From his university days, Karim Ismail knew he wanted to work with young people and has not looked back since. Grateful for the experiences during his education, he felt compelled to share the love for learning amongst youngsters and recreate those experiences for students around the world. “Understanding how I could ensure that other students get similar opportunities to build their character and personality made it an easy career decision,” he shared on his choice to become a teacher. Karim’s journey as a teacher and school leader has taken him all over the world including Kenya, Uganda, India, South Africa and Mozambique to name a few. He was working at an International Baccalaureate (IB) institution when he was recruited as one of the founding teachers of the Senior School at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad. Having worked for the Academies and other IB institutions in various leadership capacities, Karim now joins the AKA Maputo as the Senior School Principal. “Students have huge potential to become leaders. And our teachers, in my opinion, are the only way we’re going to achieve that. They are the key drivers of change. They’re going to influence minds. They’re going to be the relationship holders with that student body. And so my role is very much to give the teachers what they need, provide that space and encouragement, be that support and give them resources to allow them to do that job to the best of their capability.”