Quaid-i-Azam University

Overview

, QAU has grown into the largest university in Islamabad with a total enrollment exceeding 13,000 students. The university is on a 1700 acre (6.9 km2) campus on the foothills of the Margalla. Divided into four faculties and nine affiliated research institutes, QAU is among Pakistan's largest and highest-ranked universities.

This information reflects the university's continued excellence in various fields, contributing to its standing as a prominent educational institution.

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The university has interacted with international institutions, including the United Nations, University of Tokyo and the ICTP. It counts several public figures and intellectuals among its current and former faculty, researchers, or alumni since its establishment, including Maleeha Lodhi, Nasim Zehra, Shamshad Akhtar, Suhail Zubairy, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Farzana Aslam, Tasneem Zehra and Salma Zahid.

The university is currently led by Dr. Niaz Ahmed Akhtar, and has four different faculties and 38 departments, institutes, schools and centers.

History

The University of Islamabad was established on 22 July 1967 by the Government of Pakistan. It was renamed as Quaid-i-Azam University in honor of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in 1976, the centennial of his birth. However, the spelling of the university's name was kept different ("i" was used instead of "e" for the ezāfe that links the two words in Jinnah's title "Quaid-e-Azam").

The university offered teaching and research programs for PhD and MPhil degrees upon its founding and later offered Master's programs. The university now also offers undergraduate programs in both evening and morning shifts.

Faculties and departments

Quaid-i-Azam University consists of four faculties. The following departments, institutes, and schools work under these faculties.

Faculty of [[Natural Sciences]]

• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Computer Science (Ranked 201st Worldwide)
• Department of Earth Sciences
• Department of Electronics
• Institute of Information Technology (Ranked 201st Worldwide)
• Department of Mathematics (Ranked 225th Worldwide)
• Department of Physics (Ranked 225th Worldwide)
• Department of Statistics

Faculty of [[Social Sciences]]

• School of Law
• Quaid-i-Azam School of Management Sciences (QASMS)
• Department of Anthropology
• School of Sociology
• Department of Linguistics
• Department of Defence & Strategic Studies
• School of Economics
• Department of History
• School of Politics and International Relations
• Taxila institute of Asian civilizations
• Department of Psychology

Faculty of [[Biological Sciences]]

• National Center for Bioinformatics
• Department of Animal Sciences
• Department of Biochemistry
• Department of Microbiology
• Department of Plant Sciences (Ranked 125th Worldwide)
• Department of Environmental Sciences
• QAU School of Medicine
• Department of Pharmacy
• Department of Biotechnology

Faculty of [[Medical Science]]

• Al-Shifa Eye Trust Hospital Rawalpindi
• Army Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute
• Health Services Academy, Islamabad
• Federal Medical & Dental College
• Quaid e Azam Postgraduate Medical College, PIMS

Institutes

• Institute of Information & Technology
• National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR) Center for Excellence
• Saulat Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research
• Center of Excellence in Gender Studies
• National Institute of Psychology
• National Institute of Pakistan Studies
• Area Study Centre for Africa, North & South America ; Chairs
• Quaid-i-Azam Chair
• Benzair Bhutto Chair
• Rumi Chair

Central Library

The university has central library (CL), named as DR. Raziuddin Siddiqi memorial library situated at the centre of the university campus and having total covered area is approximately 102,500 sq. ft. On 06-02-1999, the Central Library (CL) was renamed the Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqi Mermorial (DRSM) Library in honour of Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqi's illustrious and meritorious achievements as the founding Vice Chancellor of Quaid-i-Azam University. University offers DRSM Library services for faculty and students of the university.

Rankings and reputation

In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, the university was ranked 315th globally and 86th in Asia. The physics department is ranked 201st250th, the mathematics department is ranked 150th200th, the agriculture department is ranked 201st250th. In the 2010 rankings, the university was ranked 6th in the natural science category, and was ranked 100th200th in the 2007 and 2009 rankings.

Into the 2019 Higher Education Commission of Pakistan rankings, the university was ranked 1st in the general category. In the 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, QAU was ranked 401st500th.

Notable alumni and faculty

1. Sajad Haider
2. Abdul Rashid Ghazi
3. Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
4. Abrar ul Haq
5. Hamza Ali Abbasi
6. Ahmed Hassan Dani
7. Akbar S. Ahmed
8. Alamgir Hashmi
9. Ansar Pervaiz
10. Arshad Sharif
11. Asghar Qadir
12. Fayyazuddin
13. Ismat Beg
14. Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad
15. Irshad Hussain
16. Hareem Farooq
17. Ilhan Niaz
18. Khadija Mushtaq
19. Maliha Lodhi
20. Marriyum Aurangzeb
21. Mazhar Mahmood Qurashi
22. Muhammad Sharif
23. Muhammad Suhail Zubairy
24. Muhammad Imran Qadir
25. Nasim Zehra
26. Nargis Sethi
27. Nisar Ali Khan
28. Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema
29. Pervez Hoodbhoy
30. Qaiser Mushtaq
31. Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry
32. Rana Mubashir
33. Zafarullah Khan
34. Raziuddin Siddiqui
35. Shamshad Akhtar
36. Shireen Mazari
37. Tahir Amin
38. Tasneem M. Shah
39. Zia Mian
40. Brigadier Anis Ahmed

