[1] He led the planning, building, and operation of the University of Central Asia (UCA), a regional institution founded by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and His Highness the Aga Khan with campuses in the mountain areas of the three countries.
[8] During this period, he forged academic partnerships [9] with several renowned universities including McGill, Toronto, McMaster, British Columbia, Alberta, Harvard and Oxford[10] for AKU.
He also led the University's fundraising campaigns, generating over $350 million from private donors, corporations, foundations, and aid agencies.
[13] He has played pioneering roles in promoting civil society activities, principal among them as Founding Chair of the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP).
[16] In 1997, Shamsh co-chaired with the Education Minister of Tajikistan the Commission on the Establishment of the University of Central Asia and later helped negotiate the International Treaty and Charter of this institution.