KABUL, AFGHANISTAN- In September 2006, the American University of Afghanistan (AUAf) was delighted to welcome its first undergraduate students to the 2006/07 academic year.

 

This week, the American University of Afghanistan (AUAf) was delighted to welcome its first undergraduate students to the 2006/07 academic year. Recruited from throughout the country, the initial group of 32 students, seven of them women, will pursue the university’s first liberal arts undergraduate degree programs in Business Administration or Information Communication Technology.

 

A September 6 on-campus ceremony attended by Minister of Higher Education, Dr. M. Azam Dadfar, Mr. Carl Abdou Rahmaan, Acting Mission Director, USAID/Afghanistan, and other dignitaries marked the formal opening of the American University of Afghanistan.

 

Dr. Dadfar, Minister of Higher Education stated that he was delighted with the cooperation between Higher Education institutions in the public and private sectors. He said that the public sector does not have the capacity to absorb the demand for higher education and hence the private sector was very important in the future of Afghanistan. Non-profit organizations such as AUAf provide high quality education to students from throughout the country and to Afghans returning from abroad.

 

Mr. Rahmaan, Acting Mission Director, USAID/Afghanistan pledged his support for the university and reiterated the desire to see AUAf succeed through providing excellent teaching and offering a range of opportunities for Afghan students.

 

AUAf also welcomed university faculty from throughout Afghanistan who are studying in the Higher Education Program and the Academic Success Program. On successful completion of the AUAf course, both programs will offer these faculty members the opportunity to study abroad, in the US and elsewhere, in order to increase their skills before returning to their current positions.

 

Other new students are taking part in the Professional Development Institute Business English courses aimed at Afghan professionals who use English in their work, and the Foundation Studies Program which is preparing students to enter the undergraduate courses starting in January 2007.

 

Continued support for the university is provided by the Afghan Government, USAID, The Asia Foundation and the principal donors for the reconstruction of the West Campus site, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mirwais Azizi, and Deputy Chairman, Ehsan Bayat.  Additional fund raising to meet requirements is underway.  

 

AUAf faculty and staff warmly welcomed all new and returning students and look forward to a challenging, interesting and successful semester.

 

For more information on any of the university’s programs, please see www.auaf.edu.af or email info@auaf.net