Government College University

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Government College University
GCU Clock Tower
Motto

[Courage to know]

name = Government College University, Lahore
Established 1864
Type Education and Research
Academic staff 352
Students 5864
Location Lahore, Pakistan
Campus Urban
Affiliations HEC
Website www.gcu.edu.pk

Government College University, Lahore (formerly Government College, Lahore) is a co-educational public university located on The Mall in Lahore, Pakistan. Although the college was granted the status of university by the Pakistan Government in 2002, the word college is still retained in the name for historical reasons and also because of the wide recognition of the name Government College in Pakistan. The University offers bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. degrees in a variety of disciplines. The university currently has more than 6000 students and 323 faculty members and is ranked at No.6 by HEC in General category.[1] Alumni of Government College are called Ravians which is derived from the name of the magazine "Ravi", published by the administration of the college.

Contents

[edit] History

Government College, Lahore, 1880s. Oriental and India Office Collection, British Library

Government College University, Lahore as a college, is older than any other college or university in Pakistan except Forman Christian College University, Lahore. Under the British Raj the college was opened on 1 January 1864 in a portion of the Palace of Raja Dhyan Singh Haveli. The institution was affiliated with the University of Calcutta for examination. Along with the establishment of the college, Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (professor of Arabic and Islamic Law at King's College in London) was nominated as principal of college. He later was instrumental in the foundation of Punjab University, Lahore in 1882. The first class consisted of 9 students, all of whom matriculated from Calcutta University. In April 1871, the college moved to its present site. In 1996, it received autonomous status; on 9 September 2002, it became a university. Eric C. Dickinson became its Principal in the Forty's. He initially taught English at the Aligarh Muslim University and where among his students were both Ahmed Ali (Twilight in Delhi) and Raja Rao (The Serpent and the Rope) in 1925-29.

[edit] Emblem

The Torch, as the crest of University emblem, represents the light of knowledge that this unique institution has been giving to generations since its founding. The motto "Courage to Know" represents the guiding principle of the student community. It is intended to develop courage among the students to fulfil their academic potential.

[edit] Campus

[edit] The main university campus

Built during the colonial era, the architectural style, known to be the Celestial Gothic, best suited the academic building. Government College University (GCU) Lahore is considered to be one of the most majestic buildings in the sub-continent. Reflecting the neo gothic tradition, the building imparts the grandeur and mannerism that adapts the climatic and environmental requirements in the form of its wide verandahs and high ceilings. Further scale and grandeur is added to the building by placing it on the highest level of its contoured site. Sprawling lawns combined with an intricate landscape are the integral parts of GCU's overall perception. Not only did the architect design a majestic building but also complemented this grandeur with the openness of its grand lawn, the "Oval Ground" of the University Campus.

  • The Main Hall - The most prominent part of the building is the Main Hall (now called Dr. Abdus Salam Hall). It consists of a central nave and aisles running along the 4 sides. The nave has double height. The 4 aisles are double storied and they form a gallery on the upper floor. The main conical-type clock tower at the facade is square at the base. The first two stories are square and a squinch arch is placed to convert the square plan into octagon. The first two stories are followed by two stories of octagonal plan with arched openings and triangular projections.
  • Postgraduate block - Next to Bokhari Auditorium (named after Patras Bokhari) is the postgraduate block. This block was constructed to meet the needs of the increasing number of students. The foundation stone was laid in 1993 and the building was completed in June 1999. This building has 4 floors and includes a basement that houses the postgraduate library.
  • Chemistry block - The chemistry block and the science block are among the later additions. Both these buildings are situated to the East of the main building. The chemistry block is an extension of GCU's main building with exterior Gothic features. The building rises up to 2 floors only. Buttresses and four centred pointed arches are used to increase the height of the building.
  • Science Block - The science block is a much earlier addition than the chemistry block and was constructed mainly for utility purpose. Apart from the brick facing the only element taken from the main building is the use of Gothic arches in the verandahs.

Now University is building its new campus in Kala Shahka KO.

[edit] Academic departments

The Academic departments of the GCU offer a wide choice of subjects with flexible study patterns that meet the needs and interests of the students at intermediate, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

The university consists of the following faculties, centres and teaching departments:

  • Centers Chairs
  • Institutes Postgraduate Departments Schools Undergraduate Departments
  • Center for Advanced Studies in Physics (CASP)
  • High Tension Laboratory (now CASP) - established in 1954 by Dr. Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry to carry out experimental research in Atomic and Nuclear Physics.

