Address by Professor Christopher J Gerry, UCA Rector, at UCA's 2026 Graduation Ceremony

 

Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan 

Honourable Ministers, Honourable Governors, 

Chair and Members of the Board of Trustees, 

Faculty and staff of the University, 

Parents, partners, family members and friends, 

Distinguished guests, 

And most importantly, the graduating Class of 2026. 

Good morning Naryn. 

Good morning Khorog. 

And congratulations. 

Today we celebrate the sixth graduating cohort of the University of Central Asia. 

• Sixty graduates. 

• Twenty-two Computer Scientists. 

• Twelve graduates of Communications and Media. 

• Seventeen Economists. 

• Ten Earth and Environmental Scientists. 

You come from six countries: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Russia. 

Many of you come from small towns and rural communities. 

Some of you are the first in your families to attend university. 

All of you have worked extraordinarily hard to reach this moment. 

Today is a celebration of your achievement. 

But it is also a moment to reflect on the world into which you are graduating. 

And I have to confess that, over recent months, I have found myself thinking a great deal about that world. 

Not because it is uniquely difficult. Every generation faces its own challenges. 

But because it feels as though we are entering an age of extraordinary possibility and uncertainty at one and the same time. 

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work, learn and create. 

Climate change is reshaping the physical world around us. 

Technology is accelerating. 

Information is everywhere. 

And yet, for all our advances, many societies seem increasingly divided, uncertain and anxious about the future. 

As I thought about this, I was reminded of a line written almost one hundred years ago by the poet T.S. Eliot. 

He asked: 

"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? 

Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" 

It is a remarkable question. 

And perhaps even more remarkable because Eliot asked it decades before the internet, social media, smartphones or artificial intelligence emerged. 

Yet somehow he anticipated one of the defining challenges of our age. 

We have more information than any generation in history. 

Increasingly, we have machines capable of generating information too. 

But information is not knowledge. 

And knowledge is not wisdom. 

Knowing something is not the same as understanding it. 

Understanding something is not the same as knowing what to do about it. 

And that distinction matters. 

Because the greatest challenges facing our world are not simply technical challenges. 

Climate change is not merely a scientific problem. 

It is a human problem. 

Economic development is not simply about growth rates. 

It is about opportunity, fairness and dignity. 

Artificial intelligence is not merely a technological phenomenon. 

It is also an ethical one. 

Again and again, we discover that the questions that matter most are questions of judgement. 

And that leads to what I think is one of the great paradoxes of our time. 

Many people fear that artificial intelligence will make human beings less important. 

I am sure that the opposite is true. 

The more technologically powerful our world becomes, the more valuable deeply human capabilities become. 

Judgement. 

Empathy. 

Integrity. 

Trust. 

The ability to navigate uncertainty when there is no obvious answer. 

The ability to connect people, ideas and communities that often exist in isolation. 

These qualities have always mattered. 

But I believe they will matter even more in the decades ahead. 

And this brings me to UCA. 

When people ask what makes this university distinctive, I don't begin by talking about our facilities or programmes or even the beautiful mountain locations of our undergraduate degrees. I talk about connections. 

I talk about a university that brings together students, practitioners and researchers from different countries, languages, cultures, faiths and backgrounds. 

I talk about a university that asks computer scientists to think about the environment and society. 

That asks economists to think about ethics. 

That asks environmental scientists to think about communities. 

That asks communicators to think critically about truth and evidence. 

In short, I talk about a university that encourages people to connect across worlds. 

And I hope that is one of the most important lessons you will carry with you from your time here. 

Not simply how to specialise. 

But how to connect. 

To connect science and society. 

Technology and humanity. 

Local experience and global knowledge. 

Evidence and action. 

Tradition and innovation. 

Mountains and cities. 

Cultures and communities. 

The future will increasingly belong to people capable of building those bridges. 

And when I look at this graduating class, I see people who have already spent four or five years doing precisely that. 

You have lived together. 

Learned together. 

Disagreed with one another. 

Worked across cultures. 

Worked across disciplines. 

Built friendships across borders. 

You have learned something that is becoming surprisingly rare in the modern world: how to live and work constructively with people who are not exactly like yourselves. 

Never underestimate the value of that lesson. 

Because societies – more than ever before – need bridge-builders. 

Communities need bridge-builders. 

Institutions need bridge-builders. 

Central Asia needs bridge-builders. 

So, graduates, as you leave UCA, my hope is that you leave with confidence in your abilities, but also humility about what you do not yet know. 

Remain curious. 

Remain open-minded. 

Respect evidence. 

Listen carefully. 

Use your knowledge generously. 

And remember that success is not measured solely by what you achieve for yourself, but by what you contribute to others. 

The world you inherit is uncertain. 

But uncertainty will not frighten you. 

It will invite your participation. 

The world does not simply need more information. 

It needs more wisdom. 

It does not simply need more technology. 

It needs people capable of using technology wisely. 

It does not simply need more specialists. 

It needs people capable of connecting worlds, ideas and communities. 

And that is why, despite all the challenges we face, I remain – and will always remain – optimistic. 

Because when I look at UCA and at this graduating class, I see exactly those qualities. 

Class of 2026, congratulations. 

We are proud of you. 

We are grateful for what you have contributed to this university. 

And we look forward to the future that you will help create. 

Thank you.