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Former Microsoft Vice-President receives honorary award

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Jawad Khaki

Jawad Khaki, the former Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft, was today, awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the University of East London (UEL) at The O2 in London.

Jawad Khaki has been a valued supporter of UEL over the past few years. He has contributed by backing research bids, which will create opportunities for both staff and students. He has also introduced our staff to key people in the industry.

Mr Khaki was born in Tanzania to Indian parents. He went to secondary school in Pakistan before coming to the UK to study computer engineering at City University.

In 1985, Mr Khaki moved to the US and in 1989 joined Microsoft, where he stayed until 2009. At Microsoft, he pioneered network computing and rose to the position of Corporate Vice-President. He and his team were responsible for a generation of operating systems based on Windows NT that surround us today such as Windows 7.

Mr Khaki is an active community volunteer.  In 1997, he founded the Ithna‐asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest, which believes improving society begins with community effort, and served as president until 2011. In the US Pacific Northwest, he became a well-known representative of Islam after 9/11, speaking up and working across faiths to make sure Muslims were not defined by that event.

In 2003, he received the Walter Cronkite Faith and Freedom award from the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, in recognition of his commitment to religious freedom, democratic values, tolerance and diversity. The same year, he set up the Khaki Foundation which works globally to tackle poverty.

Speaking at today’s ceremony, Jawad Khaki, said: “This is quite an honour and I feel very humbled by the whole experience. As a boy who grew up in Tanzania in a completely rural environment, today feels like fairyland. I’m very indebted to the education sector, and I look forward to a great association with the University of East London.”

In 2011, Mr Khaki set up his own company, Uhuru Software. The company supports the development of a new cloud computing architecture.

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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