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Scholarship Programme News (2003-2004)

Alumni Visitors in Geneva
Several ISP alumni have visited AKF Geneva recently and brought the Scholarship Office up to date on their activities.  They are Shamez Mohamed (ISP 87-88), Farouk Jiwa (ISP 94-98) and Karim Maredia (ISP 80-85).

Shamez worked for Mercer Management Consulting in Toronto, Ontario, for six years, most recently as a Principal.  His work consisted of leading and managing consultant and client staff teams to provide clients with strategic and operational guidance on business issues.  In 2001, he took a sabbatical from Mercer and moved to India for 14 months to set up the Mumbai operations of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an international disaster management agency with operations in over 10 countries.  Shamez seems to have enjoyed working for the non-profit sector because this Fall, he resigned from Mercer and accepted a post as Project Coordinator working with a variety of Aga Khan institutions, consultants, contractors, and volunteers to develop and build the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. He is also charged with setting up a "Project Office" to act as the focal point for the development and construction of the high-profile projects in Canada. We wish him much success.

Farouk can boast of having received several prestigious honours recently for his work with Honey Care Africa.  Established four years ago, Honey Care is a private company promoting sustainable community-based beekeeping in East Africa.  Farouk, who is one of the founding partners, has been selected in 2004 as one of the world's most "Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs" by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland.  He was one of 13 award winners this year and was invited in September to attend a workshop on "Private Investment with Social Goals: Building the Blended Value Capital Market", which was held in Geneva and sponsored by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group, the Rockefeller Foundation and the World Economic Forum.  While in Geneva, Farouk visited the Aga Khan Foundation to meet with the programme staff and brief them about Honey Care.

In May 2004, he received the World Business Award from the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders' Forum, UNDP and International Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his contribution towards the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. 

In June 2004, Farouk, representing Honey Care, signed an Agreement with James Wolfensohn, the President of the World Bank Group in Washington DC.  Under the terms of this Agreement, Honey Care will receive funding, investments and technical assistance to help strengthen its current operations and to replicate its model of community-based beekeeping in the East Africa region.

Farouk has now given up the day-to-day management of  the company to start a nine-month  fellowship at the Jeanne Sauvé Scholars Foundation based at McGill University in Montreal.  He is among 12 scholars selected for an innovative programme to research, reflect, question and enlarge upon their understanding of the state of the world and their roles in effecting positive change.  Farouk is taking advantage of this free time to read up on the many and varied fields of interest to him, including Islamic History, International Relations, Political Economy, Philosophy, Law, Art History and Architecture.  A huge but enriching undertaking.

Karim and Riffat speaking to students at the Sidhpur Education Camp in Houston.

Karim Maredia, an Entomologist, is a  Professor at Michigan State University's Institute of International Agriculture.  He has recently published two books: Integrated Pest Management in the Global Arena, which he co-edited with two other scientists, and Intellectual Property Rights in Agricultural Biotechnology, both published by Cabi Publishing, Oxon, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Karim has been organising short courses in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at MSU and around the world since 1995.  Integrated Pest Management in the Global Arena brings together the case studies that have come out of these courses and includes experiences from many different countries and key international programmes.  It is meant to serve as a reference in international courses, seminars and workshops around the world. 

Besides his academic work, Karim has found the time to establish, with his wife, Mywish, a philanthropic Foundation to help students from families who live in or are originally from the Sidhpur region of Gujarat in India.  Started in August 1997, the Foundation's mission is to improve the educational status of Sidhpur communities in the USA, Canada, India and Pakistan by providing information, advice, guidance and educational loans.  It is primarily supported through donations and gifts received from the members of the Sidhpur community worldwide.

The Foundation held two important events in 2004.  One was an Educational Camp for high school students in Houston in March and another a Professional Forum in Atlanta in September.  Over 70 students attended the camp at which enthusiastic university students and educationalists informed them about college admissions and study and career options, and led them in recreational activities, such as a talent show, Indian dancing and outdoor sports.

One of the counsellors at the camp was current ISP student, Riffat Manasia, who is doing an MA degree programme in Urban Planning at Harvard University.

