Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad - Student Voices

The Aga Khan Academy has provided me opportunities at every corner. Whether it meant organizing stalls during sports days or the MYP Personal Project or the DP CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) Programme. As part of the CAS programme, all of us, each and every student leads an initiative and for the same, my team and I decided to host the regional level of the FIRST® LEGO® League in our school. This event aims at encouraging research in Robotics amongst the youth.

The idea to organize the event traces back to MYP-5 when I had participated in the Lego League hosted in another school in the region. We had certainly enjoyed ourselves but I only wished that we could host such a large-scale event at our own home, Aga Khan Academy. It would be a matter of great pride and prestige. We inhabit the most beautiful piece of land, 100 acres of it, with incomparable infrastructure and scenic beauty, but how do we convince the high-profile Lego officials to do the event at The Aga Khan Academy?

When we returned back to our campus the bubbling dream moved to action! We had already participated in the event and had a good idea about what was expected for such a grand event. I had the support of my enthusiastic classmates who shared my dream and were convinced that we could make it a reality. We quickly summarised the expectations and developed a ‘to do’ list. But as we were going through the requirements, we realized if we were to host such a large-scale event, we would definitely require a big budget. We put on our thinking hats and listed all the expenses; we contacted the various logistic services and came up with a budget, however, we were unsure how the school authorities would respond to our magnanimous plans?

We arranged a meeting with Dr Long, the Head of Academy, the very next day. When we proposed the idea, he was overjoyed to know that we had planned to conduct such a large scale event independently and that it was a complete student run initiative. He not only accepted our proposal for the funds but completely trusted us with such a large amount of money. Dr Long said, “It is your event; you will decide how you want to spend the money”. His confidence in us and his support, made us even more determined and motivated to make this the best possible event.

With newfound optimism and a sense of ownership, we met with several members of the school’s administration. We worked late nights and had long and detailed discussions to plan the smallest of things. We walked into the office of a member of senior leadership, confidently armed with a two-page procurement list. But were made to realize that we were only floating on the surface of the ocean and had missed out on a lot of details! On that note we were given one more date to present our requirements. We were given 7 days. That week we worked diligently, visualized the entire event and listed each and every possible detail. We consulted some of our teachers and finally presented the plan to a group of classmates to ensure we are not missing out on anything. This time when we presented to the school authorities they were content with our progress and they appreciated the depth to which we went into to be able to achieve what we did, with respect to planning. Our plans were approved. Our first win!

To host more than 300 visitors on the campus it wouldn’t be easy and to ensure a smooth event, we required a team. We shared a brief presentation about our dream event to our entire class, in order to build a passionate group who would support us. We were overwhelmed looking at the number of people who were willing to support us. Their eagerness and excitement made us further determined and focused to make this event memorable for all.

With the entire team of twenty-eight determined warriors, from 4 PM till 11:00 PM, we marched all over the campus to make all the arrangements for the two-day event. The entirety of those two days were pretty hectic but the efforts and planning did pay off well. The event progressed smoothly and EduTech India who were the official organisers announced that this was the best and most organized event they ever hosted!

In the closing ceremony, many parents were surprised as to how students could manage such a big event entirely on their own? We could have never managed had it not been for the Academy, for the people who are part of this campus and our lives.

We fulfilled our dream and helped sow the seeds of the dream of hosting the national and international level of FIRST® LEGO® League in the minds of our ambitious juniors and the new joiners to our warm family at The Aga Khan Academy.

I can say with conviction, The Aga Khan Academy provides an environment for students to take initiatives and apply classroom learning to real life. My biggest lesson has been taught to me outside of class – to be trusted and to deliver.

I am proud of being at AKAH.

Karim Jassani

DP2