At the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Ham Serunjogi – CEO and co-founder of African fintech giant Chipper Cash – realised the importance of staying connected to something larger than himself. The Forbes 30 Under 30 honouree is now serving as an advisor to the US President on African diaspora engagement.
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The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka
“This new Academy will be an important node in a network of 18 schools throughout the developing world, providing world class education for young men and women from all backgrounds, irrespective of ability to pay. It will be a remarkable place to go to school.”
His Highness the Aga Khan, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20 May 2008
Introduction
The award-winning Aga Khan Academy Dhaka represents a significant investment in education by the Aga Khan Development Network for the benefit of Bangladesh. It will become a new national asset for the whole country – and for its broad educational community.
This not-for-profit school will be part of an integrated network of Aga Khan Academies located across 14 countries. The Academy is being established to provide exceptional students with an outstanding education to prepare them for leadership roles in Bangladesh and across the world. Students are selected based on merit, regardless of socio-economic background, gender, race or religion. This ensures that talented students from all sectors of Bangladeshi society can access a world-class education.
Through its Professional Development Centre (PDC), the Academy will also act as a regional hub for academic innovation and excellence. The PDC is dedicated to training new teachers to the highest standards while offering veteran teachers the opportunity to stay on the cutting edge of education through research and practice. This expertise is then shared to enhance teaching and learning at government and other schools.
Award-Winning Design
The Aga Khan Academy will be located on a 20-acre plot in Bashundara, Dhaka and will enrol 750 students (K–12) with a capacity to expand to 1,200. Residential facilities will be provided for students and staff to allow for wide participation and enable a diverse learning community. The school has been designed by renowned international architects to ensure the best possible educational experience in a physical environment that resonates with local Bangladeshi culture and architectural traditions.
The design for the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka received the award for best ‘Future Education’ project at the World Architecture Festival 2017, held on 15-17 November in Berlin, Germany. The award recognises the excellence of the school’s design as well as the project’s intention to generate positive social impact, which arises from the mission and values of the Aga Khan Academies and the wider Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The vision of the Academies is to develop future leaders with the skills and knowledge to positively support development in their own societies.
Construction of the Academy begun in 2018, with classes for students planned to start in 2020.
Educating Future Leaders
The Aga Khan Academy in Dhaka will develop leaders with a pluralistic sensibility – individuals who are proudly Bangladeshi yet also connected to the larger, cosmopolitan world. The Academies programme, which is based on the highly regarded International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum, prepares students to succeed in a globally competitive world while also connecting them to their own language, literature, history and heritage. As they grow to take on leadership roles, this education uniquely prepares them to address the issues facing their communities with solutions that draw on global best practices and are appropriate to the local context. As language is essential to leadership, the Aga Khan Academy will provide bilingual education in English and Bangla, ensuring that students maintain strong ties to their roots. Service learning projects also cultivate the ethic of serving one’s community. In helping their neighboring communities, students are exposed to the challenges they face and learn to come up with contextually appropriate solutions.
Global Linkages
The Aga Khan Academy Dhaka will be the fourth school in a planned network of 18 campuses in Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East, following Mombasa (Kenya), Hyderabad (India) and Maputo (Mozambique). Academy teachers and students will be able to collaborate across this network via technology to share experiences with others from different cultures. Teacher exchanges between schools provide exposure to different learning environments and opportunities to share best practices with colleagues. Student exchanges between schools are also planned to allow them to experience another culture first hand and further their experience of living in a pluralistic world.
International Partners
Education at an Aga Khan Academy is enriched by unique academic and co-curricular partnerships. The Academies work closely with AKDN agencies across many areas including for curricular innovation and to offer students in-depth service learning and internship experiences. Partnerships with internationally renowned institutions contribute to the quality of the Academies’ curriculum and professional development programmes, and ensure that the Academies maintain and enhance their international standing. Partners include the International Baccalaureate, the University of British Columbia, Concordia University, the Government of Ontario (Canada) and Microsoft, with the Academies in Mombasa and Hyderabad having both been recognised as Microsoft Showcase Schools.
Middle Years Programme
The Senior School of the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad is an authorised International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the Middle Years Programme (MYP).
We offer the IB Middle Years Programme for students in grades 6–10 as part of an integrated curriculum that includes the Primary Years Programme (grades 1–5) and the Diploma Programme (grades 11–12).
The MYP covers a study of the major disciplines, including:
- languages
- sciences
- literature
- social sciences
- mathematics
- arts
- technology
- physical education.
The five Aga Khan Curricular Strands, which are unique to the Aga Khan Academies, are integrated throughout the curriculum.
Learning through the MYP
Our MYP students are immersed in a challenging and enriching educational environment. We ensure that they master basic skills, develop the ability to analyse and think critically, and become computer literate. We also emphasise the development of self-discipline and good work habits.
The programme encourages students to reflect on their learning and make connections with real world issues. It also helps students develop an awareness of their thought processes and learning strategies, and of how they learn best.