Pallavi Aiyar (ISP 00-02) continues to report for Indian newspapers on Chinese-Indian relations and current  social and economic conditions in China from her post in Beijing.  After finishing her Master's degree course in Global Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California, Pallavi moved to Beijing to teach Newswriting in English at the British Broadcasting Institute and to continue her journalist career from China.  Two of her latest articles, one on how China is beginning to face some serious demographic challenges and causing a possible re-think of the one-child policy, and another on  how Indian tea exporters are hoping to make black tea a fashion statement in Beijing, can be found on the following sites: http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=57852 and http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=72796

The ISP alumni community is a diverse and talented group.  We would welcome more news from you for the website.  Send items about your personal and professional achievements, articles and photos to the Scholarship Office at AKF Geneva.  It will be a pleasure to report on your activities.

Donations

The Aga Khan Foundation gratefully acknowledges the pledge of an annual donation of CAD 15,000 per year for 10 years to the International Scholarship Programme from the Alnoor Jinah family of Ontario, Canada, in memory of their son, Ameer, who died in an accident in February 2004.  AKF also thanks All-Noor Goeffers (ISP 93-94) for his gift of EUR 500 and Nawras Aldibbiat (ISP 98-01) for his donation of GBP 500.

Disertations

The following dissertations by ISP graduates were received in Geneva:

Azim Samjani, Grid Computing: An Investigation in Network Performance, Study of Packet Size Modifications and Transport Protocols, MSE in Telecommunication and Networking, University of Pennsylvania, April 2004

Robert Akena p'Ojok, Statistical Analysis of FWD Data Integrity, MSc in Road Management and Engineering, University of Birmingham, August 2004

Rashida Keshavjee, The Redefined Role of the Ismaili Muslim Woman Through Higher Education and the Professions, PhD, Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, 2004

Photo Album

In 2004, AKF scholarship students and alumni gathered at meetings and dinners in Houston, Los Angeles, London, Almaty and Bishkek.  Here are some photos from these meetings and events.

	ISP students and alumni at a dinner in Houston Dr. Gul Nowshad from Pakistan (ISP 01-02, 03-06), Zahid Lalani from India (ISP 98-01) with his wife, Catherine Hieronymi, Nilofer Prasla from India (ISP 96-98)  with her husband and child, Karim Maredia, Asif Jiwani from Pakistan (ISP 97-98), Salim Jessa (ISP 81-84).
	Iqbal Nagji (ISP 79-80), who helped arrange the Houston dinner.
	Two health professionals in Los Angeles, Nasreen Dhanani from Canada (ISP 89-92) and Amir Mohani from India (ISP 02-04), both with degrees from UCLA, met at Nasreen's home for dinner.
	Imperial College scholars from Pakistan, Imad Murad (ISP 03-04) below and Zulfiqar Gulzar  (ISP 02-05) at right.
	UK scholars getting ready for an alumni dinner in London - Bottom row: Farhan Ghanori from Afghanistan (AKDN-Chevening scholar 03-04), Shehnaz Jeeva from Pakistan (ISP 01-04), Top row: Tammam Yahia from Syria (ISP 02-05), Sadaf Rizvi from Pakistan (ISP 03-06), Alia Kosbaeva from Kazakhstan (AKDN-Chevening scholar 03-04), Kabir Sheikh from India (ISP 03-06), Irfan Jeeva (ISP 02-04) and Subramanian Pattabiraman from India (ISP 03-04)
	Shehzad Jeeva playing his flute after dinner.
	Faisal Devji from Canada (ISP 86-90) on a visit to London from the USA where he is teaching at Yale University and his former Institute of Ismaili Studies student, Gurdofarid Miskinzoda from Tajikistan (TSP/ISP 95-00)
	Muhsin Ahmadov from Tajikistan (TSP 99-03, ISP 04-06) at KIMEP in Almaty
	Tajik Scholarship Programme students in their computer room in Bishkek
	New TSP students in Bishkek with Shelina Karmali, the CEO of Aga Khan Education Service,Tajikistan (with glasses in back row)

