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| Motto | رَبِّ زدْنيِ عِلْماً (Arabic) اے میرے رب میرے علم میں اضافہ فرما (Urdu) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | O my Lord! Advance me in Knowledge |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1951; 74 years ago (1951) |
| Chancellor | Governor of Sindh |
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor Dr. Khalid Mehmood Iraqi |
Administrative staff | 3500[1] |
| Students | 41,000 (Full time students only)[1] |
| Location | ,, |
| Campus | 1,279 acres (5.18 km2)[1] |
| Colours | Green,White |
| Nickname | UoK,KU |
| Affiliations | Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) Pakistan Engineering Council Pharmacy Council of Pakistan Pakistan Bar Council |
| Website | uok |
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TheUniversity of Karachi (Urdu:ڪراچی يونيورسٹی; informallyKarachi University,KU, orUoK) is apublicresearch university located inKarachi, inSindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to theUniversity of Sindh (which is now located inJamshoro), the university is a "Sindh Government University" and designed by Mohsin Baig as its chief architect.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
With a total student body of 41,000 full-time students and a campus size spanning over 1200acres, Karachi University is one of the largest universities in Pakistan with a distinguished reputation for multi-disciplinary research inscience andtechnology,medical, andsocial sciences.[9][8] The university has over 53 departments and 19 research institutes operating under ninefaculties.[10] There are over 893 academics and more than 2500 supporting staff working for the university.[4][11]
In 2008, the university was named for the first time byTHE-QS World University Rankings among the top 600 universities in the world. In 2009, the university was named as one of the top 500 universities in the world, while in 2016 it was ranked among the top 250 in Asia and 701st in the world. In 2019, it was ranked 801st in the world and 251st in Asia. The University of Karachi is a member of theAssociation of Commonwealth Universities of theUnited Kingdom.[12]
At the time ofestablishment ofPakistan as asovereign state in 1947, the means forhigher education and research were negligible and diminished in the country.[5] Responding to the impending requirement ofhigher learning,Pakistan Government started establishing educational institutions of higher learning and research and thus underwent rapid modernization under a policy guided byPrime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan.[13] Its firstVice-chancellor was Dr.ABA Haleem.[13][14] In 1953 it started its teaching and research activities at two faculties: the Faculty ofArts and the Faculty ofScience.[13]
For the first two years, the University of Karachi remained an examination university for the affiliated colleges. Over the years, the enrollment expanded rapidly. Karachi University first intake was 50 students, the university now has 53academic departments and 20 Research Centers and Institutes, under faculties ofSocial Sciences,Science,Islamic Studies,Engineering,Law,Pharmacy,Management andAdministrative Sciences andMedicines. The enrollment of regular students at the campus is around 28,000.[13] There are over 700 faculty members and circa 2,100 supporting staff.[15]
Michael Ecochard designed the Karachi University master plan and campus buildings.[16][17]
| Vice-Chancellors | Department Faculty | Tenure Starting-date | Tenure completed-date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prof.Abu Bakr Ahmad Haleem[19] | Political Science | 23 June 1951 | 22 Jun 1957 |
| Prof. Basheer Ahmad Hashmi[19] | 23 June 1957 | 22 June 1961 | |
| Prof.Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi[19] | History | 23 June 1961 | 2 August 1971 |
| Prof.Mahmud Hussain[19] | English Literature | 3 August 1971 | 9 April 1975 |
| Prof.Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui (Interim)[19] | Chemistry | 10 April 1975 | 16 January 1976 |
| Prof. Ehsan Rasheed[19] | Economics | 7 January 1976 | 31 August 1979 |
| Prof. S. Masum Ali Tirmizi[19] | Physics | 1 September 1979 | 31 August 1983 |
| Prof.Jameel Jalibi[19] | Urdu literature | 1 September 1983 | 31 August 1987 |
| Prof. Manzooruddin Ahmad[19] | Philosophy | 1 September 1987 | 7 July 1990 |
| Prof. S. Irtafaq Ali[19] | Botany | 8 July 1990 | 6 July 1994 |
| Prof.Abdul Wahab (educationist)(Acting)[19] | Institute of Business Administration, Karachi | 6 July 1994 | 4 April 1995 |
| Prof.Abdul Wahab (educationist)[19] | Institute of Business Administration, Karachi | 5 April 1995 | 9 November 1996 |
| Prof.Hafeez A. Pasha[19] | Economics | 10 November 1996 | 24 July 1997 |
| Prof. Zafar H. Zaidi[19] | 25 July 1997 | 7 January 2001 | |
| Prof. Zafar Saeed Saify(Interim)[19] | 12 January 2001 | 28 February 2001 | |
| Prof. Zafar Saeed Saify[19] | 1 March 2001 | 5 January 2004 | |
| Prof.Pirzada Qasim[19] | Physiology | 6 January 2004 | 9 February 2012 |
| Prof. Dr. Muhammad Qaiser[19] | Botany | 10 February 2012 | 24 January 2017[20] |
| Prof. Dr.Muhammad Ajmal Khan[20] | Botany | 24 January 2017 | 4 May 2019[21] |
| Prof. Dr. Khalid Mehmood Iraqi(Interim) | Public Administration | 16 May 2019[22] | 1 March 2022 |
| Prof. Dr.Nasira Khatoon(Interim) | Zoology | 2 March 2022 | 28 July 2022 |
| Prof. Dr. Khalid Mehmood Iraqi | Public Administration | 29 July 2022 | Incumbent |
The university campus area is over 1,279 acres (5.18 km2) of land, situated 12 km away from the city center ofKarachi. The university has about four percent of International students who come from 23 different countries in the regions ofCentral Asia,South Asia, theMiddle East (West Asia) andEurope. The university has a high standard of teaching, with many professors being well-known scholars and academics of international repute. In a short span of 40 years, the university has risen to acquire a high status in the field of education inPakistan as well as in the region.