File:Abrar-ul-Haq 2014-05-10.jpg|Abrar-ul-Haq is a Pakistani musician and politician. File:Khalid Wynne (close-up).jpg|General Khalid Shameem Wynne was a retired Pakistani four-star general and former Chief of the General Staff. File:SajadHaider1965.png|Sajad Haider was a former Pakistan Air Force officer. File:US Navy 090720-N-8053S-068 French Rear Adm. Alain Hinden, left, shakes hands with Pakistan Navy Rear Adm. Muhammad Zakaullah at the Combined Task Force (CTF) 150 change of command ceremony.jpg|Muhammad Zakaullah was the former Chief of Naval Staff. File:Sartaj Aziz (cropped).jpg|Sartaj Aziz was a Pakistani economist and a strategist who served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. File:NewestPic.jpg|Ismat Beg is a mathematician, known for his work on multiple-criteria decision analysis and the fixed point. File:AbdulRashidGhazi2005.jpg|Abdul Rashid Ghazi was a Pakistani Islamic scholar and diplomat. File:Shamshad Akhtar - World Economic Forum on the Middle East 2010.jpg|Shamshad Akhtar served as the vice president of the World Bank. File:Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan-US talks 2001.jpg|Dr. Maliha Lodhi is a leading Pakistani diplomat. File:Dr a qadir.JPG|Asghar Qadir is a Pakistani mathematician and a prominent cosmologist. File:Naelachohan1982.jpg|Naela Chohan is a Pakistani diplomat and women rights activist. File:Nasim Zehera interviewing Mike Mullen in 2010 (cropped).jpg|Nasim Zehra is a leading journalist. File:Zahid headshot.jpg|Salma Zahid is a Member of Parliament of Canada. File:Dr.Hussain.png|Irshad Hussain is a Pakistani chemist and Nanomaterials scientist. File:Ayesha Siddiqa (cropped).jpg|Ayesha Siddiqa is a Pakistani military scientist. File:Hamza Ali Abbasi.jpg|Hamza Ali Abbasi is a Pakistani actor and director.

Notes

References

References

1. "Al-Baqara - سورة البقرة - ( The Cow ) - Read Quran القران الكريم in English translation by Yusuf Ali".
2. (20 February 2002). "Promotion of S&T stressed".
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4. "QAU Introduction". QAU Press.
5. "Quaid-i-Azam University". HEC Pakistan.
6. Yusuf, Suhail. (23 February 2012). "Quaid-e-Azam University declared as top university of Pakistan". Dawn.
7. (23 February 2016). "HEC announces university rankings". The Express Tribune (newspaper).
8. (5 November 2013). "International collaboration: Moot on plasma physics next week - The Express Tribune".
9. (1 October 2018). "The World University Rankings: Quaid i Azam University".
10. "QS World University Rankings".
11. [https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/quaid-i-azam-university-503114 US News & World Report's rankings of Best Global Universities: Quaid-i-Azam University] Retrieved 1 September 2020
12. "HEC Universities Ranking 2015".
13. (13 February 2011). "Overview of Quaid-i-Azam University".
14. "Ranking of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) Recognized Universities in Pakistan".
15. [http://www.forumpakistan.com.pk/abrar-ul-haq-profile-interview-and-pictures-t56413.html Profile of Abrar ul Haq on Forum Pakistan website] {{Webarchive. link. (17 May 2019 Published 26 February 2010, Retrieved 12 February 2020)
16. (6 November 2009). "Profile of Asghar Qadir on Computational Complexities Innovations & Solutions website".
17. [https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/161533-Maryam-Aurangzeb-to-take-oath-as-State-Minister-for-Information-today Maryam Aurangzeb to take oath as State Minister for Information today] The News International (newspaper), Published 1 November 2016, Retrieved 2 September 2020
18. [https://tribune.com.pk/story/1911854/1-renowned-academic-dr-pervaiz-iqbal-cheema-passes-away/?cf_chl_captcha_tk=840999aa0be48970243eaee32c1ff7e686cc3486-1581636105-0-AaP_PytFESTM56UFrFZ37XfNh1vzJlQuhvjf0npJfonD3-aQD3Gl1MViIFAsV3OBcfH20Kn50jCl7WBUSkc_nWoLBQ3WW-QdhDlvagGYOwBQRRwGPjkI4uxRbuZGi86zx_TrV8xVvPaR78lLftCrsyYLHc1rssz_v2P8_LfB3C_lyTPBuzDUS8LWO31sjnP7l33oLwYi2-CFpivbICEMPKlY9M_9nE4Rmr2OCLC5sP_WXB-WVnOAa-2bVr7iWTzH-MuZIU_XrxYyd1xbaq0Wdqvq3jZ8V3rRLbhls2EQQlpmRbGTis-NBKSMxwDBSYhVFZseuS4X0F2gNrbiiWX36frUUf7CNOd2JsUmO01k3fT_J2isTQSEQbw9iNAP5QkmAjVcjhdpKGcW526Wznpop34 Renowned academic Dr Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema passes away] The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 16 February 2019, Retrieved 13 February 2020