Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - April 2009 - Index

Like his mentor, Khan became
a certified computer systems
analyst and, after graduation,
worked on a number of
projects as a computer consultant.
He joined Centennial College
in 1984 to teach computer
systems analysis.
His first teaching assignment
involved retraining professional
engineers to prepare them for
careers in the computer sciences
– a growing field despite the
recession of the early 1980s.
“It was a 64-week government-sponsored
program to
help professionals launch their
second careers – not unlike
what Ontario’s colleges are
doing today to help people
retrain for the new economy.”
He also taught a number of
programming courses, which
essentially involved languages
such as COBOL, C and Assembler.
The work was exhausting.
“Even as a teacher, your own
learning was immediate and
continuous because the technology
was changing so rapidly,”
he recalls.
Khan was invited to teach at
Ryerson Polytechnic (now a
full-fledged university), a position
he took while retaining
his Centennial position. His
friendly, professional teaching
style earned him accolades at
both institutions.
“My success is not based on
wielding a Ph.D., but by understanding
the application of
technology in solving business
problems,” Khan says. But it’s
his disarming smile and Guyanese
lilt in his voice that makes
him a hit among the many new
Canadians and international
students that attend his classes.
In addition to his title of
Professor in the School of
Engineering Technology and
Applied Science at Centennial,
Khan is a supervisor of Information
Technology courses in
the Continuing Education
school, and fittingly, Inter-
national Student Liaison.
“I tell the immigrant story,”
he says quite simply, “and students
can relate to me because
of that.”
It doesn’t hurt that Khan is big
cricket fan and player, who
helped introduce the sport to
Centennial students.
He also helped lead curriculum
development of the college’s
first four-year applied degree in
Software Systems – a pioneering
program in the college milieu.
Khan is very proud of his
work at Centennial, an institution
he feels is ideally positioned
to help young people,
whether Canadian or recent
arrivals from abroad, to find
their calling.
“College education is more
focused on careers, so you
immediately have a sense of direction,”
he says. “The programs
are driven by industry
participation, in the form of
program advisory committees,
so graduates are confident
they’re properly prepared to
solve real business problems in
the workplace.”
If you get the sense that
Khan draws from a bottomless
reservoir of energy, it’s true. At
a time when many teachers feel
burned-out or start counting
the days until retirement, he is
motivated to do more.
“I’m celebrating 25 years at
the college, and I haven’t
peaked yet!” says Khan who has
been nominated to the Guyana
Awards Council (Canada) for
its annual Leadership Award.
– MARK T OLJAGIC
Ask us!
For more information about
Centennial College’s eng-
ineering technology pro-
grams, visit www.centennial
college.ca/SETAS.