HIAL’s story started when His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang
Rinpoche, one of the top leaders in Tibetan Buddhism and UN
ambassador for mountain partnership, met with Sonam Wangchuk,
the founder of the SECMOL alternative school.
Sonam requested His Holiness to help the Himalayan region in
establishing an alternative university that would engage
mountain youth in studies related to their own unique
environment and needs. His Holiness gave his blessings.