You know what happiness is?
Studying at the American University of Afghanistan!
Quraisha Sherzad
LATEST NEWS
AUAF Welcomes the Release of Our Colleagues Kevin King and Timothy Weeks
AUAF welcomes the news of the release of our colleagues, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks, who had been held hostage since August 7, 2016. The AUAF community shares the relief of the families of Kevin and Timothy, and we look forward to providing all…
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Afghan Handicrafts Showcased at AUAF to Promote Afghan Businesses
On December 5th, the American University of Afghanistan organized a one-day Exhibition in which vendors displayed their different products including jewelry, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature paintings, and carpets. AUAF community had the opportunity…
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AUAF Spotlighted Science Day with Students' own Scientific Experiments
On 5th December, AUAF Division of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM), under the leadership of Dr. Maria del Mar De Fez Laso, organized AUAF’s first Science Day to provide students and faculty an exciting opportunity to increase scientific lit…
Read MoreAUAF Welcomes the Release of Our Colleagues Kevin King and Timothy Weeks
AUAF welcomes the news of the release of our colleagues, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks, who had been held hostage since August 7, 2016. The AUAF community shares the relief of the families of Kevin and Timothy, and we look forward to providing all…
Read MoreAUAF Welcomes Possible Release
The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) is encouraged to hear reports of the possible release of our two colleagues, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks. While AUAF is not part of these discussions, we continue to urge the immediate and safe return of our…
Read MoreAUAF's Business Department Organized an One-Day Business Showcase for the Students and Alumni
AUAF 2019 Business Excellence Awards & Entrepreneurs Showcase On Monday 11 November 2019, the AUAF Business Department and Arête Business Club organized the “2019 Business Excellence Awards & Entrepreneurs Showcase” event…
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Afghan Handicrafts Showcased at AUAF to Promote Afghan Businesses
On December 5th, the American University of Afghanistan organized a one-day Exhibition in which vendors displayed their different products including jewelry, ceramics, calligraphy, miniature paintings, and carpets. AUAF community had the opportunity…
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Colorful Afghan Heritage Presented through Entertaining Performances at AUAF's Cultural Festival
On 25th November, the Student Government Association (SGA) of the American University of Afghanistan organized the annual cultural festival. The program was built around the theme of “Cultural Diversity and Unity" among all students on campus.…
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Students with Excellent Academic Performance Awarded with President's Honor Awards
The President’s Honor and High Honor Awards are prestigious awards bestowed upon students with outstanding academic performance. In the award ceremony on November 28th, AUAF President joined the Registrar Office in awarding 61 students with Hon…
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AUAF Spotlighted Science Day with Students' own Scientific Experiments
On 5th December, AUAF Division of Science, Technology and Mathematics (STM), under the leadership of Dr. Maria del Mar De Fez Laso, organized AUAF’s first Science Day to provide students and faculty an exciting opportunity to increase scientific lit…
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AUAF Students let their Artistic Talents Flourish
During the week of 17-21 November, 2019, AUAF hosted an exhibition of "Film and Art in Contemporary Afghanistan". A collection of artworks from Herat and Kabul artists were on display, along with a short film presentation from the Kabul Universi…
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AUAF’s Response concerning the May 30, 2019 New York Times Article
The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) is unfortunately the subject of a May 30, 2019 New York Times article that gives an inaccurate and misleading picture of the University. The headline and main story line allege that there are “missing mi…
Read MoreWHY AUAF?