Faculty of Engineering

  • B.Sc Engineering in Electronics & Telecommunications four year degree programme and also offers M.Sc. Telecommunications two year degree programme.
  • National Center of Mathematics - The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has established the National Centre for Mathematics (NCM) at the GC University, Lahore for the advancement of Mathematical Sciences in Pakistan and to develop indigenous human resources and research capability in the field of Mathematics.
  • Human Resource Development Center (H.R.D.C) - The center has arranged in service teachers training programmes for the GCU faculty on different academic and administrative topics.

[edit] Abdus Salam Chair in Physics

The Government College University has a very provocative and ambitious Physics institute, which is known as Salam Chair in Physics (ASCP). The Physics institute was named after noted Theoretical physicist and only Pakistani Nobel laureate Dr. Abdus Salam who had also studied during 1940s and taught at the GCU during the 1950s. The Physics Institute became operational in March 2000 with the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, a life long friend of Professor Abdus Salam. In 2009, the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) donated Dr. Abdus Salam’s, original Nobel certificate to Salam Chair in Physics. Former director of ICTP Dr. Katepalli R. Sreenivasan visited Pakistan where he had gifted the original Nobel certificate to GCU alma mater. The certificate reads “For their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter-alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current".[2]

It has initiated a number of academic programmes aimed at promoting activity in Physics. Some of its important achievements include: getting 52 research publications in international journals; producing 30 Ph.D. and 90 M.Phil thesis; setting up Plasma Technology Lab and contracting handsome research grants from various funding agencies and research centre for example the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (Italy), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).

[edit] Abdus Salam School for Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS)

Main article: Abdus Salam School of Mathematics

The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (SMS) is one of the largest mathematical research institute in the country. The school was established in 2003 by the Government of the Punjab under the aegis of GCU. It aimed at providing liberal education to the youth of the Subcontinent irrespective of caste, color or creed. The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) is one of the fastest growing doctoral mathematics schools in the world. Website: [www.sms.edu.pk]

The principle aim of the School is to train professional scientists to pursue the study of scientific and technological problems by mathematical methods, and to undertake research in various branches of mathematical sciences. The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) offers Pakistan’s largest and strongest Ph.D. Programme in Mathematics.Before the existence of ASSMS, Pakistani Mathematicians used to go abroad for Post-doctoral fellowship. Now here at ASSMS things are happening other way round. Number of young M.Phil/Ph.D holders from prestigious institutions of the world are choosing ASSMS to do their post-doctoral fellowship. This success of post-doctoral fellowship program speaks of high quality faculty at ASSMS.

ASSMS is taking some effective and practical steps to promote and popularise mathematics in schools of Pakistan. In this direction, the worthy director of ASSMS "Dr. Alla Ditta Raza Choudary" has taken two concrete steps that are providing a much needed encouragement and incentive to Pakistani students in schools and colleges. They are:

  • The faculty at Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) regularly host training Camps for students from schools and colleges. The participants of the camps are prepared and selected for national Team of Pakistan to compete at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). In 2005, National Team of Pakistan took part for the first time in IMO and in 2007 Pakistan won the first medal at IMO and second in 2009.
  • ASSMS has organised several mathematics contests at the national level. These contests have sparked a good enthusiasm among the schools and colleges of Pakistan.

[edit] Institute of Industrial Bio-Technology

Institute of Industrial Biotechnology GC University, Lahore was established in April 2005. Prof Ikram-ul-Haq is the first head of the institute. Now the Vice Chancellor has consented to launch B.Sc., M.Sc, & M. Phil classes in Biotechnology and constitute a separate Board of Studies for the institute.

[edit] Postgraduate departments

  • Faculty of Arts
  • Faculty of Science
  • Economics
  • Botany
  • Banking & Finance
  • Entrepreneurship and SME Management
  • Industrial Chemistry
  • Financial Economics and Management
  • English
  • Computer Science / Information Technology
  • History
  • Industrial Bio-Technology
  • Management Studies
  • Mathematics
  • Persian
  • Physics
  • Philosophy and Inter Disciplinary Studies
  • Psychology & Clinical psychology
  • Political Science
  • Statistics
  • Urdu
  • Telecommunication
  • Zoology

[edit] Notable alumni

 This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability or notability policies. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources cited within this article showing they are notable and alumni or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (July 2011)
Main article: List of Ravians

Alumni of the University are called Ravians.

Politicians
Government officials
Army officers
Nuclear scientists
Nobel Laureate
Actors
Poets
Authors/writers/novelists
Journalism
Judiciary
Sportsmen
Musicians
Scholars
Other notable alumni

[edit] Others associated with the college

Question book-new.svg
 This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

[edit] References

  1. ^ - Ranking of Higher Education Commission (HEC) Recognized Universities in Pakistan
  2. ^ GCU houses Dr Abdus Salam’s Nobel prize

[edit] External links

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