From the construction of the Aga Khan Academy Maputo’s very first buildings to some of its final facilities, Laura Ivens Brandão has been involved in the AKA Maputo’s development and expansion since the very beginning. 

Laura, who is originally from Portugal and a civil engineer by trade, joined the AKA Maputo in July 2017. She began her involvement with the Academy’s construction project in 2012 as the general manager of an outsourced project management company.

“It’s interesting because, as the general manager of my former company, I was involved since the inception of the Academy as I was appointed to the project management of the AKA Maputo’s first phase, which is the phase that represents the opening of the Academy’s Early Years Centre,” Laura said. “In this way, I have been involved since the very beginning of the Academy’s construction, and this has equipped me with both an internal and external perspective of the Academy.”

Laura attained her undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal. She then moved to Leuven, Belgium in pursuit of a Master’s qualification in the conservation of historic towns and buildings at the Katholieke Universiteit.

Upon the completion of her master’s degree, Laura returned to Portugal where she jump-started her career in project management. “I started my career in an area that slightly differed from my master’s qualification,” she said. “This is because, at the time, Portugal was not very focused on the restoration of historical buildings and monuments. So, I started my career in project management.”

The company Laura worked for at the time later invited her to join their newly-launched branch in Mozambique. She arrived in Mozambique in September 2010 and worked for this company until 2017 as a general project manager, where she did a lot of project management work in Mozambique.

In 2017, the company decided to cease their activity in Mozambique but Laura wanted to remain in the country. Every cloud has a silver lining, as it was at this time that Laura received an invitation to join the AKA Maputo as the Academy’s senior project manager and client representative.

 "A reputable team of international and local architects and engineers have designed the Academy to be in line with Aga Khan Development Network’s pursuit of excellence in both the physical facilities, as well as the quality of education intended to be imparted at the finished facility,” Laura said. “I am glad I was selected to execute this team's vision for the AKA Maputo." 

Praising the overall mission and vision of the Aga Khan Academies, Laura places great emphasis on the important role that the AKA Maputo plays in the betterment of the Mozambican educational sector and, ultimately, in the Mozambican society.

“This is an exceptional project because of its concept, dimension, challenge to have been built in Mozambique and, on top of all, the purpose that it develops,” Laura said. “The mission of educating and developing students to become highly qualified and socially responsible professionals and leaders, which Mozambique needs to support its socio-economic development, is what makes it an absolute honour to have been chosen to lead this project. It is an emblematic project.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the AKA Maputo’s significantly diverse student and staff population, Laura has found engaging with multinational colleagues to be interesting and positively challenging. She gained a thorough understanding of how the Academy’s leadership team perceives the Academy and has applied this to the construction of the campus.

“Sometimes it can be challenging because each individual has their own ideas, and sometimes it can be difficult to incorporate all of these ideas in the project development,” Laura said. “But, overall, I think my colleagues are satisfied with my work as we always try to include all of their ideas within our budget. Ultimately, the buildings are for them, for the teachers, staff members and, on top of all, for the students.”

However, the biggest challenge Laura faced was the Academy’s construction since international lockdowns eased due to COVID-19. Reflecting back, Laura said she and her team had to ensure the pandemic did not severely impact the development of the AKA Maputo. This required strong team collaboration, dedication and mutual support.

“Post-COVID-19 on a global level, particularly in terms of material costs, import costs and the lack of transportation, was quite difficult to digest and it was a fight,” Laura said. “Nevertheless, the fact that we did not have a single positive case during the pandemic is very rewarding. And although I am leading the project, it has been a great team effort. 

“I have received a lot of support from my director in Geneva and I think, all together, we are very successful. And when I say we are a team, I don’t only mean the construction team – design team, project management team, contractors and project colleagues – but I mean the Academy in its entirety as led by the Head of Academy, who closely collaborated with me to bridge the gap between construction and school.”

“The Academy was planned in phases to allow for the school to grow during construction, and the manner in which the academic team always understood the "conflicts" between construction and the normal school life were fantastic. So from the leadership team, right down to each and every colleague, we are all a team and should be very happy at the results that we have achieved amidst these uncertain times.”

Reflecting on the various beautiful spaces and facilities at the AKA Maputo, Laura says it’s rather difficult to choose only one building as her favourite. But, aside from the Court of Palms – an area on campus that has 24 Royal palms standing tall and proud – one of her favourite spaces at the Academy is the Moyo, which means heart in Swahili. The Moyo is the Academy’s amphitheatre where whole school assemblies and other fun events are hosted.

“For me, each building in the Academy has its own story and they are all very dear to me,” she said. “But I think that the Moyo is, in fact, the heart of the Academy, and the contrast of the Moyo against the rest of the buildings at the Academy is the most emblematic area in my eyes.”

