KARACHI: The Aga Khan University (AKU) held its 38th convocation on Saturday, awarding degrees to 461 students in 18 programmes.

The ceremony also saw Princess Zahra Aga Khan being formally installed as the university’s first pro-chancellor.

In her remarks, she said: “The university’s geographic expansion has seen the AKU’s presence expand across Pakistan, into more cities and villages than ever before. From Karachi to Matiari, from Lahore to Gilgit, the university’s healthcare professionals, educators, and researchers are part of the fabric of people’s lives.”

In his message, AKU’s Chancellor Prince Rahim Aga Khan noted that the university and its graduates carried “both an extraordinary responsibility and an extraordinary opportunity: to create, to disseminate, and to apply knowledge in ways that improve the quality of human life.”

Also present at the ceremony was Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, AKU founding president and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia, a sister university of AKU within the Aga Khan Development Network.

Princess Zahra formally made university’s pro-chancellor

Noorish Khan, Syeda Tasmiya Mohiuddin, Dr Hamzah Jehanzeb, and Sara Karim Sadruddin received Best Graduate Awards in their respective undergraduate programmes in dental hygiene, education, medicine, and nursing.

Valedictorian Muha­mmad Taha Nasim thanked AKU’s faculty, noting how they challenged graduates to reach their “highest standards” while teaching them that “excellence without empathy is empty.”

This year saw the graduation of the first cohort from the Institute for Educational Devel­opment’s Bachelor of Education programme.

The university conferred Awards of Distinction upon several faculty and staff, recognising their sustained contributions to innovation, research and leadership. Professor Emeritus Mushtaq Ahmed received the President’s Medal in recognition of his services as an eminent surgeon and academic leader.

“Pakistan’s young people are inclusive, comfortable across faiths and perspectives, and aware that a divided society cannot meet shared challenges. Digitally fluent, they see technology not as disruption but as opportunity — to expand knowledge, build skills, and apply learning in practical ways,” said AKU President Dr Sulaiman Shahabuddin.

According to a press release, the university continues to address Pakistan’s critical development challenges through a commitment to access and excellence. “With nearly 70 per cent of the graduating class being women, the university is actively addressing the gender gap in a country where millions of girls remain out of school.

“The graduates are filling important workforce gaps. For example, in a country with a nurse-to-population ratio of just 5.2 per 10,000, AKU alumni now hold high-level leadership positions in approximately 80 schools of nursing and midwifery,” it says.

Last year, the university secured more than $100- million research funding and 27 faculty members were ranked among the top two per cent of scientists globally in a study conducted by a Stanford University rese­archer.

“To ensure talented students with limited financial means are able to attend AKU, the university provides financial assistance to a large portion of the student body. In the last academic year, the university provided assistance to 72 per cent of students across all classes and programmes in Pakistan,” the statement reads.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2026