Government College University, Lahore

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Government College University, Lahore

Motto

Educating People for Tomorrow (historical) Courage to Know (present)

Established

1864

Type

Public

Chancellor

Governor of Punjab

Dean

Dr. Islam Ullah Khan

Registrar

Dr. Muhammad Akhyar Farrukh

Academic staff

436

[1]

Students

7,382

[1]

Location

Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Campus

Urban

Former names

Government College (GC)

Colours

Blue, Goldrod, Maroon

Nickname

GCU Lahore GCU

Affiliations

HEC, PEC

Website

www.gcu.edu.pk

The Government College University, Lahore (Urdu: ; abbreviated to GCU), is a public university located in the downtownarea of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.[2] It is one of the oldest university in Pakistan as well as oldest institution of higher learning in the Muslim world.[3] Initially established as Government College Lahore, it was granted university status by the Government of Pakistan in 2002; the worldcollege is retained in its title for preserving its historical roots.[3] The GCU offers wide range of programs for undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctoral studies with a strong emphasis on science and arts.[4] Its departments of physics and mathematics holds an international prestige and retains distinguish image for world-class research and development in the country as well as in the world.[5][6] As of current, the GCU has four faculties within which there are 29 academic departments; there are four research institutes associated with the GCU.[7] The GCU secured its second position in the "medium category" by the HEC in 2013.[8] In addition, the GCU has the highest graduation rate in the country, with an average of 95.5% annually.[9] Alumni of the GCU are called Ravians which is derived word from the name of the student magazine "Ravi", published by the administration of the college; the magazine name is inspired by the Ravi River.[10] The GCU is noted for its historical roots and attracted notable scholars such as Leitner, Salam and philosopher Iqbal to studied and became alumnus of the GCU.[11]

GCU Tower

Lahore Metro Bus near GCU

Contents
[hide]

1 History 2 Emblem 3 Academic departments 4 Abdus Salam Chair in Physics 5 Abdus Salam School for Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) 6 Institute of Industrial Bio-Technology 7 Postgraduate departments 8 Notable alumni 9 Others associated with the college 10 References 11 External links

History[edit]

Government College, Lahore in the 1880s

Under the British Raj Government College was opened on 1 January 1864 in a portion of the Palace of Raja Dhyan Singh Haveli. The institution wasaffiliated with the University of Calcutta for examination. Along with the establishment of the college, Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (professor of Arabicand Islamic Law at King's College in London) was nominated as principal of college. Later, he later was instrumental in the foundation of University of the Punjab, established in 1882. The first class consisted of nine students, all of whom matriculated from University of Calcutta. In April 1871, the college moved to its present site. Eric C. Dickinson became its Principal. He taught English at the Aligarh Muslim University.

In 1996, it received autonomous status; on 9 September 2002, it became a university.

Emblem[edit]
The Torch, as the Crest of the university emblem, represents the light of knowledge. The motto "Courage to Know" represents the guiding principle of the student community. It is intended to develop courage among the students to fulfil their academic potential.

Academic departments[edit]
The university consists of the following faculties, centres and teaching departments:

Centers Chairs Center for Advanced Studies in Physics (CASP) High Tension Laboratory (now CASP) established in 1954 by Dr. Rafi Muhammad Chaudhry to carry out research in Atomic and Nuclear Physics.

Faculty of Engineering

B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering a four-year degree programme and also offers MS Electrical Engineering a two-year degree programme.

National Center of Mathematics The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has established the National Centre for Mathematics (NCM) at the GC University, Lahore for the advancement of Mathematical Sciences in Pakistan and to develop indigenous human resources and research capability in the field of Mathematics.

Human Resource Development Center (H.R.D.C) The center has arranged in service teachers training programmes for the GCU faculty on academic and administrative topics.