Aziz Merchant (ISP 90-92), an AKF alumnus from Singapore, has a rather unusual career. This BEng graduate in Naval Architecture from the University of Glasgow, who also has an MSc from University College London, was recently featured in The Straits Times of Singapore as one of the world's top designers of semi-submersible oil rigs. Aziz heads a team of 25 designers in Singapore and 300 engineers worldwide at the Marine Engineering Firm, Keppel Offshore & Marine. Their oil rigs are huge sea-borne mobile platforms used to drill to depths of between 1,000 to 3,000 meters. Keppel built rigs based on other people's plans until, in the mid-1990's, Aziz and his engineering team started researching partially submergible oil rigs in their spare time. Their research resulted in the company setting up a new design unit and starting to build rigs of the company's own design.

Dr. Onesmo ole-MoiYoi (AKH 64-68) a senior scientist from Kenya and an Aga Khan Harvard scholarship alumnus is often in the news. We recently wrote about him when he received an honorary doctoral degree from Soka University in Japan. This time he has been honoured with the prestigious Kilby International Award in London for playing a key role in the fight against human, animal and plant diseases. An interview with Dr. MoiYoi in The Guardian describes the unique personal history of this Maasai cattle herder who became one of Africa's top scientists. The article can found on the following site: http://www.guardian.co.uk/kenya/story/0,12689,1083405,00.html.

The Aga Khan Foundation gratefully acknowledges the gifts of CAD 3,000 from Zahra Rashid (ISP 96-99), an Orthodontist practicing in Calgary, and GBP 5,180 from Shakeel Hasham (ISP 89-92), an economist working at UBS in London. Their donation are being used for international scholarships.

The following dissertations were received from ISP graduates in 2003:

Sohail Hirani, Energy Consumption of Encryption Schemes in Wireless Devices, MS, Telecommunications, University of Pittsburgh, 2003.

Zainab Kizilbash, The Efficacy of Aid Relief: the International Response to the Southern Africa Food Crisis, MSc, Development Studies, London School of Economics, October 2003.

Goulnora Choukourbekova, The Problems of Political and Economic Transition in MBAP, Tajikistan, and the Role of Tourism Development in Allaying these Problems, MA, Economics for Business, University of Portsmouth, September 2003.

Angel Kobusingye, The Effects of the Real Exchange Rate on the Import Sector in Uganda: an Empirical Analysis, MA, Economics and Finance, University of Leeds, September 2002.

Hyder Ali Khoja, Caractérisation de deux gènes codant pour des petites proteines de type Rab liant le GTP, LeRab6 et LeER43, chez la tomate, PhD, Molecular Biology, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, April 2003.

Nasima Akter, Appropriate Management Options for Medical Waste in Developing Countries: the Case of Bangladesh and Thailand, DoctTechSc, Environmental Technology and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, 2003.

Ali Dadolahi-Sohrab, A Study of the Potential of Using Seaweed as a Biomonitoring Indicator on Kish Island, Iran, PhD, Ecotoxicology, University Putra Malaysia, August 2003.

 

More Photos

The following photos of Tajik scholarship students and graduates were taken in October 2003 in Moscow, Bishkek, Almaty and Dushanbe and Khorog.

	ISP graduate students in Moscow: Gulmurod Shoziyoev doing Physics at Moscow State University, Drs. Olimi Shirinbek and Umeda Uysufbekova doing Speciality Training in Surgery at Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, and Dr. Himmat Sulaimonov at the Moscow Research Center for Cardiovascular Surgery.
	First-year students in Almaty dressed for visitors: Parvina Yormamadova, Satrina Saidkozumova, Kimyo Sabzalieva and Gulnora Akdodova.
	First-year Tajik scholarship student in Bishkek having a laugh.
	Second-year students with Catherine Hieronymi.
	Third-year students with Galina Roubanova.
	Four career girls in Dushanbe: Favziya Nazarova, Executive Assistant at International Research Exchange, Saodat Asanova, Country Marketing Representative for the Pragma Corporation, Zamira Rakhmatova, an Accountant at FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance and Farangees Mamadshoyeva working with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
	On the way to Khorog.
	Boys and girls on scholarship studying at Khorog State University.

