COMSATS University Islamabad
The COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), formerly known as COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), is a public university in Pakistan. It is a multi-campus university with its principal seat located in Islamabad. Comsats was envisioned as Pakistan's first exclusive Institute of Information Technology. In the latest QS University Rankings, CUI ranked 7th in Pakistan and 801-1000 in the world. Nationally it is ranked top-most in Computer Sciences and IT category. COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) is under the administration of Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South. Overview. The university  was established by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) in 1998, while its first charter was granted by the Government of Pakistan in August 2000. Palestine joined the COMSATS as its 23rd member state in October 2015. S. M. Junaid Zaidi is the Founder Rector of the university and continued to serve the university till March 2017. The position of Rector remained vacant for the period of almost three years and Muhammad Tabassum Afzal assumed charge as Rector in July 2020 and was tasked with leading the university after its transition from an  Institute of Information Technology to a full fledge university having a new governance structure. Comsats was envisioned as Pakistan's first exclusive Institute of Information Technology. Previously, its name was COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), which was transformed into a full-fledged university called the COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) by an Act of Parliament in April 2018. This university was ranked among top 250 Asian Universities by QS University Rankings in 2014 and nationally it is ranked top-most in Computer Sciences and IT category and 1st overall in the country according to NatureIndex. CIIT is ranked amongst the  top 10 universities of Pakistan as per HEC recent rankings. It is also a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities. Its main campus, located in Islamabad, has over 8,500 students and 30,000 more students in its 6 satellite campuses. Its student body also includes international students from over 9 countries. It has 20 departments which combined offer 100 degree programs and has since inception produced over 315 PhDs. It has also established the country's first ever Student Startup Business Center (SSBC) to support and promote entrepreneurship and innovation in its academic environment. In partnership with Brookes Pharma (Private) Limited  (Métier pharma), the Career Development Center at Comsats University Islamabad Campus hosted an awareness session on "Women Health and Hygiene." Young female Comsats students attended the session, which was quite informative for them.  International Rankings. In TIMES Higher Education (THE) world universities rankings 2020, CUI has been placed among 801-1000 world best universities, and ranked 2nd in Pakistan. Besides, it was also ranked at #301-400 in THE Engineering & Technology, #401-500 in Computer Science, and Life Science and #501-600 in Physical Sciences subject rankings 2019. CUI was also ranked 159th in THE Emerging Economies Rankings 2020, 131st  in THE Asian University Rankings 2019, and was among 150-200 THE top young universities of world in 2018. · "Ranked at 301+" in THE University Impact Rankings 2019, and 5th in Pakistan. Inaugural participant. Besides, CUI was ranked in its 07 SDGS out of 11: SDG 3 Good Health and Wellbeing (ranked 301+) SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth (ranked 101–200) SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (ranked 201–300) SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities (ranked 201+) SDG 13 Climate Action (ranked 201+) SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions (ranked 201+) SDG 17  Partnerships for goals 301+. QS Rankings · Ranked among 801-1000 world best universities as per QS World Universities Rankings 2020. Besides, it was ranked 135th in QS Asian Universities Rankings 2019. In 2013, it also received the prestigious 3-Stars Rating by QS. Shanghai Rankings · Ranked first in Pakistan and amongst 501-600 ranked university of the world by Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) prestigious Shanghai Rankings 2019. Campuses. COMSATS university is a multi-campus university. Apart from the main campus in Islamabad, the university also has sub-campuses located in Lahore, Attock, Vehari, Abbottabad, Wah and Sahiwal  as well as one virtual campus. COMSATS University has seven campuses, 100-degree programs, 36000 enrolled students, 700 Ph.D. students, 500 Master's students, 1077 Ph.D. instructors, and is ranked second in research and first in IT. Islamabad. The main campus in Islamabad was established in 1998. During the first year of its establishment, the institute offered only a few certificate courses and a postgraduate diploma in computer studies with a single class room and limited resources. Islamabad campus is situated at Chak Shahzad, Islamabad. Currently, more than 8,055 students are enrolled in various degree programs at this campus. The  newly built campus is fully equipped with facilities of international standards. It is a marvel of modern architecture surrounded by a lush green environment and peaceful surroundings. Abbottabad. The Abbottabad campus became functional in July 2001 by founder director Haroon-ur-Rasheed and the first academic session started in September 2001. This campus is ideally situated in the vicinity of Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul. The campus is built on 308 Kanals of land leased from GHQ by the Pakistan Army at Tobe Camp. The abandoned army barracks were converted into a living campus within a short period of two months  by the university team. The first academic session started with a student strength of 121 and only three undergraduate programs. Attock. Attock campus was established in 2004. There are 4 departments,9 undergraduate and 6 graduate programs are offered, more than 2,650 students are enrolled, qualified faculty strength of 179 including 55 PhDs. More than 500 research papers are published. Vehari. Established in 2008, Vehari campus started with 45 students enrolled in one program and now it has more than 2,385 students, more than 180 faculty members, 14 programs and three functional academic blocks. Lahore. The Lahore Campus is located on  01 km, Defence Road, Off Raiwind Road and is at a 30-minute drive from the main city. This campus was established in January 2002. Wah. The opening of COMSATS University in the historical and industrial town of Wah was a joint effort of the university and Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) which is located in Wah Cantonment. The university management started campus at Wah in a record period of 70 days. The then Minister for Science and Technology and Chancellor of the university formally inaugurated the institute on 14 September 2001. Initially, Wah campus started its operation in the small  guest house of POF. In 2003, two purpose-built academic blocks were handed over to the university on long-term lease period by POF. Wah campus extended its academic facilities by purchasing land contiguous to the existing campus in 2012 measuring 96 Kanals. The campus has also acquired 20 Acres of land near Brahma Bahtar Interchange on M1 motorway to meet its future academic requirements. Sahiwal. Sahiwal campus situated at Sahiwal was formally inaugurated in September 2007. It has 7 academic departments and 10 other services departments. It has 3800 students from different departments. Virtual Campus. CUI virtual campus was  established in July 2008 and started its regular function in January 2012. The campus was established in offices, laboratories and studios located in Islamabad having approximately 20,000 sq. ft. covered area. State-of-the-art servers, dedicated PERN (Pakistan Educational Research Network) bandwidth, as well as latest audiovisual equipment, was acquired to set up laboratories, studios and data center. Virtual campus started its first academic session in Fall 2012 offering four undergraduate level degree programs in computer science and management science subjects. The Virtual Campus was stalled in 2016 due an absence of Virtual Education Policy by the Higher Education  Commission of Pakistan. Academics. The university is offering undergraduate and graduate programs in different disciplines, different programs available at different campuses. Undergraduate Programs. COMSATS offers undergraduate programs for BS and bachelors. Notable alumni. Sadia Bashir - Foundress and CEO of PixelArt Games Academy, the first game training academy in Pakistan. She is the first Pakistani to represent at the Game Developer's Conference. Aisha Mughal - Pakistani transgender rights expert and researcher. Shafeeq Gigyani - Pakhtunkhwa-based Activist who pokes in Politics & Governance, Society & Culture, and Tech & Entrepreneurship through his Activism, Blog, Podcast & Radio Show. Atta ur Rehman Khan - Founder of National Cyber  Crime Forensics Lab Pakistan.