Being directly involved in the development of the AKA Maputo from the start, Laura has observed how the rapid growth of the Academy has positively impacted the students and staff, alike. “It has been very gratifying to witness the joy of the students and all of the school staff,” Laura said. “They are amazed at the level of facilities that are being provided at the Academy. I have no doubt in mind that the Aga Khan Academy Maputo is the school with the highest quality infrastructures in the country.”

Tanaz Hudda currently acts as the new poster girl for the University of Victoria. She graduated from the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad in 2016 and has just completed her first year of university in Canada. While currently undeclared she plans to pursue a double major in History and Economics. Tanaz emphasises the usefulness of the Academy in her past year of study. "I definitely feel that the balance provided by the Academy has helped me get involved in different projects in university without compromising my academics."

 

Another lesson that is helping her through university came from one of her Academy teachers. "My teachers were my support system throughout my time at the Academy. One of my favourite teachers who pushed me harder and harder whenever I would perform well or sometimes not so well was Dr. Karuna Arya. I think she instilled this idea in me that one can always do better, even if it appears that you are the best at it. I genuinely cannot forget that lesson as it has helped me so much in the past few months at university." Tanaz also relied on the Academy's staff for help with university choices. "Choosing the kind of university that would suit you the best is always difficult. I had many questions and I had no clue where I would rather go as all universities seemed appealing. For me, the two things that mattered most was affordability and coop opportunities in the field of humanities. I was able to narrow down the list with the help of our University Counsellor, Ms. Pragati, and that made a huge impact on my university choice."

Even though Tanaz has found that Canada can offer her the best career opportunities she believes that giving back to her country and settling down in India is more important. "That connection is what motivates me to study harder and then settle in India to contribute to the greater good of the place I come from. The Academy taught me to strive for excellence, work for the community and be involved in as many extra-curricular activities as possible, as well as never forget where you come from. Giving back to the society has been my goal ever since I joined the Academy and would definitely influence my plans for the future." While at the Academy Tanaz volunteered at a local residential school and helped organise different events for the children there. This and other service projects, such as her volunteering in Nairobi, has convinced Tanaz of the importance of education for India's future, especially in rural schools.

Not only is it important for students to have an education but she also stresses the importance of a 'proper' education. "I have visited many local schools which have neither resources nor adequate training to teach kids what they are supposed to learn. I feel that education is the only chance we have to transform how the nation thinks and that needs to be instilled in rural areas, because India lives in its villages. No education and most of all, improper education could be dangerous in creating false knowledge and sometimes continuing the social evils that exist in a society. Hence, I would focus on making the education system better."

Critical thinker. Life-long learner. Global citizen. Three traits, fostered during his time at the Aga Khan Academy, that characterise Danish Dhamani as he now graduates from Drexel University with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. A 2013 graduate from the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, Danish was an integral part of the residential community and president of the Student Representative Council during his two years at the school.

When asked about his most cherished memories, Dhamani reminisced about the sense of community that developed as a result of the residential program. “People became really close to one another, like an extended family. We had meals together, we celebrated birthdays and special occasions together, and we studied together… One really memorable event for me was singing ‘Happy birthday and kata keki’ (‘cut the cake’ in Swahili).” Danish’s term serving as president of the Student Representative Council was similarly rooted in the idea of building a familial sense of community, and most of his events were geared towards achieving this goal.

Four years later, Danish continues to think outside the box and combine his personal interests with making a difference in the society. Upon arriving at university, he discovered that he needed to improve his public speaking skills. Danish realised that this is a problem that affects many people around the world.

His solution to this problem? Orai.

Orai is a mobile app that aims to make anyone become a better public speaker using artificial intelligence. From tracking the number of ‘ums’ and ‘you knows’, to assessing the “tone” of your speech, the app provides a comprehensive report and suggestions on how you could become a better presenter. The intelligent engineering of the algorithms and attention to detail in the app literally leaves no person speechless.

At present, his venture has won approximately $50,000 in prizes. Orai won 2^nd place in the Microsoft US Imagine Cup Finals and advanced with 6 other ventures to the Imagine Cup World Finals in July 2017. Motivated to take his venture to the next level, along with his co-founder, Danish will be working full-time on Orai post-graduation. His efforts and dedication towards Orai has now impacted the lives of over 30,000 users around the world. 

As he reflects on his time at the Academy, Danish specifically remembers his classes with Mr. Alchin. “He looked at the world very differently,” he notes. Teachers such as Mr. Alchin instilled in Danish the capacity and willingness to think outside the proverbial box. In preparing him for university, both the International Baccalaureate curriculum and the opportunity to engage in extracurricular activities broadened his perspective towards the world and made him a lifelong learner.