On November 27, 2023, the Bohra community leaderDr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin inaugurated a new state-of-the-art facility for law students on the Karachi University (KU) campus.[23] The new School of Law building, spread over 45,000 square feet, features an Islamic ethos of positive change through education. With its large capacity, the building will allow a greater number of graduate and postgraduate students to pursue multiple law programs.[24]
The most prestigious research center of the university is the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences which has over 500 students enrolled for PhD in organic chemistry, biochemistry, molecular medicine, genomics, nanotechnology and other fields. The Husein Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Development and the Jamil-ur-Rahman Center for Genome Research are an integral part of this multi-disciplinary research center.[25] It was selected as the UNESCO Center of Excellence in 2016.[26] The university's physics andstatistics departments are claimed to be well known departments and its research output plays a vital role in the development of science and technology in the country.[27][28]
Furthermore, the department of mathematical sciences is one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Science, which has a three-floor building consisting of an electronic laboratory for computational mathematics.[29][30]
The department of architecture has produced award-winning designers, architects and artists, who are making their mark in the professional world.[31]
TheUniversity of Karachi Library is officially known as the "Dr. Mahmud Hussain Library" which has houses well over 400,000 volumes dating back to the1600s, for researchers as well as for use by students of advanced studies and faculty members.[32] The library became the depository of the personal book collection ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah– thefounder 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.[32] Teachers from over 100 affiliated colleges frequent the university, along with scholars from 19 research institutions.[32] A loan and resource sharing system exists with other academic entities in theKarachi area.[32] A digital library enables scholars and students to access online books and journals.[32] 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.[32] The International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences has within it the Latif Ebrahim Jamal Science Information Centre which is the national focal point for distance education.[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.[33] Mahmud Hussain served as the university'sVice-Chancellor from 1971 to 1975 and the library was named in recognition of his contribution to the teaching ofsocial sciences in Pakistan. Dr. Hussain was the first professor the university appointed to its faculty ofInternational Relations andHistory. He introducedlibrary science to Pakistan by instituting the Faculty ofJournalism 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.[33]
In 1957, the Bureau of Composition, Compilation and Translation (BCC&T) was established with main objectives to translate vocabulary containing Urdu synonyms of technical terms, Urdu translation of textbooks of various subjects and classical literature of foreign languages into Urdu language, and translation of Urdu classical literature into other languages. To meet the printing needs, a press was purchased in 1988. On 14 October 1999, BCC&T merged with the press operations to form Karachi University Press.[34]
The University of Karachi has 9 faculties:[35]
| Faculty | The listed active Academic department(s) and the academic Chair(s) of the University of Karachi (KU) |
|---|---|
| Faculty of Social Sciences |
|
| Faculty of Engineering |
|
| Faculty of Management & Administrative Sciences[36] |
|
| Faculty of Engineering |
|
| Faculty of Education |
|
| Faculty of Islamic studies |
|
| Faculty of Law |
|
| Faculty of Medicine |
|
| Faculty of Pharmacy |
|
| Faculty of Science |
|
Since its establishment in 1951, the university has attracted prominentscholars and renownededucationists as its faculty members, researchers and associated scholars. Scholars and educationists such asIqbal Hussain Qureshi,Rafiuddin Raz,Mahmud Hussain,Saleemuzzaman Siddiqui,Abdul Qadeer Khan,I H Qureshi,Raziuddin Siddiqui,Atta-ur-Rahman,Mahreen Asif Zuberi, Prof.Khursheed Ahmed,Bina Shaheen Siddiqui are some of those, that have been affiliated with the institution.[5] The faculty was drawn not only from Pakistan but also included eminent educationists from theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States.[5] A visit has been made by English Higher Education LeaderChris Husbands to begin collaborative awarding.
On 26 April 2022, four people including threeChinese nationals, were killed and four others were injured in asuicide attack outside theConfucius Institute located within the University of Karachi.[41] Afemale suicide bomber was spotted in the attack footage, who was sent by the militant separatist groupBaloch Liberation Army operating from Balochistan.[42]
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