National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
| File:NUlogo.png | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | July 01, 2000 |
| Chancellor | Mr. Wasim Sajjad |
| Rector | Dr. Amir Muhammad |
| Location | , |
| Affiliations | HEC, UGC |
| Website | http://www.nu.edu.pk/ |
National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES or NU) is a University in Pakistan with headquarters at Islamabad and campuses at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. The university offers degrees in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Mathematics, Telecommunication and Business Administration.
History
The institution was formerly known as FAST Institute of Computer Science (also known as SAHICS, Syed Ikhlaq Hussain Institute of Computer Science). It is honuored as the first multi-campus national university in Pakistan. Its history dates back to 1985 when the Foundation for Advancement of Science and Technology put together an effort for developing sciences in Pakistan and to fulfill their aim they set up institutes for computer sciences in the two major cities of Pakistan: Karachi and Lahore. Later on they expanded it to the capital city of Pakistan, namely Islamabad.
In 2000 the FAST Institute of Computer Science was chartered as National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in the Federal Area (capital). It became the first truly multi-campus university of Pakistan with campuses in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore with the board in Islamabad. Later on in year 2002 another campus was introduced in the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences in Peshawar.
Departments
The university has four departments in each of its campuses. These are:
- Department of Computer Science
- Islamabad campus head: Dr. Arshad Ali Shahid
- Karachi campus head: Prof. Hasina Khatoon
- Lahore campus head: Dr. Qaiser Durrani
- Peshawar campus head: Dr. Farooq Ahmad
- Department of Humanities & Sciences
- Islamabad campus head: Mr. Arif Khattak
- Karachi campus head: Dr. Farhana Shaheen
- Lahore campus head: Dr. S. M. Husnine
- Peshawar campus head:
- Department of Management Sciences
- Assistant Dean of Management Sciences: Dr. Zafar Iqbal
- Islamabad campus head: Mr. Umair A. Sadiq
- Karachi campus head: Dr. Nadeem Syed
- Lahore campus head: Dr. Zafar Iqbal
- Peshawar campus head: Dr. Sahibzada Ghiasul Haq
- Department of Telecom & Computer Engineering
- Islamabad campus head: Dr. Waseem Ikram
- Karachi campus head: Dr. M. Shahid Shaikh
- Lahore campus head: Dr. Arshad Hussain
- Peshawar campus head: Dr. S. Amjad Hussain Shah
Campuses of NUCES
The University has campuses at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
Islamabad Campus
The Islamabad Campus has been shifted to a newly built building in the sector H-11/4 covering 15 acres of land. The architecture of the building is reminiscent of the traditional Mughal design. The campus includes five computer laboratories (1. Graduate lab, 2. Research lab, 3. Final Year Project lab, 4. Common lab-I, 5. Common lab-II) all equipped with Pentium 4 computers, two telecom laboratories, a library and a cafetaria. Various sports facilities, that include Cricket , Football , Volleyball, Badminton, and Table-tennis, are also available on this campus. Since the Campus is under construction, the proper sports facilities are not available. Recently the Government of Pakistan has also allotted another 40 acres of land in H-11/3. The university intends to build a new state-of-the-art facility at this location.
- Current Director: Dr. Aftab Ahmad Maroof
The Islamabad Campus offers the following degree programs:
- BS (Telecommunication Engineering)
- BS (Computer Engineering)
- BS (Computer Science)
- BBA (Business Administration)
- MS (Computer Science)
- MBA (Business Administration)
- MS (Software Project Management)
- PhD (Computer Science)
Karachi Campus
The Karachi Campus [1] is further divided into two campuses: The Main Campus and the City Campus. The Karachi Main campus is spread over a 6-acre site. It is located in Shah Latif Town on National Highway, 10 km east of Karachi airport. The campus has enough space for the students to study in a congenial environment, where they can also play, enjoy and relax. The staff and students commute to the campus in transport arranged by the University.
