University’s international ambitions resonate with students

Former ISA President Alykhan Kassam, after having his head shaved to raise funds for cancer research. Courtesy of Alykhan Kassam

The University of Alberta, which recently celebrated its centennial, is an educational epicentre to over 37 000 students in 18 different faculties. Among them are over 200 members of the University's Ismaili Students' Association (ISA). A self-funded, self-governing student group located at the main Edmonton campus, the ISA actively encourages its members to be positive, contributors to University society.

Through the Association, young Ismaili women and men partake in a range of campus activities, such as ISA-supported intramural sports teams that include ultimate (Frisbee), volleyball, soccer, and floor hockey. In recent years, the ISA has raised funds for cancer research through its annual Head Shave for Cancer event. It has also canvassed donations and helped build awareness of the Canadian Blood Donor Clinic, and operated a food bank benefiting less fortunate members on campus.

Ismaili students at the University are equally active off-campus. Assembling a team for the 25th World Partnership Walk that recently took place in nine cities across Canada, the students raised nearly CAD $22 000 in the fight against global poverty.

Students gather for a photo at the 25th World Partnership Walk in Edmonton. Courtesy of Irfan Devji

In addition to being fun and having an impact, ISA activities offer “a great opportunity to educate other students and professors” about who Ismaili Muslims are, says outgoing ISA President Irfaan Gilani. People sometimes have a skewed perspective of the values associated with Islam and Muslims, but “through integration and positive contributions, we have the potential to change that image,” he says.

It is a message that also resonates in the initiatives of individual Ismailis. Nursing student Nurin Dhanji recently organised a volunteer opportunity through the university Rotary Club to build local schools, community centres, and health clinics in Mexico. Aly Bhatia, who is pursuing Biology, became the new president of the International Volunteers Club, an initiative aimed at raising funds to aid impoverished third world countries. And Aliya Jiwani's passion for working with children, led her to the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, where she will have an opportunity to complete a teaching practicum towards her Bachelor of Education.

That students at the University of Alberta should seek to have an international impact so early in their careers is no coincidence. The University is engaged in an array of international collaborations with institutions around the world, a fact remarked upon by Mawlana Hazar Imam in his address to the University's graduates yesterday, after he received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws.

Mawlana Hazar Imam at the University of Alberta Convocation ceremony where he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Moez Visram

The University of Alberta's impressive agenda of international goals, said Mawlana Hazar Imam, “represents precisely the sort of outreach from Western intellectual centres which I believe is essential for global progress.” He noted that the impact of the University's work “is reinforced by the high regard in which Canada itself is held as a valued development partner.”

“As young people with a Canadian education, you will be warmly welcomed by the global community if you should choose to spend some time in international activity, making the world your workplace.”

Earlier in the day, Mawlana Hazar Imam and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the University of Alberta and the Aga Khan University. The agreement aims to advance both institutions' goals to increase global engagement and to promote equitable human advancement and social justice throughout the world.

In his speech Mawlana Hazar Imam also announced that he was presenting the University with a gift of a traditional Islamic garden, marking the institution's 100th anniversary and his Golden Jubilee – both of which were commemorated last year. He expressed hope that it would be a space of “educational and aesthetic value, a setting for learning more about Muslim culture and design, as well as a place for public reflection.”

Members of the Ismaili Students Association Executive team gather for a summer retreat to plan the following year's activities. Nimeera Nanji

“We are deeply honoured,” says Gilani, reflecting the pride his fellow ISA members at seeing their University recognise the impact that Mawlana Hazar Imam has had over the past five decades. “The immense time and work that Mawlana Hazar Imam has invested into making this world a better place is unimaginable.”