The MYP includes a service component that makes students aware of community and global needs. We also ensure that each student has a strong leadership experience and receives grounding in ethics, which helps prepare them for future leadership roles.
The final performance of our MYP students is assessed by teams of teachers and is validated by the IB through a monitoring process that ensures the high standards of IB schools worldwide.
MYP – grade 10 equivalence
In January 2013, the Association of Indian Universities signed an agreement with the International Baccalaureate to equate the completion of the Middle Years Programme with grade 10 of an Indian board assessment. This agreement now allows students who complete the MYP to apply for admission for higher studies to any school in India.
For further information about applying to the MYP at the Academy, please see the admission requirements or contact us.
Aga Khan Academy opening in Dhaka
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Quick Facts about the Academy
The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa (established 2003)
Location: Kizingo area of Mombasa Island
Campus size: 18 acres of land; campus design inspired by local Swahili architecture
Curriculum
The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School
IB programmes:
- Primary Years Programme: years 1–5
- Middle Years Programme: years 6–10
- Diploma Programme: years 11–12
Aga Khan Curricular Strands, implemented across the curriculum:
Ethics, Pluralism, Cultures (with an emphasis on Muslim civilisations), Governance and Civil Society, and Economics for Development
Staff and students
Faculty numbers: 7 senior management, 70 Senior School faculty, 27 Junior School faculty, 104 administrative staff
Number of students currently enrolled: 687 day and residential students in total: 181 day students in the Junior School; 506 day and residential students in the Senior School, with 270 in residence
Numbers of students and teachers at full capacity: 750 students and 90 teachers, with over 30% of students receiving some form of financial aid
First IB Diploma Programme graduating class: 2007
Residential students
Number of residential students: 270 currently, with full capacity of 300 students
Number of students per room: Between 1 and 4, with second year Diploma Programme students in single or double rooms
Residential facilities: Student lounge with large-screen television, study areas, laundry facilities, dining hall
Campus facilities
Sports facilities: 25-metre swimming pool, diving pool, full-sized sport field, Astroturf field, gym,
three regulation-sized basketball courts, cricket pitch, tennis courts, squash courts, badminton court, volleyball court, netball court and junior play area
Arts facilities: Rooms for fine arts, music, dance; individual music practice booths; music recording area; amphitheatre performance space
Academic areas: Junior School classrooms, Senior School classrooms, science and computer laboratories, multiple-award-winning library and resource centre, arts facilities, music and dance studios
Residential buildings: Six residential blocks: three male and three female; 4–6 dorm parent apartments in each block. Each block has a central atrium, lounge area, ocean view, patio and laundry facilities
Technology: The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has been named a Microsoft Showcase School, the only school in East Africa to receive this designation
Professional Development Centre
The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa is home to a Professional Development Centre for the advancement of teachers. The primary objective of this centre is to provide professional development that will benefit the wider school system in Kenya.
Programming began in June 2010 with a Professional Learning for Educators Series for teachers in local government, independent and not-for profit schools.
Through the Microsoft Showcase Schools programme, the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa shares ideas globally and supports other schools in Kenya to improve learning and student outcomes through technology.
The Aga Khan Academies network
18 Academies are planned in South and Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
3 Academies are currently operating: Mombasa, Kenya (opened 2003); Hyderabad, India (opened 2011); and Maputo, Mozambique (opened 2013).
When complete, the network will represent 2,000 teachers and 14,000 students (boys and girls), with 1,400 graduates annually.
Institutional partnerships include:
Agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network; universities including Harvard, Oxford, Toronto and University of California, Los Angeles; secondary schools including Phillips Academy, Andover, USA and Schule Schloss Salem, Germany.
Academy graduates awarded Ontario government scholarships
Partnership to provide equitable access to an international standard of education in Mozambique
Policies & Procedures
The following policies are available at the Academy's administrative office.
- Academic Honesty Policy
- Assessment Policy
- International Baccalaureate Rules and General Regulations*
- Language Policy
- Personalised Learning Policy
* Copies can also be found on the International Baccalaureate website.
Parents are invited to contact the Academy if they would like to receive a copy of any of the above documents.
The Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad
Survey No: 1/1, Hardware Park
Maheshwaram Mandal, R.R. District
Hyderabad 501 510
Telangana, India
+91-40-66291313
+91-40-66291310
(Switchboard number/general enquiries)
or
Write to the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad (online form)
Alumni
Education at its best facilitates positive growth in all domains – intellectual, social, physical, ethical and spiritual – leading to the well-rounded development of the child. The Aga Khan Academies aim toward this ideal, and the values they espouse are reflected in each school’s aspirations for its students.
The vision for Aga Khan Academy graduates
Students at an Academy pursue a well-balanced education combining intellectual inquiry, academic excellence, sporting and cultural activities, and a grounding in ethics and moral reasoning.
They are committed to rigour and self-discipline in their studies and subscribe to the principles of intellectual honesty in the preparation of their work.
Read more here.
The Aga Khan Academy Alumni Network
Fill out the AKA Alumni online questionnaire here
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Interested to know more about our graduates? See spotlights on our alumni