- Current director: Dr. Zubair A. Shaikh
The Karachi campus offers the following degree programs:
- BBA (Business Administration)
- BS (Computer Science)
- BS (Computer Engineering)*
- BS (Telecommunication Engineering)
- MS (Computer Science)
- MS (Software Project Management)
- PhD (Computer Science)
Lahore Campus
The Lahore campus is in a spacious and elegant location, which is spread over 12.5 acres of land in Faisal Town. The main building of the campus, with its striking exterior brick work and magnificent marble domes, is a valuable addition to the rich architectural heritage of Lahore. A separate building houses a spacious library, cafeteria and separate common rooms for boys and girls. Another building is under construction with its first storey complete and three more stories planned. Facilities are available on campus to play Cricket, Football, Badminton, Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Basketball and Volleyball. Facilities for swimming, rowing and athletics are arranged off-campus for those interested.
- Current Director: Dr. S. M. Husnine
The Lahore campus offers the following degree programs:
- Bachelor of Science
- Bachelor of Business Administration
- Master of Science
- Computer science
- Software project management
- Telecommunication engineering
- Master of Business Administration
- Ph.D
- Computer science
- Mathematics
Peshawar Campus
The Peshawar Campus is located in Industrial Estate, Jamrud Road, not very far from the historic Khyber Pass. It is situated on 4-acre plot. The Campus has adequate library and computer laboratory facilities. There is a spacious and well furnished cafeteria. On campus sports facilities include Table Tennis, Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton and Cricket. Green lawns enhance the beauty of the campus, thereby creating a student-friendly environment.
- Current Director: Dr. Farooq Ahmad
The Peshawar campus offers the following degree programs:
- BBA (Business Administration)
- BS (Computer Science)
- BS (Telecommunication Engineering)
- MBA (Master of Business Administration)
Technology Competitions and Exhibitions
NUCES, still popularly known as FAST (Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology), not only fostered academics but also put immense support toward the extra curricular activities and became one of the few universities of Pakistan with so much support for student activities as a result many student organizations originated to make a mark.
SOFTEC (Lahore)
SOFTEC (SOFTware Exhibition and Competition) is one of the most important and commendable[citation needed] software competitions in Pakistan. SOFTEC (softec.org.pk) is organized every year at the Lahore campus of NUCES. It is the largest information technology event of Pakistan[citation needed] with contests and exhibitions of software from all over the country and the neighboring countries of South Asia. It mainly comprises Software Competition, Dynamic Programming Contest with the collaboration of ACM's[2] NUCES Chapter, Kids Corner (where students from Grade School display their ideas), G3n. X (Generation Xtreme) Gaming Competition and book festival.
The 11th SOFTEC's Software Competition, held in March 2006 was won by Saqib Akhtar of FAST-NU, Lahore Campus, for his MIPS Dynamic Recompilation Library project.
The 12th SOFTEC (third International) was held on 05-06 May 2007.
ProCom (Karachi)
ProCom is the software Programming Competition that is organized every year at the Karachi campus. ProCom comprises two main competitions, Programming and Software competition. In 2005, Network Gaming and Hardware Competitions were introduced. Further there are seminars, stalls, hardware and software exhibitions. Students from all over the country are invited to take part in these competitions.
NaSCon (Islamabad)
The Islamabad campus holds a software exhibition every year by the name of NaSCon[3]. In the year 2005, NaSCon included the Software Exhibition and Competition, Speed Programming Contest, Poster Design and Quiz Competition, two day Gaming Competition alongside Pakistan's very first Multimedia competition which included music videos.
In the year 2006 event (held April 30th and May 1st 2006), included, in addition to the Software and Engineering Projects, Quiz Competition, activities like Speed Programming, Engineering Problem Solving Competition, Gaming, Movies/Song videos Competition, and Creative Poster Competition for different age groups. Seminars by eminent professionals on the current trends in Engineering and Information Technology were also held.
Student Organizations
OSAF
The Old Students Association of FAST (OSAF) was founded in March 1996 by the alumni of the university. Its aim was to help students in academic and financial problems and increase student-faculty-industry interaction. OSAF has conducted many programs including Student Mentoring, NUCES employees' children school fund and alumni-faculty get-togethers. Since 1999, OSAF has been helping NCUES students financially by providing financial aid every semester.
GOF
GOF (Graduates of FAST) is an unofficial, but one of the initial efforts to organize the Fast Alumni. The GOF is organized through a mailing group (gof@yahoogroups.com). Efforts are being taken by the Karachi Campus to officially take over GOF.
Notes
See also
External links
- Official website
- Official website of Karachi Campus
- Alumni Sites:
- Alumni mailing lists:
- Related Sites
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2006) |