In His speech at the Laying Stone Ceremony of the Aga Khan Academy in Hyderabad, India, on 22 September 2006, Mawlana Hazar Imam said: "As the economic arena becomes globalised, openness and flexibility have become prerequisites for progress, and success has gone more and more to those who can connect and respond. Specialist expertise, pragmatic temperament, mental resourcefulness - these are increasingly the keys to effective leadership - along with a capacity for intellectual humility that keeps the mind constantly open to a variety of viewpoints and accepts pluralist exchange. In this world, the most important thing a student can learn is the capacity for continuous learning".
The concept of lifelong learning, also known as Life Long Learning, has been repeatedly referred to by Mawlana Hazar Imam in various public speeches and Farmans. He has guided Jamat towards the permanent acquisition of skills in order to be updated and prepared for the evolutions in societies and academic and professional worlds. The truth is that this evolution has been increasingly fast, which makes, in certain instances, skills that we acquired 10 years ago already obsolete.
The difference today is that access to learning is free and without borders. In the past, access to education was more formal and dependent on academic institutions, which, through long and often costly face-to-face programmes, guaranteed an academic degree recognised by other schools and employers. Today, the number of graduates has grown exponentially, as has the number of people with master's degrees, postgraduate or other specialisations. These qualifications can be obtained remotely, and there is no age limit. It can be said that access to education has "democratised" and is accessible to anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection.
It is in this reality that the Aga Khan Education Board (AKEB) has created TLA - The Learning Academy. Following the principles of continuous learning, TLA is a digital platform that aims to offer a rich and diverse range of educational content that can be accessed by any member of Jamat to enrich their training and knowledge. TLA is not a school, nor a university, and will not teach. TLA is therefore intended to be a link between its users and a number of schools, universities and academic programmes, and to ensure that users can access its courses, take advantage of established partnerships and explore new skills.
I hope you will make the most of TLA. For everyone, anywhere, anytime.
Rahim Kara
Chairman Aga Khan Education Board for Portugal