Abdus Salam Chair in Physics[edit]

Main article: Abdus Salam Chair in Physics The Abdus Salam Chair in Physics, named after the Pakistani theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, is a physics research institute of GCU. The institute became operational in March 2000 with the efforts of Ishfaq Ahmad, a lifelong friend of Salam. In 2009 the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) donated Salam's original Nobel certificate to the Salam Chair in Physics. The former director of ICTP Dr. Katepalli R. Sreenivasan visited Pakistan where he had gifted the original Nobel certificate to GCU alma mater. The certificate reads: "for their contributions to the theory of the unified weak and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles, including, inter-alia, the prediction of the weak neutral current".[12]

The institute has academic programmes that promote research activity in physics. Some of its achievements include: getting 52 research publications in international journals;[citation needed] producing 6 PhD and 25 M.Phil theses; the setting up of a Plasma Technology Lab; and contracting research grants from funding agencies and research centres such as the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission(PAEC), Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL),[13] Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF)[14] and Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(PCSIR).[citation needed]

Abdus Salam School for Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS)[edit]

Main article: Abdus Salam School of Mathematics The Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences (ASSMS) is one of the largest mathematical research institutes in Pakistan.[citation needed] The school was established in 2003 by the Government of Punjab under the aegis of Government College University.[15] The aim of the School is to train professional scientists to pursue the study of scientific and technological problems by mathematical methods, and to undertake research in branches of mathematical sciences. Before the existence of ASSMS, Pakistani mathematicians opted to study abroad forpostdoctoral fellowships, however an increasing number of M.Phil/PhD holders from foreign institutions are choosing ASSMS to pursue their postdoctoral fellowships.[citation needed] The director of ASSMS, Dr. Alla Ditta Raza Choudary, has taken steps to provide encouragement to Pakistani students in schools and colleges. These include:

The faculty at the Abdus Salam School of Mathematical Sciences host training camps for students from schools and colleges. The participants of the camps are prepared for the national team of Pakistan to compete at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). In 2005, the national team of Pakistan took part for the first time in IMO. In 2007 Pakistan won the first medal at IMO and the second in 2009.

ASSMS has organised mathematics contests at the national level.

Institute of Industrial Bio-Technology[edit]

The Institute of Industrial Biotechnology GC University, Lahore, was established in April 2005. Prof Ikram-ulHaq is the first head of the institute. The Vice Chancellor has consented to launch B.Sc., M.Sc, and M. Phil classes in Biotechnology and constitute a separate Board of Studies for the institute.

Postgraduate departments[edit]

Faculty of Arts Faculty of Science

faculty of design

Geography Economics Botany Banking & Finance Entrepreneurship and SME Management Industrial Chemistry Financial Economics and Management English Computer Science / Information Technology History Industrial Bio-Technology Management Studies Mathematics Persian Physics Philosophy and Inter Disciplinary Studies Psychology & Clinical psychology Political Science Statistics Telecommunication Urdu Zoology

Notable alumni[edit]
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability or notability policies. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources cited within this article showing they are notable and alumni or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (July 2011)
Main article: List of Ravians Alumni of the University are called Ravians.

Politicians

Nawaz Sharif Prime Minister of Pakistan

Muhammad Zafarullah Khan first Foreign Minister of Pakistan, President of United Nations General Assembly, President of International Court of Justice

Hanif Ramay intellectual, journalist and former Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab Yousaf Raza Gillani, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, Current Prime Minister of Pakistan Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Moeen Qureshi former interim Prime Minister of Pakistan Inder Kumar Gujral Ex-Prime Minister of India Mahbub ul Haq Finance Minister of Pakistan, Chief Economist Planning Commission, Director of World Bank Policy Planning Department.

Dr. Ghulam Hussain Federal Minister for Railways and Secretary-General of Pakistan People's Party. S.M. Zafar Senator, Former Law Minister and leading constitutional lawyer. Kamaluddin Azfar Governor of Sindh Aseff Ahmad Ali Minister of Foreign Affairs and current Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri former Minister of Foreign Affairs Aitzaz Ahsan Barrister, Federal Minister of Interior, Law & Justice, and President of Supreme Court Bar Association.

