University of the Punjab

University of the Punjab
Allama Iqbal campus of University of the Punjab
Motto	Urdu: ایمان ، اتحاد ، نظم (Iman, Ittehad, Nazm)
Motto in English	Faith, Unity, Discipline
Established	1882
Type	Public
President	Mujahid Kamran
Students	30,000
Location	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Campus	Urban
Website	www.pu.edu.pk

University of the Punjab (Punjabi, Urdu: جامعہ پنجاب) (abbreviated some time as PU), colloquially known as Punjab University, is located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The University of the Punjab is the oldest and biggest University of Pakistan. The University of the Punjab was formally established with the convening of the first meeting of its Senate on October 14, 1882 at Simla. It was the fourth university to be established by the British colonial authorities on the Indian subcontinent (the first three universities were established by the British rulers at their initial strongholds of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras). According to the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, Punjab University is one of the top ranked general universities in Pakistan.

History

The University of the Punjab came into existence as a result of a long drawn struggle of the people of Punjab after the Indian Mutiny in 1857. Prof Dr GW Leitner was the founder of the university. Contrary to the three previously established universities, which were only examining institutions, the University of the Punjab was both teaching as well as examining body right from beginning.

From its formation in 1882 until 1947, the University of the Punjab served the educational needs of the entire region of pre-partition Punjab and northern India. Mohindra College, Patiala was the first college of higher learning to affiliate with University of Punjab in 1882; followed by St. Stephen's College, Delhi. The partition of India in 1947 reduced the geographical jurisdiction of the university. The current Institute of Administrative Sciences was created in 1962.

Many major institutions that were previously affiliated to Punjab University have now become independent universities on their own, such as Government College University and Medical and Engineering Colleges.

In 2011, the university received worldwide attention for a literary contest, with secret student sponsors, glorifying Osama bin Laden. The contest appeared to show the strength of a powerful Islamic student group which has harassed students for activities it deems "improper", such as discussions between male and female students.

Campus

The University of Punjab has several campuses in Pakistan including:

• Allama Iqbal campus: Also known as the old campus, it is named after the great South Asian thinker and mystic poet Allama Muhammad Iqbal. The building has an Islamic architectural design and is located in the middle of the bustling city of Lahore.
• Quaid-i-Azam campus: Also known as the New Campus, it is named after the name of the father of the Nation and is located 12 kilometers to the South of Allama Iqbal Campus. Spread over an area of 1,800 acres (7 km²) of lush green landscape, this campus is the center of academic and administrative activities of the University. A canal divides the academic blocks from the student lodgings.
• Gujranwala campus: The campus has four disciplines i.e. Business Administration, Commerce, Law and Information Technology.
• Khanaspur campus: The summer campus at Khanaspur is located at a height of about 7,000 ft (2,100 m). in the Himalayan range near Ayubia. This campus, in addition to providing research facilities, is also used as a recreational center for the faculty and the students.

Academics

University of the Punjab offers a program of studies at the undergraduate, master of science, master of philosophy and doctoral levels. It also offers BS honors in subjects including software engineering, computer science, information technology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, statistics and environmental sciences. The university has about 25,000 full-time regular students and about 147,000 students in 434 affiliated colleges. With very few exceptions, these colleges offer a 2 year associate bachelors or 'bachelor pass' degree. The university acts as a certifying body for the autonomous colleges and administers and grades the final or end of degree exams for all graduates of these autonomous affiliated colleges, but does not participate in their day to day operation. All graduates of these autonomous affiliated colleges are awarded their degree by the University of Punjab. The university also has several thousand private students in the liberal arts. These study on their own and take examinations held by the university to qualify for their degrees. The University has conferred 100 doctorates annually in the last four years.^{[citation needed]}

Faculties

There are 13 faculties in the University with 10 constituent colleges, 63 departments, centers, and institutes. It has about 650 permanent faculty members involved in teaching/research.:

• Faculty of Arts and Humanities
• Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Commerce
• Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Engineering & Technology
• Faculty of Islamic Studies
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Life-Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
• Faculty of Oriental Learning
• Faculty of Pharmacy
• Faculty of Science

Research and collaborations

The University is working alongside/collaborating with others globally and has articulation agreements with the following:

United States

• Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• San José State University.

United Kingdom

• University of Manchester
• University of Luton
• University of Bedfordshire
• University of Birmingham
• University of Surrey
• University of Bradford
• University of Cambridge
• University of Derby
• University of Glasgow

China

• Beijing University of Chemical Technology
• City University of Hong Kong
• Wuhan University, School of Foreign Languages and Literature
• University People’s Republic of China
• Sichuan University
• Zhengzhou Medical University

Iran

• Markaz Nashr-e-Miras-e-Maktoob
• Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
• University of Tehran, The Faculty of Foreign Languages
• Tarbiat Modares University

Punjab University Library

Punjab University Library is one of the biggest libraries in universities of Pakistan. The library has more than 500,000 collection of books, magazines and periodicals. This collection is in nine different national and international languages and different types as print material, CDs, DVDs, Microfilms, Microfiches, Video and Audio Cassettes and Manuscripts. Punjab University Library has beautiful two storey building and total area of the building is 1,02,000 sq. feet. There are reading halls in both ground and 1st floor with approximately seating capacity of 2500 readers. The library has internet lab for the students to research according to the new technologies of 21st century. In the library there is computerized “WINISIS” catalogue for searching material.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of University of the Punjab alumni

See also

• Center for Applied and Molecular Biology
• Ilmkidunya Academics related information for Punjab University

External links

• Official website