University of Karachi

University of Karachi
Motto رَبِّ زدْنيِ عِلْماً (Arabic)
Motto in English
 O my Lord! Advance me in Knowledge
Type Public
Established 1953
Chancellor Governor of Sindh
Vice-Chancellor Dr Muhammad Qaiser
Administrative staff
 ~3500[1]
Students ~80,000 (on-campus only)[1]
Location Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Campus 1,279 acres (5.18 km2)[1]
Colours Green, White        
Affiliations HEC, UGC
Website www.uok.edu.pk

The University of Karachi (Urdu: جامعۂ كراچى‎; or KU) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest universities in Pakistan being established as a federal university in 1951 under the leadership of Oxford trained Dr. ABA Haleem.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

With a student body of 24,000 full-time students and a campus size spanning over 1200 acres, Karachi University is Pakistan's largest university with a distinguished reputation for multi-disciplinary research in science and technology, medical research, and social sciences.[8] The university spans over 53 Departments and 19 world-class research institutes operating under nine faculties.[9] There are over 800 academic's and more than 2500 supporting staff working for the university.[4][10]

In 2009, the university was named by now defunct THE-QS World University Rankings for the top 500 universities in the world, while it is ranked by QS ranking's in 2016 as among to the top 250 in Asia and among 701st in the world, the research at the university is ranked as 'high'.[11][12] The university has been affiliated with world-renowned and notable scholars have been associated and affiliated with the university as faculty, researchers, or alumni since its establishment.[9][9][13]

The university is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities of the United Kingdom.[14]

History

At the time of establishment of Pakistan as a sovereign state in 1947, the means for higher education and research were negligible and diminished in the country.[5] Responding to the impending requirement of higher learning, Pakistan Government started establishing relevant educational institutions of higher learning and research and thus underwent rapid modernization under a policy guided by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.[15] After a heavy political lobbying backed by the residents of Karachi, the University of Karachi was established through parliamentary authorization as a "Federal University" in 1951.[5] On 23 October 1950, the Karachi University Act was authorized and after an amendment in 1951, it was enacted by the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Its first Vice-chancellor was Muslim League activist and political scientist, Dr. Ahmad Haleem.[15][16] In 1953 it started its teaching and research activities at two faculties: the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.[15]

For the first two years, the University of Karachi remained as an examination university for the affiliated colleges. Over the years, the enrollment expanded so rapidly that the its status was redefined by the government as a "federal research university" of Sindh, which was officially attained in 1962.[15] Opened with an intake of 50 students, the university now has 53 Departments and 20 Research Centers and Institutes, under faculties of Social Sciences, Science, Islamic Studies, Engineering, Law, Pharmacy, Management and Administrative Sciences and Medicines. The enrollment of regular students at the campus is around 28,000.[15] There are about 1,000 faculty members and more than 3,000 supporting staff. On 18 January 1960, the university was shifted to the new campus on a plot of 1,279 acres (5.18 km2) located on the Country Club Road (now University Road, passing through the Gulistan-e-Jauhar),[17] under the vice-chancellorship of Prof. Dr. Basheer Ahmad Hashmi on 22 June 1961.

Past appointed Vice-Chancellors

Campus

KU
Location in Karachi

The university campus is spread over 1,279 acres (5.18 km2) of land, situated 12 km away from the city center of Karachi. About four percent of the university's students are foreigners who come from 23 different countries in regions as diverse as Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The university has a high standard of teaching, with many professors being well-known scholars and academics of international repute and possessing Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from abroad.[19] In a short span of 40 years, the university has risen to acquire a high status in the field of education in Pakistan as well as regionally.

Academic emphasis

The university's physics and statistics department are one of the well known department in the country and its research output plays a vital role in the development of Science and Technology in the country.[20][21] Furthermore, the department of mathematical sciences of the Karachi University is one of the largest department in the Faculty of Science, which has three floored tidy building consisting of an electronic laboratory for computational mathematics.[22][23]

The department of architecture (or visual studies) has produced award winning designers, architects, and artists, who are making their mark in the professional world.[24]

Library system

Offices of the Faculty of Arts, KU
Way to Arts Lobby

The University of Karachi's library, known as "Dr. Mahmud Hussain Library", has houses well over 400,000 volumes dating back to the 1600s, for researchers as well as for use by students of advance studies and faculty members.[25] The library became the depository of the personal book collection of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Established and constructed in 1952, the Dr. Mahmud Hussain Library is an imposing five story and basement structure firmly placed in the center of campus activities.[25] Teachers from over 100 affiliated colleges frequent the university, along with scholars from 19 research institutions.[25] A loan and resource sharing system exists with other academic entities in the Karachi area.[25] A digital library enables the scholars and students to access online books and journals.[25] 25 librarians, 10 assistant librarians, and around 90 nonprofessional staff help maintain the library. The building includes six reading rooms for general purposes and six for research.[25]

