American University of Afghanistan
[1] AUAF was the country's first private, not-for-profit[2] institution of higher education and was located in Kabul near the Darul Aman Palace and the Afghan Parliament.
[3] The idea for the American University of Afghanistan began in 2002 with Dr. Sharif Fayez, then Afghan Minister of Higher Education.
The following year in an address before UNESCO, then U.S. First Lady Laura Bush announced her support of educational initiatives in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan High Commission for Private Investment offered leases on two parcels of land totaling 55.354 acres (224,010 m2) in the Darulaman area of Kabul until 2103.
A feasibility study was initiated by the Coordinating Council of International Universities, based in the United States, to recommend an institutional framework.
He continued to lobby the Afghan government on the university's behalf, served as an adviser to the current president, and maintained an office on campus until his death in 2019.
In March 2005, then U.S. First Lady (and former teacher) Laura Bush visited the site and announced a substantial grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to launch the institution.
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of the Doctorate of Humane Letters Honorary Degree to distinguished guest, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who also delivered the commencement address.
[7] In an interview with Film Annex, Dr. C. Michael Smith, former President of the American University of Afghanistan stated that for the 2012–13 school year over 50% of the entering students were women.
An American and Australian professor were kidnapped on 7 August 2016, by criminals dressed in Afghan National Police uniforms.
[15] Eventually many were studying in Qatar, at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and at Bard College in New York, among other locations.
AUAF, in fall 2011, began its first graduate program, offering the master of business administration degree.
In fall 2008, Stanford Law School's Afghanistan Legal Education Project was launched at the university.
In September 2012, AUAF and Stanford University received a $7.2 million grant for this program from the US State Department.
It offered training courses, workshops, and seminars to professionals from private sector, government, and non-governmental organizations working in Afghanistan and the region.
PDI offers a broad range of training and education courses throughout Afghanistan to private business, non-profit organizations, NGOs, government agencies and individuals.
ICAWED was established in 2013. Business Innovation Hub (BIH) was founded in November 2013 as an initiative of the American University of Afghanistan.
