Najam Keynotes on Student-Centered Education at AKU

 

Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, delivered the keynote address at the first Aga Khan University (AKU) Congress of Student Experience held from November 23-25, 2018 in Karachi, Pakistan.

The inaugural AKU Congress of Student Experience was convened to catalyze the conversation around student experience in higher education; the current state, and the possibilities. It brought together national and international experts to interact with students and think about how universities can innovate to be more engaging and student-centred.  

Najam’s keynote address was titled “Being Young in Pakistan.” He also spoke as part of a panel on humanities in higher education at the congress. In the keynote, Najam discussed the measures needed to help students achieve their potential and noted that the “ability to be young” was not available to most of Pakistan’s youth, for example, because of minimal access to sports facilities, libraries, entertainment options, and basic mobility.

“The fact of the matter is that the youth of Pakistan are heard shouting so often because they do not feel that their voice is being heard,” Mr Najam said. “The young in Pakistan are not a problem to be solved. They are an opportunity to be nurtured. Give them three things: quality education, gainful employment and meaningful engagement and they will give you the world.”

Najam also highlighted the fact that the social contract between universities, especially “elite universities” in developing countries and society included the responsibility of higher education institutions to not only train the best minds for their individual success but for collective national success and a commitment to societal justice.

Najam later featured in a panel discussion on Humanities in higher education. He stressed that the humanities are not a distraction from professional education, but should be at the core of all good education, including professional education. “The Humanities do not just broaden the mind, they sharpen the mind,” Najam argued. “If education is to be more than just vocational training and skill development, then the Humanities are going to be essential.”

Adil Najam is the inaugural Dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Managment Sciences, Pakistan. More about him, here.

View all posts