Previously called the Karachi University Library, it was renamed the Dr. Mahmud Hussain Library by unanimous resolution of the Karachi University Syndicate on 12 April 1976— the first death anniversary of Prof. Dr. Mahmud Hussain Khan.[26] Mahmud Hussain served the university's Vice-Chancellor from 1971 to 1975, and the library was named in recognition of his contribution to the teaching of social sciences in Pakistan. Dr. Hussain was the first professor the university appointed to its faculty of International Relations and History. He introduced library science to Pakistan by instituting the Faculty of Journalism and Library Science at the university. He also actively worked to improve the status and pay scales of the library staff to make them at par with the university's other faculty members.[26]

Karachi University Press

The university publishes books, texts, periodicals, and other academic materials in-house through the Bureau of Composition, Compilation and Translation (BCC&T).

Faculties and Departments

The University of Karachi has 9 faculties:[27]

Research institutes and centres

  • RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES
  • Applied Economics Research Centre
  • Area Study Center for Europe
  • Center of Excellence for Women Study
  • Center of Excellence in Marine Biology
  • Center for Molecular Genetics
  • Centre for Plant Conservation
  • Confucius Institute
  • H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry
  • Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine
  • Dr. A.Q. Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
  • Institute of Clinical Psychology
  • Institute of Environmental Studies
  • Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Department of Main Communication Network (Nadeem Ahmed In-Charge MCN UoK)
  • Institute of Marine Science
  • M.A.H.Q Biological Research Centre
  • National Center for Proteomics
  • National Nematological Research Centre
  • Pakistan Study Center
  • Sheikh Zayed Islamic Centre
  • Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics
  • Institute for Sustainable Halophyte Utilization
  • Marine Reference & Research Collection Center

Affiliated medical, engineering universities and educational colleges

Alumnus and people

Since its establishment in 1951, the university has attracted prominent scholars and renowned educationist as its faculty members, researchers, and associated scholars. Scholars and educationists such as I.H. Qureshi, Rafiuddin Raz, Mahmud Hussain, Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui, A.Q. Khan, Ishtiaq Qureshi, Raziuddin Siddiqui are few that have been affiliated with the institution.[5] The faculty was drawn not only from Pakistan but also included eminent educationists from the United Kingdom and the United States.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Introduction – Karachi University
  2. ↑ Rizwan-ul-Haq (June 17, 2013). "2013 rank: Three Pakistani universities among world’s top 200". Express Tribune. Haq. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  3. ↑ APP (July 5, 2013). "HEC announced ranking of Pakistani universities 2013". GEO News. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 Ahtesham Azhar (16 April 2013). "KU lacks facilities for handicapped students". Daily Times, Pakistan. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 KU Press. "Our History". KU Press. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Mukhtar Alam (October 30, 2001). "Worries of foreign students". dawn news, area studies 2001. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  7. ↑ APP (June 28, 2012). "Enhancing relations: KU plays host to Thai students". Express Tribune, 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  8. 1 2 Newspaper edition (7 July 2013). "Sri Lanka seeks KU help to set up research facility". dawn news, srilanka. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Karachi University Press. "Who are result WE?". Karachi University Press. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. ↑ APP (July 5, 2013). "HEC announced ranking of Pakistani universities 2013". The News International, 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  11. ↑ THE – QS World University Rankings 2009 – top universities
  12. ↑ "Here’s how 6 Pakistani universities ranked worldwide - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  13. ↑ Khan, Afshan S. (August 16, 2013). "Jang Group honours top universities". The News Internationale, Islamabad Bureau. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  14. ↑ ACU press listing. "ACU Members – Asia – Central and South". ACU Members listing. ACU Members listing. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Nasib Akhtar, Dept. of Islamic History, University of Karachi; Prof. Dr. Riazul Islam and Prof. Inamur Rahman (October 1978). "A History of the University of Karachi". Department of Journalism, Dept. of History, and Dept. of Physics (Hardcover) (Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan: B.C.C.&T Press University of Karachi,). Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help);
  16. ↑ MUBARAK HUSAIN (Jan 30, 2013). "Karachi University & its history". The News Internationale, Geneva. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  17. ↑ http://www.uok.edu.pk/aboutku.php History
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 KUP. "Former Vice Chancellors". Karachi University Press. Vice-Chancellors of Karachi University Press. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  19. ↑ History of University of Karachi
  20. ↑ "Dept of Stats".
  21. ↑ UoK. "Dept. of Physics". Dept of Physics. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "Dept of Mathematical Sciences" (PDF). Dept of Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  23. ↑ "KU Mathematical Sciences". KU Mathematical Sciences. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  24. ↑ "Dept. of Visual Studies". Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dr. Mahmud Husain Library". Dr. Mahmud Husain Library. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  26. 1 2 University of Karachi Website: Library
  27. ↑ "UOK Faculties". Retrieved 15 April 2011.

External links

Coordinates: 24°56′N 67°07′E / 24.94°N 67.12°E / 24.94; 67.12

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