Government officials

Javid Husain - Diplomat, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to Iran, South Korea, and the Netherlands Sheikh Muhammad Awais - Deputy Auditor General of Pakistan, and Accountant General of Sindh Tariq Saleem Dogar,Former IGP Punjab Mirza Muzaffar Ahmad Secretary of Commerece and Finance, Deputy Director Planning Commission of Pakistan, also Finance Minister Pakistan.

Musa Javed Chohan ambassador to France, Malaysia Malik Zahoor Ahmad diplomat, Middle East/South Asia expert, political analyst.

Army officers

General Shamim Alam Khan, NI(M), SJ, SBt

General Akhtar Abdur Rahman, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee 1987 General Raheel Sharif, Current Chief of Army Staff

Nuclear scientists

Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, experimental nuclear physicist and missile engineer. Munir Ahmad Khan, Chairman of PAEC from 1972 to 1991. IAEA Staff Member, 195872; Chairman IAEA Board of Governors 198687.

Dr. Ishfaq Ahmad, nuclear physicist and chairman of PAEC from 1991 to 2001 Dr. Ansar Pervaiz, current chairman of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission since 2001.Chairman IAEA Board of Governors 201011.

Dr. Mujaddid Ahmad Ijaz, research in theoretical physics from Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission PAEC And his son Mansoor Ijaz was involved in the memogate controversy

Nobel Laureate

Dr. Abdus Salam -theoretical physicist and astrophysicist Dr. Har Gobind Khorana Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine

Actors

Dev Anand Indian Balraj Sahni Indian Ali Zafar - Pakistani

Poets

Muhammad Iqbal Pakistan's national poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz Alamgir Hashmi renowned English poet Nasir Kazmi

Authors/writers/novelists

Patras Bokhari Urdu writer, First Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations (1951 54)and Former Under-Secretary General of United Nations,

Sahir Ludhiyanvi Urdu poet/Hindi lyricist and songwriter Qudrat Ullah Shahab famous Urdu writer and civil servant Wasif Ali Wasif Eminent Sufi author and poet Ashfaq Ahmed Urdu writer playwright, broadcaster and intellectual

Bano Qudsia female novelist

Journalism

Ahmed Rashid Hamid Mir journalist, political analyst and TV anchor. Khaled Ahmed, Consultive Editor of The Friday Times and contributor to Daily Times Wakas Mir, radio host Amir Mir, investigative journalists

Judiciary

M. R. Kayani Former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Nasim Hasan Shah- Former Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan- Barrister, Former Attorney General of Pakistan Javid Iqbal scholar, former Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court & Judge of Supreme Court and son of Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal

Sportsmen

Majid Khan (cricketer) Retired cricketer, specialist batsman and former captain of the Pakistan team & Cambridge Blue.

Waseem Ahmad Ex Olympian and former captain of Pakistan National Hockey Team with most caps in the history of Pakistan Hockey

Abdul Qadir (cricketer) ex Chief selector Pakistan Cricket Board Amir Sohail former Pakistan Test captain Ramiz Raja former Pakistan Test captain Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi Professional tennis player

Musicians

Khawaja Khurshid Anwar - famous music director, film-maker, writer Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan popular male singer Hadiqa Kiyani popular female singer Mustafa Zahid, famous pop singer and vocalist of the band Roxen Jawad Ahmed Popular Male Singer Waris Baig Popular Male Singer

Scholars

Allama Iqbal Poet, Philosopher, politician, lawyer and architect of the idea of Pakistan. Tariq Jameel famous Muslim scholar Dr. Israr Ahmad Founder of Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an, Tanzeem-e-Islami and Tehreek-e-Khilafat. Famous for his Theory of Non-Violent Revolution.

Other notable alumni

Chetan Anand (producer and director) producer and director from India and elder brother of Dev and Vijay Anand

Wajid Ali Khan Member of Parliament of Canada and advisor to Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper.

Khushwant Singh prominent Indian novelist and journalist Sarvadaman Chowla a prominent Indian-American mathematician Prakash Tandon an influential Indian businessman

Others associated with the college[edit]