Faculty Spotlight
Advancing Entrepreneurship Education in Afghanistan
Assistant Professor of Management and Marketing, Colleen Foster, now in her 6th year at AUAF, has dedicated her efforts to advancing AUAF as a regional leader in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education. Using the re-definition of entrepreneurship, which is “the mindset of identifying or creating an opportunity, marshaling the resources, and providing leadership to create sustainable social, environmental and/or economic value”, Foster has brought applied academic innovations into the business curriculum. The AUAF “NewCo Awards” and “Entrepreneurial Pitch” contest are now a highlight of Business Department events. Drawing on her own experience as a senior level business executive at the global 3M Corporation, she is also regularly engaging in outreach efforts to strengthen entrepreneurship across Afghanistan. These include the first AUAF-Kandahar Workshop in 2018, the ACE Agricultural Credit Seminar (for potential financiers and bankers to understand the opportunities and provide appropriate financing and credit for entrepreneurs), and the 2019 Higher Education/University Symposium on Entrepreneurship—a multi-university collaboration to accelerate entrepreneurship in Afghanistan. Foster sums up her efforts as “These activities help to reinforce AUAF’s continuing role as a center of "thought leadership" on entrepreneurship and innovation in Afghanistan. The great thing about AUAF is that we are a community of innovative thinkers that can really inspire positive outcomes in Afghanistan.”
Putting Mathematics to Work for Afghanistan
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Asadullah Jawid recently had a particularly timely paper published in the Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy. Publication in such prestigious peer-reviewed international journals is one of the hallmarks of AUAF’s commitment to scholarly research. Originally from a remote village in Ghazni province, Professor Jawid first joined AUAF’s STM Department in 2012, and returned to us in 2019. He has a Bachelor degree in Mathematics from Kabul University. He won DAAD scholarships to pursue graduate studies, earning his Masters in Applied Mathematics at Bonn University in Germany, and in 2015 began his PhD at the University of Kiel. His paper addresses a key developmental issue in rural Afghanistan: farmers’ adaptation to climate change and the impact of external interventions. In the classroom, he urges students to understand the value of the opportunity they have at AUAF.
Dr. Victoria Fontan
Dr. Victoria Fontan opened the Fall 2019 semester with three important pieces of advice for AUAF incoming students, stemming from her own student experience at the University of Limerick: 1) Take responsibility for your own learning, 2) Make the most of your time at AUAF and 3) Embrace diversity. As Dean of Faculty, Associate Provost and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at AUAF, Dr. Fontan draws upon a wealth of experience that she is regularly sharing across AUAF and beyond. She is the author of three books, and numerous peer-reviewed publications and commentaries. Her key research areas include Critical Terrorism Studies, Decolonial Peace Studies, and Transformative Education (Co-Creation of knowledge within classrooms). Dr. Fontan’s action research is also being featured in “Zero Impunity” (https://zeroimpunity.com), a trans-media project and documentary aiming to end impunity for sexual violence in conflict and peace. The film is currently featured in the official selection of several key film festivals around the globe. Later in September, she will join with the US Institute of Peace to convene a Peace Summit at AUAF, where students from multiple Afghan universities will shape a victims-centered peace framework for Afghanistan.
Student Spotlight
Mohibullah Musazai
This month’s spotlight is on Mohibullah Musazai, a senior Law student, who, like so many of our AUAF students, is focused on giving back to his country to build a better future for Afghanistan. As a young man, he watched his father struggle to adapt to war injuries and vowed to find a way to support war victims, which led to his work with the Rehabilitee Organization for Afghan War Victims where he now serves as Executive Director. He has expanded that effort to the Afghan Disability Network, an organization with over 200 NGO national and international members that are working to ensure employment opportunities for “enabled” Afghans. Following his graduation, Musazai hopes to do pro-bono legal aid work to improve access to quality legal representation for those who cannot who afford it.
Marzia & Sughra Azizi
This week’s spotlight is on two students, Marzia Azizi (Political Science) and Sughra Azizi Business), and their papers published in the latest volume of the Journal of Women in Public Policy. Their contributions, Turkey's Potential for Facilitating Regional Cooperation and Peace in Afghanistanby Marzia Azizi and Kabul-New Delhi Relations and the Future of Security in Afghanistan by Sughra Azizi, each provide an in-depth review of critical issues for Afghanistan. AUAF has a number of links with the Journal with including Dr. M. Bashir Mobasher, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Dr. Dr. M. Nazif Shahrani, a former AUAF professor, who are peer reviewers for the Journal, and Journal editor, Mariam Safi, Adjunct Professor of Gender Studies. Congratulations to Marzia and Sughra on their scholarly contributions.