AKF Scholars in 2003-2004

The Aga Khan Foundation is pleased to announce the new recipients of its scholarship programmes. 

International Scholarship Programme
Mr. Robert Akena (Ugandan) MSc, Highway Management & Engineering, University of Birmingham
Mr. Shakir Ali (Pakistani) MSc, University of Edinburgh
Mr. Aslam Aman (Pakistani) MPS, Cornell University
Mr. Babak Bazregari (Iranian) PhD, Biomechanical Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Montréal
Mr. Hamid Charania (Indian) MA, Sociology (Criminology and Social Order), University of Nairobi
Ms. Humaira Daniel (Pakistani) PhD, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn
Ms. Sitora Djonmamadova (Tajik) MA, International Development (Education and Development), American University, Washington, DC
Ms. Robiya Elnazarova (Tajik) MA, Educational Management, University of Warwick
Ms. Zaitoon Esmail (Indian) MSc, Development Finance, University of Reading
Mr. Zuhair Kassam (Canadian) MEd, International Education Policy, Harvard University
Mr. Shah Khan (Pakistani), PhD, Natural Resource Management, University of Manitoba 
Mr. Amyn Lakhani (Bangladeshi), MAC, Accounting, University of North Carolina
Mr. Zubaer Mahboob (Bangladeshi), MPhil, Economics (Development Economics), University of Oxford
Dr. Himmat Muhtaramovich (Tajik) Candidate of Science, Cardiovascular Surgery, A. Bakuleva Research Center of Cardiovascular Surgery, Moscow
Mr. Imad Murad (Pakistani) MSc, Imperial College of Science and Technology
Dr. (Ms.) Gul Nowshad (Pakistani), PhD, Public Health Management and Policy, University of Texas, Houston
Ms. Nabilla Porbandarwalla (USA) MD, Medicine, University of Texas, San Antonio
Ms. Sadaf Rizvi (Pakistani) MPhil/DPhil, University of Oxford
Mr. Malik Saleh (Pakistani) MS, University of Texas, Austin
Mr. Subramanian Pattabiraman (Indian) MSc, Poverty Reduction and Development Management, University of Birmingham
Mr. Rathinasamy Muthusamy (Indian) MPA, Public Administration with International Tax Program, Harvard University
Mr. Chemir Razakanaivo (Malagasy) MS, Business, Ecole Supérieure de Gestion, Paris
Dr. Kabir Sheikh (Indian) PhD, Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Mr. Sulaimoni Shohzoda (Tajik) Candidate of Political Science, Political Science and Philosophy, Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Mr. Gulmurod Shoziyoev (Tajik) Candidate of Science, Physics, Moscow State University
Mr. Nedal Swedan (Syrian) MPhil/PhD, Food Science, University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
Ms. Gulnora Turakhanova (Tajik) PGD, Reconstructive Surgery, Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, St. Petersburg
Mr. Tamman Yahia (Syrian) PGD/MSc, Economics, University of Essex
Ms. Umeda Yusufbekova (Tajik) Medical Speciality Training, Laparoscopic Surgery in Obstetrics/Gynecology, Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy

Tajik Scholarship Programme
Academy of Finance, Moscow
Ms. Amniya Shahbozova - Auditing

Kazakh State University of International Relations and World Languages, Almaty
Ms. Satrina Saidkozumova - Oriental Studies

University of International Business(UIB), Almaty
Ms. Gulnora Akdodova - Management
Ms. Kimyo Sabzalieva - Economics
Ms. Parvina Yormamadova - International Economics

Slavonic University, Bishkek
Mr. Khujanazar Aslamshoev - Law
Ms. Ramziya Chamanova - Preparatory year/Medicine
Ms. Gavharniso Devlokhova - Medicine
Ms. Mahina Dustova - Preparatory year/Medicine
Ms. Shahnoza Mamadatoeva - Law
Ms. Subhiya Mastonshoeva - International Relations
Ms. Parvina Muminshoeva - Medicine
Ms. Manzura Shozedova - Law
Ms. Maya Sohibnazarova - Economics
Mr. Narimon Yusufbekov - Preparatory year/Hydropower Engineering