Sunday, October 15, 2023

COMPLETION OF 100 YEARS ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY LAHORE (1921-2021) November 1, 2021 (2021-10)


 

The University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (Main Campus) is located in the northern part of Lahore on the historical "Grand Trunk Road (GT. Road)", near the magnificent Shalimar Gardens built during the great Mughal Empire. The institution started its career on 9th November 1921 as the 'Mughalpura Technical College'. Later it became the 'Maclagan Engineering College, a name given to it in 1923 when Sir Edwards Maclagan, the then Governor of the Punjab, laid the foundation stone of the main building, now called the Main Block. Main Block still retains its majesty despite the wear and tear of ten decades. At that stage the institution offered courses of study in only two disciplines: Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

In the year 1932, the institution was affiliated with the University of the Punjab for award of a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering. In 1947, at the time of independence, the institution was offering well-established B.Sc. Degree Courses in Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

In 1954, it started a Bachelor's Degree course in Mining Engineering, the first-ever of its kind in the country. However, the real expansion and development of the institution commenced in 1962 on its transformation into the West Pakistan University of Engineering & Technology', and within a few years Bachelor's Degree Courses were started in Chemical Engineering. Petroleum & Gas Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Architecture, and City & Regional Planning.

Later, the University started to develop its postgraduate programs, and by 1970's it was offering Master's Degree Courses in various specializations of engineering. architecture, planning and allied disciplines. Later, Ph.D. Degree Program was also instituted in a number of disciplines.

The University of Engineering and Technology Lahore Act 1974 was passed by the Punjab Provincial Assembly to re-constitute and reorganize the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, for the purpose of improving teaching, research, publication and administration. With phenomenal increase in student enrollment in the 1970s, the University established an Engineering College at Taxila in 1975, which later became an independent University in 1998 as the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila.

Keeping in view the upcoming power crises situation in the country, in 2004 the University established its own Power Generation Unit with capacity of 2 Mega Watts later enhanced to 3 Mega Watts and became first and only countrywide educational institution who has its own Power Generation Unit as one of its labs.

To meet the growing demands for the Engineering graduates and allied disciplines in the country, the University started an expansion program in the new millennium. Consequently, the teaching and research capacity of the UET-Main was enhanced, and the establishment of the satellite campuses was taken up. The University started its satellite campus, now called as "New Campus", at Kala Shah Kaku,

District Sheikhupura, in 2004. Another satellite campus was started in Faisalabad in 2004. The Rachna College of Engineering and Technology Gujranwala was made constituent college of the UET Lahore in 2006. The Narowal sub-campus was established in 2012.

The University has 795 faculty members, including 360 PhDs, in 47 departments under 7 faculties of Engineering, Architecture and Natural Sciences. Current male- to-female faculty ratio is 73:27 whereas student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1. In addition to teaching responsibilities, the faculty has a focus on research having impact on society. In the last three years, the faculty members have won different competitive research projects of worth Rs.240.72 million.

The QS World and Asian rankings of the university have moved up to 5-year high with five disciplines in the university ranked in top 500 in world rankings. In Petroleum Engineering, the university ranks among the top 51-100 in the world. In Engineering and Technology, it ranks at 376.

The University has more than 50000 proud alumni who have served / are serving in various national and international organizations. There is a long list of notable alumni ofthe university. Some of notable alumni include Dr. Muhammad Akram Sheikh (Former Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan). Dr. Adil Najam (Dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, and former Vice-Chancellor of the LUMS), Dr. Mubashar Hassan (Professor, politician, humanist, and an engineer who served as Finance Minister of Pakistan), Prof. Dr. Syed Mansoor Sarwar (Vice-Chancellor, UET Lahore), Prof. Dr.Fazal Ahmad Khalid (Chairman, Punjab Higher Education Commission), Qasim Ali Shah (Trainer, Author, and public speaker), Dr. Tahir Masood (Current MD Nespak). Dr. Amjad Pervaiz (former MD Nespak and famous singer), Engr. Tariq Hameed (Former MD Packages, Former Chairman WAPDA), Mr. Ahsan Iqbal (Former Minister, Government of Pakistan), Dr. Tahir Ghani (Intel USA), Prof. Dr. M. Shamim Sheikh (Toronto University), Prof. Dr. Arif Ghafoor (Purdue University), Prof. Dr. Ashfaq Khokhar (lowa State University), Dr. Aamir Mehmood (EVP Google), Javed Saleem Qureshi (Chairman, Pakistan Engineering Council), Juniad Jamshaid (Singer and Naat Khawan) and Jawad Ahmad (Singer).

The current student enrollment in all five campuses of the university is around 14000 in undergraduate, masters and PhD programs. The student body mainly consists of students from Punjab. However, more than 550 students from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan as well as Azad Jammu & Kashmir are studying at various campuses of the university. Whereas 194 seats are allocated each year in various disciplines for foreigner students. Currently, the foreigner male and female students from China, Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, SriLanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, Somalia, and Indian Occupied Kashmir are pursuing their degrees in various engineering disciplines. Male-to-female ratio among students is 76:24.

The University's "National Library of Engineering Sciences" has significantly improved its book holdings and now it is biggest engineering library in the country. The total collection of the library is 1,40,000 which includes more than 1,00,000 books, 25,000 joumals, and 5000 theses. The facility of HEC's Digital Library is also available for students and faculty members.

The University has ample provisions for hostel accommodation. It has sixteen halls of residence, including four for female students, with accommodation for about 3000 students. A new hall of residence having the accommodation for 350 female students is under construction.

The halls reflect history of the institution through variations in the architectural styles over the last half a century. Some of them are of the pre-independence period, nherited from the former Maclagan College of Engineering and the Sikh National College whereas others were built over a period of quarter of a century since the inception of the University. The residence halls are provided with common rooms, mess rooms, prayer rooms, internet facility and other common utilities. The University also provides ample facilities to the students for participation in extra and cocurricular activities including debates, poetry, dramas, and sports, both outdoors and indoors, through over 50 student societies. Facilities are provided for all major sports including cricket, hockey..football, tennis, badminton, basketball, squash, table tennis, body building, and athletics. A series of inter-faculty and inter-hostel toumaments are held to facilitate participation to the maximum number of students. Outstanding sportspersons are encouraged to take part in the inter-university tournaments under Higher Education Commission. The sports complex is a commanding feature of the campus landscape and has, amongst other things, an Olympic-size swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, a gymnasium and an impressive stadium. Similarly, tudents

who outshine in debating, poetry, drarta/acting etc. are also facilitated to participate in local and national competitions.

A well-established health clinic with qualified and experienced medical doctors and having the facility of outdoor treatment, ambulance, medicines for selected diseases. and basic laboratory tests is available for the student, faculty and staff.

On Completion of 100 Years Establishment of University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (1921-2021), Pakistan Post is issuing the Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs 20/- denomination on November 1, 2021.


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