan, a new campus is being constructed in Arusha, Tanzania, and will open in 2019 while another will open in Dar es Salaam.

STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY

“Our new graduate school of media and communication here in Nairobi will offer professional development courses as well as a master's degree programme in the fields of journalism and media management,” said the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims.

“Specialised reporting skills will be in fields such as the environment, business and finance, the work of NGOs and the analysis of social impacts,” he added during a graduation ceremony where 27 graduands received diplomas in nursing and midwifery while another 39 were conferred with bachelor's of science degrees in medicine and another 21 got master's degrees in medicine.

The Aga Khan said the media school would serve a wide range of students from both the public and private sectors, adding that the school would share a new building with other professional schools, one in leadership and management and the other in hospitality, leisure and tourism.

“Over 15 years, the total investment in Kenya for these programmes will exceed $350 million (Sh31.5 billion),” added the Aga Khan when he officiated at the university’s 15th graduation ceremony in Nairobi on Monday.

“In addition to the three professional graduate schools, we are also planning new graduate schools of government, civil society and public policy, economic growth and development, law and education,” added the Ismaili Imam.

He said the programmes would strengthen civil society to help accelerate improvement in the quality of human life.

EXPANSION PATH

“A healthy civil society is a meritocratic one, where ethics are honoured and excellence is valued. And the great question now confronting us in Africa is how rapidly the institutions of a healthy civil society can be established and reinforced,” added the Aga Khan.

The Aga Khan, who is also the chancellor of AKU, said with the institution now having acquired a charter in Tanzania, it was on its path to prosperity and expansion while offering quality education and leadership skills.

“As we expand our work in Kenya, one of our highest priorities is to achieve international standards of health care, especially for non-communicable diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes,” he added.

While addressing the same gathering, AKU President Firoz Rasul said the institution was setting up campuses in all the East African countries, and in Kampala, Uganda, the university would establish a teaching hospital to provide international health services as well as train professionals.

“Each of our campuses and programmes will serve students from across East Africa, they will be crossroads, places that bring the region’s people together to learn from the best in the world and from each other,” he added.