His vision for the future is to be able to reside in a world where individuals are exposed to the global issues such as food insecurity and global warming from a young age, and are equipped with knowledge on latest technological advancements to engage in problem solving and action driven initiatives.

By Karina Hussein

Before we enter the 2019 – 2020 academic term, we would like to spotlight a few staff from AKA Mombasa who are going on to pursue new adventures in the upcoming academic year. Here, we take a look at Academy fellow Ryan Herman and his two years at the Academy.

Ryan Herman is from New Hampshire, New England and was an Academy fellow at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Ryan was part of the Academy’s Enrichment and Service Learning programme, and later moved on to support the Admissions and Learning Support department and the Academy’s Talent Identification Programme.

Through his time at the Academy, Ryan said he has learnt so much, which he knows will benefit him in the future.

“I have truly loved my experience and not looking forward to leaving at all, although I am very excited to arrive into my next position,” Ryan said. “I have grown a lot in this role, and through my students, I have taken on many learning experiences and moments of growth that I didn’t expect to happen. The Academy has offered me significant professional development in a variety of different aspects. But most importantly, I think my time at the Academy has taught me the importance of mentorship and has helped me value the teacher-student relationship and the type of role-model I like to be. I have experienced and discovered endless learning moments that education centers like our own can offer to its students, staff and community. For this reason, the Academy has solidified my want to stay in education, or at least working in fields that heavily involve youth.”

Ryan said he would not be where he is now if it wasn’t for the support the AKA Mombasa community provided him with during his time here.

“I feel like I came in very unsure of my way forward, mostly knowing that I enjoyed working with students and liked being out of my comfort zone,” Ryan said. “I now feel like I have a much more clear understanding of my way forward in life and what I hope to achieve, and I contribute a lot of that to the mentorship and experiences I’ve had in the Admissions department and through my boss, Kauthar Mohamed. I have come under the wing of many inspirational and thoughtful leaders, such as Kauthar, Paul Davis, Jane Okello, Minal Shah, Ruki Husain, Nuala Alibhai, Alice Ndungu, Bhagirathy Jhingran, Clare McLaughlin, etc., who have driven me crazy with aspirations for myself and my future. I feel extremely fortunate for the many circumstances that had fallen into place, somewhat coincidentally, that made my two years very unique. The most rewarding aspect of my time here was being given the support and trust to embark in my own direction and being able to make those simple initial steps concrete themselves into something tangible and beneficial.”

During his two years, Ryan has contributed to various parts of the school. Ryan was involved with the Exchange Programme’s pilot year between AKA Mombasa and AKA Hyderabad, supported the annual TEDxYouth event and strengthened the Talent Identification Programme at the Academy.

“Our network puts in immense amount of effort to empower different, disadvantaged communities around the world through education, and the Talent Identification Programme is a very tangible approach to that goal,” Ryan said. “Starting from a singular programme in January of 2018 that welcomed in year 6 students, the programme has grown to be able to tackle so much more. We now run six programmes throughout the course of a year, handle four rounds of orientations annually,  have devised an integration program for English Language Learners, provide weekly tuition for those with greater academic gaps, documented and analyzed academic trajectories and histories for four of the seven cohorts, and now support the processes of assessment, identification and communication with families.”

Ryan’s passion for working with talented students from varying backgrounds will be seen through his new position at Imagine Scholar.

“I will be working for Imagine Scholar, a non-profit in South Africa focused on providing opportunities in education for rural students,” Ryan said. “We, as the Academy, are partners with Imagine Scholar through our role in the HALI (High Achieving, Low Income) Access Network. I will be stepping in as a programme manager, focusing particularly on a programme for talented high school students.”

Kauthar Mbwana (Mohamed), the Student Leadership and Service Learning Coordinator and Senior School Enrichment Coordinator, has worked with Ryan since he came to the Academy. Kauthar said Ryan’s work ethic was very admirable and she is happy to see the person he has become during his time at the Academy.

“The first day I met Ryan and he cracked a joke I knew that we would be the best of coworkers,” Kauthar said. “Ryan is hardworking and a perfectionist when it comes to work. He would take up any task given to him and work to his level best. Ryan helped bring to life the enrichment portal that allows students to sign-up online among many other enrichment tasks. He has also taken his year 7 disability Service Learning programme to different heights, from the activities he does, to the learning experiences that occur. His thirst to do better and personal growth didn’t stop only at his main roles; he took up on more just so that he can maximise his two years at the Academy. Ryan’s charming personality shall be missed dearly; not just his passion and commitment to work, but his smile that lights up anyone’s day. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”