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University opens in mountains of Central Asia

06.09.2016

Classes commenced on 5 September 2016 for the first group of undergraduate students to attend the University of Central Asia (UCA) Naryn campus in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Naryn campus is one of three UCA campuses, each located in a remote mountainous area of Central Asia. The 71 students beginning their studies at UCA come from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan and Tajikistan. They were admitted through a competitive, transparent and merit-based admissions process.

Welcoming the students, Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Executive Chairman, UCA Board Executive Committee and Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic, said, "This is an historic day for UCA. The university is delighted to welcome our very first 71 students, whose admission is a testament solely of their talent. We are proud that UCA’s financial aid programme ensured that no deserving student was denied entry due to financial circumstances.” The formal inauguration of the university will take place in October 2016.

UCA was created to offer an internationally recognized standard of higher education and create knowledgeable, skilled and creative graduates who will contribute leadership, ideas and innovations to the region. The university’s mission is to promote the social and economic development of Central Asia, particularly its mountain communities, while at the same time helping the different peoples of the region to preserve and draw upon their rich cultural traditions and heritages as assets for the future.

Acknowledging UCA’s international quality of education, Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Minister of Education, Nurmamat Esenkulov, remarked, “We are delighted that UCA will focus on enhancing the standard of higher education in Central Asia and become a role model for other universities.”

On behalf of the people of the Naryn Oblast, the Deputy Governor Asizov Kasen warmly welcomed UCA’s faculty, staff and students as the newest citizens of Naryn. “In the months and years to come, the university will make a significant contribution to this community and in turn can always count on our support,” said Kasen.

Undergraduates at UCA begin their five-year degree programme with the university’s intensive Preparatory Programme. The following years feature liberal arts core curriculum rooted in the Central Asian context and specialized study in a selected major. Students pursuing specializations in computer science or communications and media will spend all five years at UCA Naryn, while those specializing in economics or Earth and environmental science will transfer to the UCA campus in Khorog, Tajikistan.

The three UCA campuses are of equal size and stature. The Naryn campus in the Kyrgyz Republic was the first to enroll undergraduate students. The Khorog campus in Tajikistan is scheduled to open in 2017, and the Tekeli campus in Kazakhstan is anticipated to open in 2019. These sites were selected because they are hubs of substantial mountain communities at regional crossroads. Each UCA campus features state of the art classrooms, libraries and laboratories; secure, modular dormitories; and athletic facilities open to the public, including football pitches and tennis courts.

"The first phase of constructing a university is over. Now, together with faculty, staff and students, we begin the much more challenging task of building the institution based on the values this university espouses," Kassim-Lakha concluded.

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